McLaughlin Ruled Out of Corvette Bathurst 12H Bid

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/SRO

Scott McLaughlin revealed he’ll be unable to contest February’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour due to NTT IndyCar Series testing commitments after initially getting an opportunity to be part of the race in a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

The three-time Australian Supercars champion, who has been part of Team Penske’s IndyCar lineup for the last five seasons, has taken part in several races in Corvette machinery this year, including the Suzuka 1000km, where he and Corvette factory drivers Nicky Catsburg and Alexander Sims scored a podium finish with JMR.

With the Malaysian squad, largely made up of Australian crew, expected to contest the majority of the Intercontinental GT Challenge races next year, McLaughlin is understood to have been approached to run the season-opening round at Mount Panorama.

However, a scheduling conflict will prevent the U.S.-based Kiwi from contesting next year’s race, an event he has two previous starts in, with McLaren 650S GT3 and Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car machinery.

“Unfortunately not,” he told Sportscar365 when asked about doing the Bathurst 12 Hour. “[It’s] just the way that it worked out.

“I would love to, and probably had the opportunity to, but it’s just the way it’s sort of panned out with my calendar with testing in IndyCar, which is obviously first and foremost.

“But I’m looking at a couple [of other] events throughout the year. I’d love to, but first and foremost, my IndyCar deal comes first. But JMR, they’re a class team and I’d love to do more racing with them.”

McLaughlin’s next possible IGTC outing could come at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa in June, a weekend that does not feature an IndyCar race.

However, the Belgian endurance classic on June 27-28 is sandwiched between IndyCar races at Road America and Mid-Ohio, making it unclear if McLaughlin would get clearance to do the race.

“It’s in a busy period,” he said. “It just depends. But I’d love to try and do it.

“That’s definitely for me a bucket list [race]. Obviously Le Mans is a bucket list, all the [major] sports car races.

“I’m a racer. I just want to drive ad be a part of it.”

Reflecting on his time in Suzuka, McLaughlin said it was one of his most enjoyable experiences as a driver.

“Alex [Sims] and Nicky [Catsburg], those are some of the funniest dudes that I’ve been a part of, and I’ve had some great teammates in Josef [Newgarden] and Will [Power] as well,” he said.

“It was a blast. Catsburg is a character! And I just had awesome fun.

“I always wanted to race at Suzuka. For me, that was my goal and bucket list. I’ve done it now. If I don’t do it again, I don’t do it again.”

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