Steve Richards Motorsport (SRM) will be entering the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour with two BMW M6 GT3’s following on from their 2016 Australian GT contention with a single car. Celebrating their return to racing at Mount Panorama for the first time in two decades, BMW will certainly be making their presence felt with two factory supported cars on the grid.
BMW Team SRM owner and lead driver Steve Richards mentioned that bringing BMW back to Australia’s most famous race track is a great honor.
“Bathurst is a special place and it’s an incredibly exciting time for BMW Team SRM to be entering the Bathurst 12 hour event, and to be a part of bringing BMW Australia back to Bathurst with the BMW M6 GT3,” said Richards.
“BMW recognises the amazing passion for the M brand here in Australia, with incredibly strong sales throughout the range. We’re hoping to see a lot of BMW Motorsport fans and supporters at Mount Panorama next February, to share in the brand’s return to Bathurst.”
The complete driver line-up for both cars has yet to be finalised with an announcement expected closer to the event.
To date, BMW’s greatest accomplishment at Mount Panorama occurred in 1997 at the hands of Geoff and David Brabham who went on to win the Bathurst 1000 in a BMW Motorsport Australia 320i with the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour set to take place on the 20th anniversary of that victory.
More recently the BMW brand tasted victory with representation from privateer entrants Craig Baird, Garry Holt and Paul Morris. The privateer team drove home a win in the 2007 Bathurst 12 hour with their BMW 335i and once again in 2009 with Holt, Morris and John Bowe.
Steve Richards is no stranger to the daunting challenge that is Bathurst, taking home first place in the Bathurst 1000 with four wins under his belt, the most recent in 2015 with Craig Lowndes. Richards also enjoyed success in the grueling Bathurst 24 Hour endurance race taking home a win in 2002 with team mates Garth Tander, Nathan Pretty and Cameron McConville in 2002.
The GT3 machines will all calling the mountain home for the 2017 Bathurst 12 Hour from February 3rd to the 5th with BMW set to make their mark on the mountain once again.
