BMW's Bathurst Sweep

Mount Panorama became more like Munich on the first weekend of February, as BMW went all-in on the first major Australian motorsport event of the year.

It created a Forrest Gump event with an automotive ‘box of chocolates’ where you never knew what was coming next.

It began with the global unveiling of the latest M3 CS Touring, wrapped around a two-car entry with the M4 GT3 EVO in the 12-Hour contest, and finished with a preview drive of the all-new M5 V8 hybrid.

The Bavarian blast at Bathurst was one of the most impressive automotive executions in recent years, even without a landmark one-two sweep at the end of the 12-Hour.

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Gambling on success in motorsport is never a smart move for a carmaker, as there can only ever be one winner – with lots and lots of losers.

That’s why most brands have given up on the old-fashioned ‘Win on Sunday, sell on Monday’ mantra to justify their involvement in motorsport. It’s now about polishing the badge, technology transfer, and creating special experiences for owners and hopefuls.

Yet the ‘other’ Bathurst race - created for exotic sports cars and not the old-school Ford Mustangs and Chevrolet Camaros that wrestle like dinosaurs each October - has a growing relevance and increasing impact.

It’s not just in Australia, either, as competition for showroom-based GT3 racers is booming around the world and Bathurst is one of the signature events. It’s not Le Mans but drivers rate it among their very favourite circuits.

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BMW has been fast in the past as a 12-Hour contender, famously having the turbo boost turned down on its M6 racer in 2019 when it was too fast for the opposition - but this time, it was back to write a record.

It arrived with a pair of M3s in very different competition colours, one with a black backdrop and the other on white, fielded by the Belgian-based MRT team which had won the 12-Hour with Audi in the past.

Five of its drivers were GT specialists and the other was ‘The Doctor’, legendary MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi. He is less known as a four-wheeled racer, but once tested for a place with Ferrari in Formula 1 and has become a regular and respected GT3 driver with BMW.

His star power was reflected in the giant queues of fans who rivalled the glory days of Peter Brock, with hour-long waits for an autograph and a near-constant honour guard for Rossi on his walk between the BMW compound and the pit garage.

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While Rossi was creating memories through practice and qualifying, BMW Australia had already scored its first hit with the global unveiling of the M3 CS Touring.

It was the first time any worldwide reveal had been staged in Australia, with the circuit itself serving as the backdrop. Touring wagons are on the slide globally, and Aussies have migrated to SUVs for family work over more than 20 years, but the M3 CS is still special.

It packs 405 kiloWatts and 650 Newton-metres for a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 300km/h. Apart from the wagon tail to set it apart from the M3 sedan and M4 coupe, the list of equipment runs to splashes of carbon fibre, forged alloy wheels, a strut brace and M Carbon brakes.

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BMW M5

Only 55 are set for Australia, priced from $253,900.

With the first course out of the way, attention turned to the main course and the pre-dawn start with the BMWs sitting fourth and 12th on the starting grid.

There was torrid action from the get-go, with contact and crashes – including a very rare mistake by Craig Lowndes, who took his Mercedes-AMG out of action when he hit a concrete wall.

It was shaping as a hare-and-tortoise battle, with a Ferrari 296 setting the pace – with Supercars drivers Chaz Mostert and Will Brown driving – and the BMWs advancing steadily with stealthy tactics. The M4 drivers were easing into the braking areas, not going full throttle, to save fuel as they set themselves for the run to the finish.

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The smart tactics at BMW became the winning move when Mostert peeled into the pits for a late top-up of fuel and the M4s ran home for a landmark one-two finish.

Kelvin van der Linde completed the final 34-lap run to the flag, but it was close, even for the BMWs.

“I had a fuel surge on the way to the podium ceremony, so it was very, very tight,” said van der Linde, who shared the winning car with his brother Sheldon and Augusto Farfus.

Rossi was one of the second-placed pilots, sharing with Charles Weerts and Raffaele Marciello, in a car wearing his signature #46. He was ecstatic.

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Hometown hero Kenny Habul – who owns a house on Conrod Straight after building a billion-dollar solar panel business in the USA – anchored his Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO for third place and an exuberant podium celebration including another ‘shoey’ for the former race winner. Ferrari was fourth and Porsche only sixth.

With the 12-Hour done, Mount Panorama was deserted but still challenging on Monday for brief track laps in the new M5. It’s a landmark car, still a V8 but also a plug-in hybrid, and there are plenty of questions about its weight of 2436 kilograms and a $259,900 price tag.

On the track, the car’s 535kW and 1000Nm rapidly overpower the heft and it is a surprisingly sharp tool. It can hustle while it hurtles over the top of the mountain, before winding out down Conrod at speeds which are 10km/h faster than the GT3 racers.

With the weekend done the focus is already shifting to 2026.

“I want to come back. I think I will come back – yes,” said Rossi, reflecting the thinking of everyone on team BMW.