| Event information | |
|---|---|
| Round 1 of 5 in the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge | |
| | |
| Date | 15 February 2026 |
| Location | Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Venue | Mount Panorama Circuit |
| Duration | 12 Hours |
| Results | |
| Laps completed | 262 |
| Distance | 1,627.806 km (1,011.472 mi) |
| Pole position | |
| Time | 2:01.079 |
| Team | |
| Drivers | |
| Winners | |
| Time | 12:01:39.898 |
| Team | |
| Drivers | |
The 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour (commercially titled 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour [1] ) was an endurance race for FIA GT3 cars and invited vehicles, staged at the Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on 15 February 2026. It was the opening round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge.
The race was marred by the first red flag in nearly a decade. [2] Tsunami RT's Johannes Zelger in the GT3 Bronze class was involved in an incident with Volante Rosso Motorsport's Damien Hamilton in the GT3 Pro-Am class at Forrest’s Elbow. While the incident was minor, both Zelger and Hamilton were stopped in the turn. Team Craft-Bamboo Racing's Ralf Aron was leading the GT3 Pro field as they approached Forrest’s Elbow. Aron would end up colliding into Zelger's car at nearly full speed. The race was red flagged within a minute and was stopped for nearly an hour. [3]
Aron would end up crawling out of his car and was transported to a regional hospital. [4] [5] The incident was criticized for a lack of flags giving warning in the run up to the stoppage at Forrest’s Elbow. [6] [7] [4] [2]
Entries were divided into classes based on car type and driver ratings.
| Session | Day | Fastest Lap | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Ref | ||
| Practice 1 | Friday | 32 | | | BMW M4 GT3 Evo | 2:03.869 | [31] |
| Practice 2 [a] | 45 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:05.318 | [32] | |
| Practice 3 | 55 | | | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 2:03.899 | [33] | |
| Practice 4 [a] | 75 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:04.906 | [34] | |
| Practice 5 | Saturday | 55 | | | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 2:03.040 | [35] |
| Practice 6 | 222 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:02.357 | [36] | |
| Pos. | Class | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | P | 222 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 2:01.0790 |
| 2 | P | 77 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.1770 |
| 3 | P | 75 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.2154 |
| 4 | P | 911 | | | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | +0.2308 |
| 5 | P | 55 | | | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | +0.4645 |
| 6 | B | 93 | | | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | +0.6706 |
| 7 | P | 46 | | | BMW M4 GT3 Evo | +0.7942 |
| 8 | PA | 44 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +0.8512 |
| 9 | P | 64 | | | Ford Mustang GT3 | +0.8703 |
| 10 | P | 6 | | | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | +1.0444 |
| Source: [38] | ||||||
Class winners indicated in bold and with ‡.