McLaren GT Confirms Factory Drivers for Bathurst 12H

McLaren GT has confirmed a full line-up of factory drivers, alongside Andrew Watson from the Young Driver Program, that will contest the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in February with Australian-based Tekno Autosport, running as a GT entry for the first time.

After the most successful season for McLaren GT, Tekno Autosport and Objective Racing will run three of the 650S GT3s at Mount Panorama, marking the debut outing for the model at the famous circuit.

Rob Bell, Alvaro Parente and Young Driver Andrew Watson are set to tackle Bathurst for the first time, joined by Shane Van Gisbergen who has previously contested the race with McLaren in one of the most memorable finishes in the history of the famous Australian race.

Van Gisbergen stormed to a hard-fought 4th place in 2014 when he contested the 12 Hour alongside father-and-son Tony and Klark Quinn and McLaren GT Managing Director Andrew Kirkaldy.

The line-up for the 2016 Bathurst 12 Hour race with Tekno Autosport will see factory drivers Parente and Van Gisbergen joined by team owner Jonathan Webb.

After a strong debut season in the Young Driver Program, Watson will share the second Tekno 650S GT3 with factory driver Bell and V8 Supercar race winner Will Davison.

The third car on the grid will be run by customer team Objective Racing, which campaigned the Australian GT series with the 650S GT3 throughout this season. Objective will line up with an all-Australian quartet of Tony Walls, Matt Campbell, Warren Luff and Tim Slade.

‘The Bathurst 12 Hour is one of the most fantastic races on the motorsport calendar, both for spectators and for drivers,” said McLaren GT Managing Director Andrew Kirkaldy.

“It is great to partner with Tekno Autosport; a new team on the GT grid, and having such a strong line-up of drivers in the cars, including the very talented silver-rated drivers like Andrew [Watson], underlines how seriously they are approaching the challenge.

“Having being part of the 2014 line-up, I can vouch for how tough this endurance race is, but it is definitely one of the most exhilarating.

“The 650S GT3 has enjoyed a strong debut season across the globe, including in Australia, and I am really pleased to see Tekno Autosport and Objective Racing on the grid, and they will be hopefully both be pushing for the podium positions.”