Team MPC Recruits Audi Stars for Bathurst 12H

Melbourne Performance Centre has announced its driver lineups for next weekend’s Repco Bathurst 12 Hour, featuring three Audi-contracted drivers.

The three-car team has recruited Markus Winkelhock, Ricardo Feller and Christopher Haase for the Intercontinental GT Challenge opener, as well as former Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde.

Both Haase and Feller were part of MPC’s roster for the 2023 race, while Winkelhock and van der Linde will return to Mount Panorama for the first time since 2022.

Winkelhock and Feller join local driver Brad Schumacher aboard the No. 2 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, which carries the colors of KFC, while Haase and van der Linde will team up with Liam Talbot in the Wash It-branded No. 22 car.

Both lineups will gun for outright honors in the Pro class,  thereby reducing the drive time requirements for Bronze-rated Schumacher and Talbot, while the team’s third car, the No. 9, is entered in the Pro-Am category under the ‘Hallmarc Team MPC’ banner.

Bathurst 1000 winner Lee Holdsworth, Dean Fiore and Marc Cini share driving duties, in a reprisal of the car’s 2023 lineup.

“After a few years of challenges and bad luck, we’ve taken a different approach this year but it’s one we think that can pay off,” said MPC co-owner Troy Russell.

“Pairing extremely experienced drivers like Brad and Liam with the Pros we have access to, all who have been here before and all who are extremely quick at Mount Panorama, we think is the way to go.

“The regulations allow those combinations to be competitive which gives guys like Liam and Brad a chance at winning Bathurst outright. We’re thrilled with those combinations in the pair of Jamec Racing entries, with KFC and Wash It on board as major partners.

“The Hallmarc car, with Marc, Lee and Dean, is such a solid combination. The Pro-Am competition is as tough as ever this year but at the same time we think they’re a good shot at challenging there.

“The Audi R8s still have plenty to give and we showed that by winning the GT World Challenge Australia championship last year.”