The 2024 Australian motorsport season will begin with the Bathurst 12 Hour.
Mount Panorama is set to host the nation's international enduro race with some of the world's best racing talent to head Down Under.
The event will also act as a curtain-raiser for the new Supercars season, which will kick-off at the same track the following week.
The Sporting News has the key details.
MORE: Full calendar, schedule for 2024 Supercars season
What is the Bathurst 12 Hour?
The Bathurst 12 Hour is an endurance race that takes place at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales.
As the name signals, the event takes 12 hours to complete and sees GT and production cars typically cover over 1,800 kilometres and clock approximately 290 laps.
The race begins in the early morning via a rolling start, with drivers allowed a maximum of two-and-a-half hours in the car at a time.
A winner is determined when the leader crosses the finish line for a second time after the 'race finish' is declared at 11 hours and 58 minutes.
Bathurst 12 Hour: Entry list, teams, drivers
This year's event has been split into five classes.
Drivers are categorised by the FIA as either Platinum/Gold (professional) or Silver/Bronze (semi-pro/amateur).
- A-PRO = Any three drivers
- A-PRO AM = Three drivers (two Platinum/Gold/Silver + one Bronze) or four drivers (two Platinum/Gold/Silver + two Bronze)
- A-SILVER = Three drivers (all Silver) or four drivers (two Silvers + two Bronze)
- C-GT4 = Modified production model cars
- INV = Invitational
| Num. | Class | Team | Drivers | Make | Model | Country |
| 2 | A-PRO | Melbourne Performance Centre | B. Schumacher / M. Winkelhock / R. Feller | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
| 13 | A-PRO | Phantom Global Racing | B. Buus / J. Evans / J. Eriksson | Porsche | 992 GT3R | China |
| 22 | A-RPO | Melbourne Performance Centre | L. Talbot / K. van der Linde / C. Haase | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
| 32 | A-PRO | BMW Team WRT | D. Vanthoor / S. van der Linde / C. Weerts | BMW | M4GT3 | Belgium |
| 75 | A-PRO | SunEnergy1 | K. Habul / J. Gounon / L. Stolz | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | United States |
| 77 | A-PRO | Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing | D. Juncadella / J. Ojeda / M. Gotz | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Hong Kong |
| 130 | A-PRO | Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM Racing | M. Engel / D. Reynolds / F. Fraga | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Germany |
| 222 | A-PRO | Scott Taylor Motorsport | C. Lowndes / C. Waters / T. Randle | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
| 888 | A-PRO | National Storage Racing | B. Feeney / W. Brown / M. Grenier | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
| 912 | A-PRO | Manthey EMA | M. Campbell / L. Vanthoor / A. Güven | Porsche | 992 GT3R | Germany |
| 9 | A-PRO AM | Hallmarc | M. Cini / L. Holdsworth / D. Fiore | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
| 27 | A-PRO AM | Heart of Racing by SPS | I. James / R. Gunn / A. Riberas | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | United States |
| 48 | A-PRO AM | M Motorsport | J. McMillan / G. Wood / J. Le Brocq / G. Walden | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
| 88 | A-PRO AM | Triple Eight JMR | P. Jefri Ibrahim / J. Love / J. Whincup | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
| 911 | A-PRO AM | Manthey EMA | Y. Shahin / H. King / A. Picariello | Porsche | 991 GT3R | Germany |
| 44 | A-SILVER | Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport | M. Zalloua / S. Pires / L. Youlden / B. Shiels | Audi | R8 LMS | Australia |
| 47 | A-SILVER | Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport | J. Koundouris / T. Koundouris / D. Russell / J. Webb | Mercedes-AMG | GT3 | Australia |
| 93 | A-SILVER | Wall Racing | A. Deitz / D. Wall / T. D'Alberto / G. Denyer | Lamborghini | Huracan | Australia |
| 19 | C-GT4 | Team Nineteen | M. Griffith / A. Christoudolou / D. Bilski | Mercedes-AMG | GT4 | Australia |
| 25 | C-GT4 | Method Motorsport | C. Mostert / M. Flack / J. Bryan | McLaren | Artura GT4 | Australia |
| 56 | GT4 | Nineteen Corp | P. Buccini / A. Zerefos / C. White / O. Hizzey | Ginetta | G55 GT4 | UK |
| 230 | C-GT4 | Method Motorsport | T. Hayman / T. McLennan / E. Schutte | McLaren | Artura GT4 | Australia |
| 10 | INV | Matt Stone Racing | J. Holinger / N. Percat / C. Hill | MARC | GT | Australia |
| 20 | INV | T2 Racing / Localsearch | D. Jileson / A. Hargraves / C. Sbirrazzoul | MARC | GT | Australia |
| 50 | INV | KTM Vantage Racing | D. Crampton / T. Harrison / L. Kraiheimer | KTM | XBow GT2 | Australia |
| 91 | INV | Wheels FX Racing | K. Kassulke / H. Morrall / C. McLeod / T. Slade | MARC | II | Australia |
| 111 | INV | MRA Motorsport / 111 Racing | D. Currie / A. Donaldson / R. Gray | MARC | II | Australia |
| 701 | INV | Vortex | L. Amrouche / J. Boilot / P. Bonnel | Vortex | Vortex 1.0 | France |
| 702 | INV | IRC / TekWorkX Motorsport | D. Stutterd / N. Morris / P. Tracy / M. Twigg | MARC | GT | Australia |
Bathurst 12 Hour: Full schedule, dates
A total of six practice sessions will be held across Friday and Saturday, with qualifying taking place on Saturday afternoon.
The race will be the only on-track action on Sunday.
Friday, February 16
| Session | Time (AEDT) |
| Practice 1 | 8:25 am - 9:05 am |
| Practice 2 (Bronze drivers only) | 10:00 am - 10:40 am |
| Practice 3 | 1:30 pm - 2:10 pm |
| Practice 4 (Bronze drivers only) | 4:10 pm - 4:50 pm |
Saturday, February 17
| Session | Time (AEDT) |
| Practice 5 | 8:05 am - 9:05 am |
| Practice 6 | 10:00 am - 11:00 am |
| Qualifying | 12:40 pm - 1:40 pm |
| Top 10 Shootout | 4:05 pm - 4:35 pm |
Sunday, February 18
| Session | Time (AEDT) |
| Race | 5:45 am - 5:45 pm |
Click here for the full on-track schedule.
When does the Bathurst 12 Hour begin? Race start time
The 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour will begin at 5:45 am AEDT on Sunday, February 18.
It will conclude at approximately 5:45 pm AEDT.
How to watch the Bathurst 12 Hour: TV channel, streaming
Fox Sports and the Seven Network will broadcast the 2024 edition of the Bathurst 12 Hour for Australian audiences.
The event can also be live-streamed through Kayo Sports and 7plus.
For New Zealand-based fans, the race will be broadcast via Sky Sports NZ.
International viewers can catch the action on SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.
Bathurst 12 Hour: Tickets, how to buy
Tickets and parking are still available for this year's event on Ticketek.
An adult three-day general admission ticket is $82, while a grandstand pass costs $277.