Arise Racing GT made its first visit to Australia’s greatest racetrack – Mt Panorama in Bathurst – in November and claimed the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia championship in its debut season.
Now Arise has confirmed it’ll head back to ‘The Mountain’ in January in the search for more trophies.
The West Australian-based team, which has the factory blessing of Ferrari, has confirmed it’ll take its pair of 296 GT3 racers to the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour.
The team will split its two models though, with one competing in the Pro Class and one in Pro-Am, though both will compete for outright victory.
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Image credit: Race Project
Arise Racing GT owner Laurence Escalante has deep ties to Ferrari as a major sponsor of the Italian brand’s Formula 1 team and was personally selected to run the 296 GT3 program in Australia.
Despite the team’s immediate success in the local GT racing scene, the 12 Hour race will be a tougher challenge, as not only is it the longest race of its kind in Australia, it also attracts international teams backed by the factories as well.
There will also be pressure on Arise to uphold Ferrari’s honour at the Bathurst endurance race with the 458 GT3 winning in 2014 and the 488 GT3 claiming the race in 2017.
Since 2020 no Ferrari has competed, so Arise is bringing the Prancing Horse back to the mountain and gunning for a third win for the brand.
Image credit: Race Project
“The 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour has been the ultimate goal of the Arise Racing GT program from the very start, and given Ferrari’s previous 12 Hour success, we feel like we have massive shoes to fill,” said Jordan Oon, Arise Racing GT Team Principal.
“The car performed brilliantly at the final GTWCA round which is credit to Ferrari and Oreca for producing such a great package in the 296, and we cannot wait to push it to its limits in one of the most demanding endurance events in the world.”
The team hasn’t announced drivers for either entry, though the teams quartet of Chaz Mostert, Liam Talbot, Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte are all likely to figure, but the team could also draft in international aces to strengthen their chances of a strong result.
Image credit: Race Project
Ferrari has factory GT drivers it can loan to its customer teams for these type of marquee events and Arise has its own international connections it can work.
“We’re in the final stages of securing some fantastic driver lineups and are thrilled for the opportunity to compete among the best GT3 Teams from both Australia and across the globe,” Mr Oon said.
“As always, I need to thank Lance East Exotics, and the team – their hard work and dedication have been the reason behind our success, now it’s time to take on Bathurst!”
The 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour will run from January 31 to February 2, with the race starting at 5:45am AEDT.
While entries are still coming in for the race, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has confirmed he plans to compete again in a factory-backed BMW M4 GT3.
