WEC Champ Lieb Joins Competition Porsche Lineup for Bathurst 12H

Photo: Porsche

Newly crowned FIA World Endurance Champion Marc Lieb will join Patrick Long and David Calvert-Jones at the wheel of Competition Motorsports’ Porsche 911 GT3 R in February’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Los Angeles-based squad announced Saturday its return to Mount Panorama after a one-year hiatus, bringing a new GT3-spec Porsche with an all-star lineup in the GT3 Pro-Am class.

Lieb, who won this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as well as the World Drivers’ Championship, is no stranger to the Mountain, having taken part in the Bathurst 1000 in 2013 with Tekno Autosport.

The 36-year-old German will tackle Bathurst in his new role with the German manufacturer in international customer racing, having been dropped from the LMP1 lineup for next year.

Fellow Porsche factory driver Long, meanwhile, has taken part in two previous Bathurst 12 Hour events, both with California-based Australian Calvert-Jones.

“The Bathurst 12 hour event has really come of age,” Calvert-Jones said.

“We are now seeing numerous factory supported GT3 programs focusing on this iconic endurance race and I’m so excited to get back to Australia and race at Mount Panorama.

“We have also again secured a long term event partner in Ice Break Ice Coffee and are absolutely delighted they are part of the program next year.”

Leading Australian beverage brand Ice Break Ice Coffee has a strong association with motorsport in Australia and will again partner with the American squad.

“Ice Break Ice Coffee is excited to be part of a new era of sports car racing through our association with Competition Motorsports in next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour race,” CEO of Parmalat Australia Craig Garvin said.

“All three drivers have an enormous amount of talent and we are very much looking forward to another opportunity to be aligned with such a professional and competitive team.”

Porsche Motorsport North America President Jens Walther added: “This is the fourth time that CJ (Calvert-Jones) is racing a Porsche at Bathurst.

“We are very happy that Marc Lieb joins CJ and Patrick, who had a strong showing in 2015 and gained invaluable experience for this year’s race at the iconic Mount Panorama circuit.

“The lineup and the team make for a strong entry and definitely one to watch.”

Competition will again be supported by Australian-based McElrea Racing, with a shakedown of the  car set for next week in California before being shipped to Australia for the Feb. 3-5 enduro.

Bathurst will again serve as the opening round of the SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, which expands to a four-round championship next year.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John