Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing reveals Bathurst 12 Hour all-pro driver line-up

Craft-Bamboo Racing is pleased to announce an all-pro driver line-up for the upcoming 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour, the opening round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) season. 

Ralf Aron, Lucas Auer, and Maximilian Götz will steer the #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing entry at the February 13-15 event, with this strong line-up testament to the team’s commitment to achieving a breakthrough victory at Mount Panorama in just over three weeks’ time. 

The trio will take to the track sporting a striking and unique livery on their Mercedes-AMG GT3, which has been created in collaboration with the entry’s title sponsor, Tarmac Works. The look is inspired by the world-renowned anime series, Initial-D – which celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026 – and the hero car which features in the series. 

2024 GT World Challenge Europe Champion Auer and 2021 DTM Champion Götz are no strangers to Bathurst; just last year Auer put Craft-Bamboo Racing on pole position in the one-lap super pole showdown. At that event, the Hong Kong team – with Auer, Götz, and Jayden Ojeda at the wheel – was on-track to stand on the podium right until the very final moments, before a late fuel stop following the second longest green flag stretch in the race’s history dropped them from P2 to fifth overall at the checkered flag. 

Aron will be making his Bathurst debut, but like his team-mates, the Estonian driver brings plenty of race-winning experience to the table as Craft-Bamboo Racing gets ready to write the next chapter in its long Bathurst 12 Hour story. 

The team has now made eight attempts; consistently delivering standout performances including third overall on debut in 2015 with an exciting last lap overtake, and also a memorable second overall in 2022 with a remarkable comeback after starting from the back of the grid. 

While the list of highlights at this event for Craft-Bamboo Racing is long, it is yet to feature an outright victory. With this all-pro line-up, there can be no doubt around the team’s intentions to change that fact as it heads into the 23rd edition of this celebrated event. 

Such is Craft-Bamboo Racing’s dedication to this cause, management has elected to focus all of its efforts on this single all-pro driver entry, reducing from two cars to one so as to be able to best concentrate its resources. 

Darryl O'Young

Director, Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing

“The Bathurst 12 Hour has been a highlight of our racing program for many years now and is always a favourite. While we have enjoyed some strong performances, we are yet to lock down an overall victory, and we are deeply committed to changing that in 2026.  “Focusing on one single entry steered by an all-pro line-up will allow us to best concentrate our resources and attentions while bringing the talent necessary to be a force within the highly competitive field.  “A win at the Mountain would not only be prestigious in itself but would also set us up with a perfect start to the IGTC season. Clearly, there is a lot to race for on February 13-15, and we can’t wait to get into it.  “Adding to our excitement is the special livery which will adorn our Mercedes-AMG GT3 at this event. Thanks to a collaboration with title sponsor, Tarmac Works, our unique look for the Bathurst 12 Hour will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Initial-D – a phenomenon in anime which has a massive following across the world – and its hero car. We can't wait to get to work in February for our first race event of 2026!”

Ralf Aron

Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing

Lucas Auer

Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing

“I am really looking forward to competing with Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing again. I believe we have got a great team and great squad. We are preparing very hard in order to go for it, and I am really looking forward to driving on my favourite track again.”

Maximilian Götz

Driver, #77 Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing

“I’m super happy to be back with Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo Racing as we’ve done many races together. We’ve got some new engineers and team members so in the end it's a new challenge and new adventure this year. Everyone knows the circuit, Luggi, myself, and I'm sure Ralf will get used to it quickly. It’s one of the highlights of the year and we had very strong pace last year but unfortunately the strategy didn’t pay off. In the end we had a really great performance and enjoyed every moment. This is one of the highlights for me and one of the best race tracks in the world. It’s going to be a hard battle against the high level of pro cars but for sure our target is winning the race and the team has all the potential to get the job done.”