MERCEDES has announced a double celebration of its 130-year motorsport anniversary for this weekend’s Repco Bathurst 12 Hour.
Factory squad GruppeM will adorn a milestone livery complete with a number change to #130, from its usual #999.
Behind the wheel of the sleek silver Mercedes-AMG GT3 will be Maro Engel, Felipe Fraga and David Reynolds.
MORE: Every driver racing in the 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour
Furthermore, Mercedes will seek to break the Mount Panorama GT lap record of 1:58.68s, in a special GT3-based car featuring a tiltable rear wing, carbon brake discs and more modifications.
Three-time Bathurst 12 Hour winner Jules Gounon will be entrusted with those driving duties.
Gounon will then take part in the event itself once again with SunEnergy1 Racing.
“The legacy of 130 years in motorsport is an extremely huge and valuable one,” said Christoph Sagemüller, head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport.
“Successfully carrying this into the future is a responsible duty for all of us.
“I am delighted that we get this anniversary underway during the 12-hour race at Bathurst and hopefully also honour it with a record lap.
“Moreover, we are heading to the iconic Mount Panorama as the defending champions for the second consecutive time.
“Of course, we want to defend this title and thus add another milestone to our 130-year-long motorsport heritage, living up to the motto ‘Defining Motorsport since 1894’.”
Practice at the Bathurst 12 Hour kicks off Friday, with race start scheduled for 5:45am AEDT Sunday.
