Bathurst 12 Hour: Martin’s Stunning Surge Delivers Mercedes Glory Amid Chaos

In a race defined by wildlife encounters, fiery wrecks, red flags, and late-drama collisions, Maxime Martin steered the #888 Team GMR Mercedes-AMG GT3 (pictured)  to a dramatic victory in the 2026 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour at Mount Panorama.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The Belgian, alongside first-time co-winners Maro Engel (Germany) and Mikael Grenier (Canada), triumphed by a razor-thin 1.0368 seconds over the #86 High Class Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R in the Bronze class, driven by Kerong Li (China), Anders Fjordbach (Denmark), and Dorian Boccolacci (France).

Starting from the 15th row—the lowest grid position ever for a Bathurst 12 Hour winner—the #888 crew overcame a frenetic 12 hours of interruptions to claim the checkered flag after 258 laps. The win marked the first for all three drivers at The Mountain and Mercedes’ second consecutive victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge opener.

Defending champions Team WRT rounded out the podium in third with the #46 BMW M4 GT3, where Raffaele Rossi played a key role in their recovery from early setbacks.

The 64th edition of the Australian endurance classic, held under clear skies before a record weekend crowd of 55,231 (up 7% from 2023’s 53,446), delivered non-stop action from the 6 a.m. start. Supercars stars like pole-sitter Cam Waters (#222 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes) set the early pace, but the race quickly unraveled into mayhem.

Less than 20 minutes in, Christopher Mies (#67 HRT Ford Mustang GT3) struck a kangaroo on Conrod Straight at over 250 km/h, coating the German driver in blood and forcing an early retirement for the field’s lone Ford entry. Mies was unharmed but shaken, with Dennis Olsen (teammate) praising his resilience: “Luckily, Mies is OK. We can see that he was for sure impacted by that. I’m glad he’s OK, that’s the main thing.”

Worse was to come with three hours and 40 minutes remaining, when race leader Ralf Aron’s #77 Craft-Bamboo Mercedes collided with the spun #79 TSUNAMI RT Porsche of Johannes Zelger at Forrest’s Elbow. Aron’s car erupted in flames, obliterating the machine and triggering a one-hour red flag suspension.

everything that i’ve seen so far with this bathurst 12 hrs is insane pic.twitter.com/jole36HMID

— ☆ (@_opyen) February 15, 2026

Both drivers escaped injury, though Aron was hospitalized in Orange for checks. Supercars driver James Golding suffered a similar fate in his #34 The Bend Motorsport Park Aston Martin Vantage GT4, brushing the barrier en route to McPhillamy Park before going airborne into the concrete wall in a fiery impact.

Thankfully James Golding walked away from this.#B12Hr pic.twitter.com/wupjW1Y2aN

— Bathurst 12 Hour (@Bathurst12hour) February 15, 2026

The restart brought more carnage: The #32 Team WRT BMW of Kelvin van der Linde and Jules Gounon tangled at Hell Corner, dropping them from podium contention after a mechanical black flag for loose bodywork earlier. Robin Feller (#61 EBM Porsche) twice veered onto the grass at Hell Corner after clashing with another Porsche.

In the final hour, a controversial clash between Supercars rivals Chaz Mostert (#222 Scott Taylor Mercedes) and rookie Jayden Ojeda (#2 Tigani Motorsport Mercedes) at Griffins Bend ended both cars’ runs. Ojeda, defending aggressively, glanced the wall and rebounded into Mostert’s path, prompting a Safety Car that bunched the field for final stops.

The incident sparked garage-side tension, with Scott Taylor engineer Barry Ryan confronting Tigani’s Matt Harvey over Ojeda’s tactics against a fellow Mercedes runner.

Mostert, philosophical post-race, said: “It’s just racing at the end of the day.” Ojeda, unapologetic, replied: “I race to win always and that was our chance to win the race.” Ryan lamented: “It was just disappointing because Ojeda is a factory driver… He should be looking after other AMG teams.”

Martin capitalized on the late restart, surging from third to first up Mountain Straight after the #32’s clash with Gounon. He then nursed a 2-second lead to the flag, fending off the charging Bronze Porsche. Engel, reflecting on the win, highlighted the team’s resilience: “We had a near miss in 2023, so this feels incredible.”

The record attendance underscored the event’s growing global appeal, bolstered by the Track to Town parade and increased local involvement. Mercedes dominated proceedings, but the underdog story of #888 stealing the show amid the “mountain mayhem” will linger long.

Full Race Results: 2026 Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour

Driver Reactions

Maxime Martin (#888 Team GMR Mercedes): “At the restart with 40 minutes left, I just went for it—third to first in one corner. The gap was small, but we managed every alarm and every push. This from 15th on the grid? Unbelievable.”

Maro Engel (#888 Team GMR Mercedes): “Yesterday we were fighting for survival, today on the podium—no, the top step. The strategy was perfect, and Maxime’s drive at the end was heroic.”

Chaz Mostert (#222 Scott Taylor Mercedes): “Aggressive from the start, but Ojeda snapped back—committed, no way out. Racing hard, but gutting to lose a pole car like that.”

The IGTC now heads to Paul Ricard in April, with Mercedes extending their stronghold while Porsche’s Bronze upset keeps the manufacturers’ battle alive. A weekend of records and redemption at The Mountain.