THE Bathurst 12 Hour will return to its traditional early February race date in 2025, with Australia’s international Enduro to be held on Sunday, 2 February next year.

The event will officially commence with the traditional track to town parade on Thursday, January 30 before practice on Friday, January 31 and Qualifying on the first day of February.

The shift back to the earlier, traditional date ensures the event will continue to avoid clashes with other major international races, ensuring the maximum opportunity for the world’s best GT teams and drivers to attend.

The event will continue to open both the domestic motorsport scene as well as doubling as the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, a position it has held since the launch of the global GT3 competition in 2016.

Strong interest has already been received from potential 2025 entries, with the race set to potentially welcome a host of brand-new models with the Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3 and Chevrolet Corvette GT3 all becoming eligible to compete for the first time.

The 2024 race was won by Manthey EMA Motorsport with Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Guven and Laurens Vanthoor powering Porsche to their second ever 12-Hour triumph by just over 2.5 seconds.

Camping, Ticketing and Corporate Experiences for 2025 are expected to go on sale mid-year.

The Bathurst 12 Hour is supported by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.

Shane Rudzis – Event Director, Bathurst 12 Hour

“It’s great to have the dates locked in for 2025 and know that the world will return to Mount Panorama across the January 31 – February 2 weekend next year.

“We need to be flexible and dynamic in scheduling the race to ensure it fits within the international calendar each year which is why the date has shifted two weeks earlier in 2025.

“The level of interest and excitement in the race is already high and we’ve had fantastic discussions with current entrants and new teams and brands who are keen to race next February.

“At the same time, we continue to review all elements of the event to continue the improvements already put in place in 2023 and 2024, to not only grow the event but add to the experience for everyone attending.

“We’re very proud of the growth of the Bathurst 12 Hour. We’ve seen over the last two years huge crowds, camping records broken, amazing world-class vehicle demonstrations on track setting scintillating lap times, legends of world motorsport coming back yearly, amazing activations and car displays, plus much more.

“Where to from here? Stay tuned!”

Jess Jennings – Mayor, Bathurst Regional Council

“We are proud to be partners with Supercars in the ongoing success of the Bathurst 12 Hour.

“It is an event that has seen significant growth over the last few years and delivers huge exposure to Bathurst and our fantastic region to a global audience.

“We look forward to the 2025 event continuing to build on that momentum and deliver another outstanding event for our visitors and another exciting race.”

Stephane Ratel – Founder, CEO, SRO Motorsport Group

“2025 has the potential to be the biggest Bathurst 12 Hour yet thanks to several new manufacturers entering the GT3 space and a growing number of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS entries.

“This is a bucket list event for international teams and drivers, and also highly prized by manufacturers, but a strong domestic environment is vitally important for any Intercontinental GT Challenge round to truly flourish.

“Indeed, it is a cornerstone of the series’ philosophy.

“Moving the date back to its traditional slot also avoids clashing with the Asian Le Mans Series – a major consideration for our local and regional base.”