McLaren Announces Bathurst Driver Lineups

Photo: McLaren

McLaren announced on Tuesday the drivers who will look to defend the manufacturer’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour win next month, including new signing Ben Barnicoat.

Barnicoat will join reigning champion Tekno Autosports along with Bathurst 1000 winner Will Davison and Bathurst debutant and longtime Strakka Racing driver Jonny Kane in the No. 59 McLaren 650S GT3.

Twenty-year-old Barnicoat joins the McLaren GT Driver Academy coming from single-seater racing, having won the Formula Renault 2.0 North European Championship in 2014 and winning two FIA European Formula 3 races last season.

In the No. 1 McLaren, Pirelli World Challenge champion and 2016 Bathurst winner Alvaro Parente will race alongside Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup champions Rob Bell and Come Ledogar.

Objective Racing and Keltic Racing will field customer-run McLarens in addition to the two Tekno Autosports factory cars. Australian GT regulars Tony Walls and Warren Luff will join Virgin Australia Supercars drivers Tim Slade and Alex Davison in the Objective Pro-Am car.

Meanwhile, Australian GT’s Klark and Anthony Quinn will share the Keltic Racing Am class car.

Last year, Parente, Jonathon Webb and Shane van Gisbergen combined to win at Bathurst for Tekno Autosports, after setting a new lap record in qualifying in the No. 59 McLaren 650S GT3.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.