2016 Bathurst 12 hour : Reigning endurance champion Chiyo heads strong Blancpain GT Series contingent

2016 Bathurst 12 hour : Reigning endurance champion Chiyo heads strong Blancpain GT Series contingent

With nearly two dozen 2015 Blancpain GT Series drivers at the start of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour, the first ever race in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, it is clear that Europe's premier GT Series can be considered the main purveyor among the top teams for the race on the Mount Panorama circuit.

Katsumasa Chiyo, reigning Blancpain Endurance Series champion, will defend his Bathurst title with his Nissan-teammates Florian Strauss (on the 2015 winning car as well) and Rick Kelly. But the Nissan drivers will be up against some fierce competition. Several of the drivers present in New South Wales have at least one win in the Blancpain GT Series under their belt. That is the case for Audi-drivers Markus Winkelhock, Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Mies, Christopher Haase and René Rast, for Bentley Boys Steven Kane and Guy Smith, McLaren drivers Shane Van Gisbergen, Alvaro Parente and Rob Bell and Mercedes aces Bernd Schneider and Thomas Jäger.

Add to that the presence of several drivers that competed in the 2015 Blancpain GT Series - such as Andy Soucek, Maxime Soulet, Nico Bastian, Nico Verdonck, Benny Simonsen, Renger Van Der Zande or Maro Engel - and it is clear that the 2016 edition of the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour fully deserves its status as one of the highlights on the international GT calendar.

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2016 LIQUI-MOLY BATHURST 12 HOUR – RACE FACTS

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED: 15
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Britain, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.

MANUFACTURERS REPRESENTED: 11
Nissan, Audi, Bentley, Mercedes Benz, McLaren, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, BMW, Daytona and MARC Cars Australia.

FORMER BATHURST 12 HOUR WINNERS: 8
Craig Baird, Christoper Mies, Christer Jöns, Bernd Schneider, Thomas Jaeger, Mika Salo, Katsumasa Chiyo, Florian Strauss


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Practice commences tomorrow Friday February 5th ahead of qualifying on Saturday.
The race commences Sunday morning at 5:45am local time.
The race can be followed live on our website via the following link : http://www.blancpain-gt-series.com/gt-tv/liquid-moly-bathurst-12-hour

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