Supercars drivers reveal 12-Hour plans

Supercars regular, Jaxon Evans, will join Ferrari Factory FIA World Endurance Championship driver Alessio Rovera in a strong Arise Racing GT Pro-Am class entry for the upcoming Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour.

Evans will join 29-year-old Italian Rovera and fellow regular Arise Racing GT pilot Elliott Schutte in the squad’s second entry for Australia’s International Enduro, the quartet to be completed by experienced GT World Challenge Australia ace Brad Schumacher.

It completes a strong two-car team from the Perth-based Ferrari team, the Pro-Am entry to compete alongside the Pro class car to be driven by 2021 Bathurst 1000 winner Chaz Mostert, Will Brown and Daniel Serra.

Schumacher paired with Will Brown to finish second in GTWC Australia last season following a year-long battle with both of the Arise-entered Ferrari’s.

Evans and Schutte combined to win the eighth race of the 2024 season to claim third in the championship, a notable performance given it also represented Schutte’s first year in top-flight GT machinery.

The West Aussie graduated from one-make Radical competition into the heat of GT racing last season, having worked through the ranks in a career kicked off by winning a driver search competition backed by Arise Racing’s Radical Cup team in Perth.

Rovera, driving for AF Corse, won the LMP2 Pro-Am drivers championship in the European LeMans series in 2024, while also finishing third in the LMGT3 drivers’ championship behind the wheel of a Ferrari 296 LMGT3 entry – his team winning the final race of the season in Bahrain.

Queensland-based Kiwi Evans, a full-time pilot for Brad Jones Racing in the Repco Supercars Championship, is a Bathurst 12 Hour veteran and will make his fourth start in the race this year having claimed fourth outright in 2024.

Bathurst-based Schumacher, who lives within sight of Mount Panorama, will make his sixth Bathurst 12 Hour start this year and his first aboard a Ferrari.

Schumacher made his debut in a GT4 Ginetta in 2019 before stepping into a MARC II entry the following year. He graduated into GT3 machinery in 2022, the local ace claiming fourth outright aboard an Audi R8 as a factory driver. He also claimed the GT Am class in GT World Challenge Australia in 2023 and last year made his debut in the famous 24 Hours of Spa enduro.

Evans can’t wait for the round-the-clock sportscar endure to kick off next month.

“Starting the season at the Bathurst 12 Hour is always incredible, and this year’s partnership with Arise Racing GT feels super exciting. Having Ferrari factory ace Alessio Rovera and Brad Schumacher join Elliott and I gives us a strong shot at Pro-Am honours,” Evans said.

“Following a successful debut with the 296 GT3 at Mount Panorama in GTWC Australia last year, I’m confident we’ll be competitive when February rolls around.”

Rovera also said he is excited.

“I’m very excited to be racing with Team Arise Racing GT! This will be my first time in Australia and my first experience on the Mount Panorama circuit. I can’t wait to take on such an iconic track in a 12-hour race with my new teammates and with such a great team,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mostert’s Method Motorsport will seek to add a Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour GT4 class victory to its already impressive track record, confirming the entry of its pair of McLaren Artura GT4s in this year’s race.

Twelve months on from the team’s foundation, Method has seen rapid growth and last year enjoyed a successful year in the Monochrome GT4 Australia Championship; claiming the Pro-Am, Silver and GT4 Teams Championship trophies.

That success came following their Bathurst 12 Hour debut which netted them second and third in the GT4 class.

Method was founded in 2024 by Mostert and co-owner Guy McEntyre to contest the rapidly expanding GT4 category in Australia.

Their pair of entries assembled for 2025 blend a mixture of youth and experience.

The #24 McLaren will see experienced Production Car ace Anthony Levitt return to the team following a successful pair of events at the conclusion of the 2024 GT4 Australia season.

He’ll be joined by Porsche Sprint Challenge rising star Jake Santalucia and Cameron Campbell.

Car 25 will be headed up by Tom Hayman – who was part of the title winning combination last year – along with Production Car racer Paul Buccini and open wheel racer, Ryan Sorensen.

“The team is super excited to be back at the mountain to once again compete in the Bathurst 12 Hour GT4 class with the Mclaren GT4 Artura’s,” team co-owners Mostert and McEntyre said in a team release.

“Behind the scenes the team is supported by the men and women that helped bring success last year and are keen to start the year with the best endurance race of the season.

“We were elated with how last season went but we are now looking forward to the race ahead. The Bathurst 12 Hour is a long day, which involves a lot of elements both human and mechanical. We have been working hard in the off season and are proud of the team and driver line up we are taking to the mountain.”

Method Motorsport’s pair of McLaren GT4 entries add to an already variety-packed GT field assembled for the 2025 running of Australia’s International Enduro, Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Ferrari, KTM, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG and Porsche all locked in to tackle the January 31-February 2 race.