R-Motorsport Enters Bathurst 12H

R-Motorsport has lodged the first official entries for next year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, with the Swiss-backed team set to field a pair of Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3s.

The team, run by Arden and Jota Sport, expects one car to challenge for overall victory with an all-pro lineup and the second competing in the Pro/Am or Am division.

“We are glad to be back at the Mountain,” said team principal Dr. Florian Kamelger.

“We have entered two Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3s which proved to be very competitive in the first three races of this year’s Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup winning the second round at Silverstone.

“We are looking forward to competing in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour which is certainly one of the most important and challenging GT long distance races worldwide.”

2019 will mark a return to Mount Panorama for the Swiss team with the outfit, headed up by co-owners and racers Kamelger and Andreas Baenziger, able to trace its Bathurst history back to 2013.

Then competing under the Aston Martin St. Gallen banner, Baenziger, Kamelger and Chris Porrit finished third in Class C, driving an Aston Martin Vantage GT4.

They returned in 2015 to finish second in the GT4 class, before returning two years later as R-Motorsport with a two-car team, with one car entered in GT4 and one entered in the Invitational class.

While its GT4 car failed to start following a practice crash, its Vantage GT8 finished 25th overall and fifth in the invitational category to continue its strong Bathurst strike rate.

This year the team is running a two-car team in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, with drivers Jake Dennis, Nicki Thiim and Matthieu Vaxiviere scoring pole position and winning the recent round held at Silverstone.

“We are thrilled to welcome R-Motorsport back to Mount Panorama,” said event director Kurt Sakzewski.

“They are a very professional outfit and their success in the Blancpain GT Endurance series this year is proof of that.

“The team has become a regular visitor to Bathurst and they have already had class success in the past. It will be great to watch them challenge for outright victory for the first time.

“Aston Martin’s V12 Vantage GT3 entries are already hugely popular in Australia so we know they will be well supported by our fans.”