Mostert: Bathurst 12H Debut a “Good Test” for Arise GT

Photo: GruppeM Photography/SRO

Chaz Mostert believes this weekend’s Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour will serve as a “good test” for Arise Racing GT, which is set to face international GT3 competition for the first time.

The Perth-based outfit, which was formed last year, won the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS title with Supercars star Mostert and Liam Talbot and is now set for its first start in Australia’s international enduro.

Mostert is teamed with defending Supercars champion Will Brown and Ferrari factory ace Daniel Serra in the No. 26 entry, which will fight for overall honors in the Pro class.

“It’s the first time at the 12-hour for Arise,” Mostert told Sportscar365. “They’re a world-class organization and they showed that last year in the GT World Challenge [Australia].

“I’m very honored to be driving with them in the 12 Hour as a full Pro entry.

“To be lined up with Will Brown, obviously the current [Australia] Supercars champion, everyone knows what he can do behind the wheel, and Daniel Serra, his credentials are crazy as well.

“I feel like I’m a bit like the third driver! I’m going to be the guy that just fills in at lunchtime while those guys need a break.

“We’ll see what we’ve got.

“This 12 Hour always brings out the world’s best teams. You’ve got so many great Mercedes teams and so many great BMWs.

“It’s going to be a really good test for Arise. From what I’ve seen in different organizations, they’re really up for the task and we’ll see if we’ve got a competitive package to try and go for the win.”

This year’s effort marks the first large-scale Ferrari program at Mount Panorama in a number of years, with Antonello Coletta, Ferrari’s Global Head of Endurance, on-site along with factory engineers.

Ferrari has also entered Intercontinental GT Challenge as a manufacturer for the first time since 2022.

The Prancing Horse’s last win at Bathurst came in 2017 with Maranello Motorsport’s Ferrari 488 GT3 featuring Toni Vilander, Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

When asked if there’s any extra pressure this weekend to perform given the eight-year gap since a Ferrari won the race, Mostert said: “A driver’s job is just to do the best job they can.

“You find in GT3 that some weekends it’s in your favor, some weekends, it’s not.

“We’re just going to see what we’ve got. We ran the car here at the [Bathurst] International at the end of last year. It was really quite a dream to drive around in.

“We’ll see how it stacks up. I think it’s a track that the 296 should suit is Bathurst. I’m pretty keen to drive it here around for 12 hours.”

Mostert “Keen to Watch” Method’s Progress in Second 12H

While having driven for his own Method Motorsport GT4 team last year, in the organization’s first race outing, Mostert will have his eyes on the team’s pair of McLaren Artura GT4s this weekend as well.

“I’m very lucky with my team in Method Motorsport,” he said. “We’ve got some amazing people involved. This was our first event as a team here last year.

“Now with 12 months under our belt, a whole series in GT4 [Australia], we’ve got some amazing people that have come along for the whole year.

“The structure of the team… to be honest, they don’t really need me! They carry me anyway. We’ve got some really good people lined up and some amazing drivers with that too.

“I’m keen to watch that race unfold through the weekend as well. It’s going to be cool.”