Mercedes-AMG is turning the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour into a full-scale factory statement, committing a record 10 GT3 entries to Australia’s flagship endurance race. The German performance arm is not just chasing another win at Mount Panorama, it is reshaping the balance of power for the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge with sheer volume, depth and a carefully curated mix of experience and youth.
From headline Pro contenders to ambitious customer squads, the brand’s presence will dominate the grid and, in my view, force every rival to rethink strategy before the first practice lap. With the GT3 field swelling and the event locked in as Australia’s leading International Enduro, this is the clearest sign yet that Mercedes-AMG sees Bathurst as a global shop window rather than a regional sideshow.
The scale of a 10-car statement
What jumps out first is the raw scale of the commitment. A German marque sending 10 GT3s to one race is not a routine customer program, it is a coordinated assault on a blue-riband event that opens the Intercontinental GT Challenge at Mount Panorama. Earlier reporting confirms that this is the biggest single-brand entry in the history of the Bathurst 12 Hour, a benchmark that underlines how seriously the company now treats the race’s global profile and the commercial pull of a strong result in front of an international audience.
The factory has been explicit about the numbers. Official event information details 10 Mercedes-AMG GT3, with 6 of those cars in the Pro class and the remainder spread across other categories to cover as many strategic bases as possible. That same confirmation stresses that this is a record-breaking fleet for the Bathurst 12 Hour and a showcase for the depth of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, which has turned its global network into a competitive advantage rather than a loose collection of privateers.
Mount Panorama, Intercontinental stakes and the customer web
Mount Panorama has always rewarded brands that commit fully, and I see this program as Mercedes-AMG leaning into that reality. The Bathurst 12 Hour now opens the Intercontinental GT Challenge, which means every manufacturers’ point scored in the Australian summer can shape the entire world endurance campaign. By flooding the grid at Mount Panorama, the brand is effectively buying itself more lottery tickets in a championship where reliability, traffic and safety car timing can swing the result as much as outright pace.
The structure of the entry also tells its own story. The record fleet is built around a core of factory-supported Pro cars, but it is delivered through a network of customer teams that includes outfits like Team Tigani Motorsport, Craft-Bamboo Racing and GMR, all operating under the German brand’s umbrella. Official race material frames the event as Australia’s leading International Enduro, and I read this as Mercedes-AMG using Bathurst as a live demonstration of how its customer ecosystem can deliver both depth and front-running speed in one of the toughest GT3 environments on the calendar.
Headline cars: #75, #77 and the Pro spearhead
Within that 10-car armada, a few entries clearly carry the weight of expectation. Among the headline cars is the #75, run by 75 Express and featuring Kenny Habul alongside Mercedes AMG Performance Drivers, a combination that blends local knowledge with factory-grade speed. Habul’s long-running association with the brand and his track record at Bathurst make that car a natural focal point for fans and rivals alike, especially given how often Pro-Am line ups have punched above their weight in the 12 Hour’s chaotic closing stages.
Another eye-catching piece of the puzzle is the #77 entry from Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing, which teased its Bathurst program with the line that The Mountain is calling and we are bringing a legend with us. That social reveal from The Mountain hints at a star driver at the heart of the program and reinforces how much marketing and sporting weight Mercedes-AMG is placing on a strong result. When I look across the Pro roster as a whole, from 75 Express to Craft-Bamboo and GMR, it is clear that the six Pro cars are designed to give the brand multiple shots at outright victory rather than a single all-or-nothing factory bet.
Driver depth: Three-time winners and rising Supercars rookies
For me, the most impressive part of the program is the way Mercedes-AMG has layered its driver line up. Official entry information describes a Three-time Bathurst winner at the heart of the roster, a reminder that the brand is leaning on proven race-craft as much as raw speed. The same documentation lists the full Bathurst Hour Entries for 2026, confirming that the #6 Mercedes-AMG Team Tigani Motorsport car will run in the Pro class with a trio of established GT specialists.
That #6 entry is a neat snapshot of the wider strategy. The car, listed as a Mercedes-AMG 2026 Bathurst Pro contender, brings together Philip Ellis, Jayden Ojeda and Fabian Schiller under the Team Tigani Motorsport banner. Separate coverage of the Full Mercedes driver list confirms that Ellis, Ojeda and Schiller will share that car, while additional reporting on Mercedes Bathurst 12 Hour drivers highlights how central Team Tigani Motorsport Philip Ellis is to the brand’s Pro-class ambitions.
Supercars rookies and the Australian connection
Mercedes-AMG has also been smart about tapping into local talent and fan interest. The brand has called up Supercars rookies for the Bathurst 12 Hour, with Jayden Ojeda and Zach Bates both earning seats in the expanded program. That decision does more than fill out a roster. It gives the manufacturer a direct link to Australia’s premier touring car series and injects fresh energy into a grid that can sometimes skew heavily toward established GT specialists.
From my perspective, the way those rookies are integrated is just as important as their presence. Coverage of the Bathurst Hour call ups notes that Jayden Ojeda and Zach Bates will race for Mercedes-AMG next month, while the Bathurst Hour driver list and separate Hour drivers breakdown show how they slot into line ups alongside experienced GT names. It is a blend that should resonate strongly with Australian fans and, if the rookies adapt quickly to GT3 machinery, could give Mercedes-AMG an extra edge in traffic and race craft over the 12 Hour distance.
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