The Bathurst 12 Hour race is known for its unpredictability, but this year’s edition took chaos to a whole new level. Imagine a race where kangaroos, red flags, and last-minute collisions decide the winner—welcome to the 2024 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour. GruppeM Racing emerged victorious, but not without surviving a series of dramatic twists that left fans on the edge of their seats. And this is the part most people miss: it wasn’t just about speed; it was about endurance, strategy, and a bit of luck in the face of absolute mayhem.
The race kicked off with a shocking incident just three laps in when Chris Mies, piloting the Bathurst-debuting HRT Ford Mustang GT3, collided with a kangaroo in the dark. Yes, you read that right—a kangaroo. The impact caused significant damage to the car, though Mies walked away unharmed. But here’s where it gets controversial: the kangaroo didn’t stop there. It also struck two other cars, including the No. 32 Team WRT BMW and the No. 6 Tigani Mercedes-AMG, forcing them into early repairs and setting the tone for a race that would be anything but ordinary.
As the hours ticked by, the race saw a nearly one-hour red flag stoppage after a massive crash between the then-leading No. 77 Craft-Bamboo Racing Mercedes-AMG and a spun Tsunami RT Porsche. The debris field was so extensive that officials had no choice but to halt the race entirely. Ralf Aron, the driver of the Mercedes-AMG, was taken to a hospital but reported to be in stable condition. This incident alone could spark a debate: should races like Bathurst implement stricter safety measures to prevent such high-speed collisions?
When the race finally resumed, the drama was far from over. With just 40 minutes remaining, the top two cars—the No. 32 Team WRT BMW and the 75 Express Mercedes-AMG—collided during the final restart. This handed the lead to GruppeM’s Maxime Martin, who held on to secure a narrow 1.037-second victory over the Bronze class-winning No. 86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R. But here’s the kicker: race control issued no penalties for the incident, leaving fans and pundits divided. Was it a fair call, or did it unfairly alter the race’s outcome?
For GruppeM, the win was particularly sweet, marking Maro Engel’s long-awaited first Bathurst 12 Hour victory in his tenth attempt. Sharing the winning entry with Mikael Grenier, the team extended Mercedes-AMG’s record to four Bathurst wins in the GT3 era. Meanwhile, former Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific driver Dorian Boccolacci stunned everyone with a second-place finish, and Valentino Rossi’s No. 46 WRT BMW completed the podium in third.
But let’s not forget the smaller stories that make Bathurst so captivating. The Pro-Am class was won by the No. 45 RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG, finishing a lap ahead of the No. 99 JMR Johor Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R. And in the GT4 category, the lone entrant, the No. 42 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4, finished 26th overall after a remarkably trouble-free run—a rarity in this race.
So, here’s the question: Was this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour a testament to the drivers’ skill, or did luck play too large a role? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. One thing’s for sure—this race will go down in history as one of the wildest, most unpredictable editions ever, leaving us all eager to see what next year brings.
