Spa fact-finding mission for Bathurst organisers
Senior management of the Bathurst 12 Hour are in Belgium this week for a fact-finding mission at the 24 Hours of Spa.
Bathurst 12 Hour event director Shane Rudzis and motorsport operations manager Paul Martin are both on the ground for the twice-round-the-clock GT classic this weekend.
The pair will use the trip to meet with manufacturers and teams as the Bathurst 12 Hour looks to return to its pre-COVID glory days.
The Bathurst GT enduro was badly hit by the pandemic due to Australia's strict border controls.
The event was stripped back to essentially a local Pro-AM race in 2022 before returning to Pro status this year.
It was still a modest field by pre-COVID standards, although a number of manufacturers and international teams made the trek down under.
Organisers will undoubtedly use this Spa trip to further rebuild the international component of the event.
"After a few years of being unable to get to events like this, to interact one-on-one with the paddock, it's fantastic to be here for the Crowdstrike 24 Hours of Spa this week," Rudzis said.
"It's an incredible location, circuit and event and everything we've experienced so far has been outstanding – our thanks to our partners at SRO for their support.
"We've got a busy week interacting with teams and manufacturers and showcasing what the Bathurst 12 Hour has to offer. We've been blown away by the support for the event internationally and it's clear a lot of people are very keen to get there in the future, be it next year or beyond that.
"There are a lot of exciting prospects in the world of GT3 racing. There's the new Lamborghini making its Spa 24 Hours debut this weekend and the new Ford Mustang that has been unveiled. We'd love to see them all at Mount Panorama next February.
"We've already had some fantastic discussions with some very exciting propositions for next February, but also some great opportunities to introduce what we're doing to people who haven't been to Bathurst before.
"We're taking in everything about the event and the notebook is already full with things we've experienced and will look at to enhance our own event."
The 2024 Bathurst 12 Hour is already locked in for February 16-18.
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.