Vautier, Jaeger in SunEnergy1 Lineup for Bathurst 12H

Tristan Vautier will begin his Intercontinental GT Challenge title defense with SunEnergy1 Racing in next month’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Frenchman has been confirmed alongside reigning Bronze class champion Kenny Habul and ex-DTM racer Thomas Jaeger in the No. 75 Mercedes-AMG GT3 that will be supported by Scott Taylor Motorsport.

Habul and Vautier finished second overall in last year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, sharing the SunEnergy1 car with Raffaele Marciello and Jamie Whincup.

New addition Jaeger, who is returning to Mount Panorama after two years away, won the race outright in 2013 driving an Erebus-entered Mercedes with Alexander Roloff and Bernd Schneider.

That was the first and only time a Mercedes has won the Australian enduro, while the SunEnergy 1 machine is one of six Mercedes GT3s entered into this year’s edition, which takes place on Feb. 3.

Scott Taylor Motorsport is running three of the entries, including the Mercedes-AMG Team Vodafone car for Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen.

“Every year this race goes to a whole new level and 2019 is proving to be the largest yet, there are some formidable entries this year who we respect and are looking forward to challenging on our home soil,” said team boss Scott Taylor.

“The guys in the STM workshop have worked hard to rebuild all three cars so as to deliver a package where every component has been fully serviced, re-built or replaced, the guys and girls have done an amazing job – no stone has been left un-turned – thank you team STM.”

All three Scott Taylor Motorsport-prepared cars now have their driver lineups completed, with Yasser Shahin, David Reynolds and Luke Youlden already named in the Pro-Am Erebus Motorsport entry.