New lap record for Bathurst

Once again, the GT3 lap record at the breath-taking Mount Panorama circuit – the home of the Bathurst 12 Hours – has been lowered. Although he just missed out on a record fourth win on ‘The Mountain' last weekend, instead finishing runner-up by just over two seconds, Frenchman Jules Gounon set a new fastest lap of 1m56.605s around the 6.213-kilometre Australian circuit, equating to an average speed of 191.82kph. Driving an unrestricted Mercedes-AMG GT3 on Pireli P Zero DHF tyres – supplied as standard to the Intercontinental GT Challenge – Gounon shattered the existing record in a special demonstration run before the start of the race by more than four seconds.

However, as the Mercedes he used did not conform to the exact GT3 regulations, the official lap record set by Maro Engel in qualifying last year still stands in the history books.

Bathurst is Australia's answer to the fabled Nurburgring: a swooping mountain track that takes no prisoners and provides both drivers and fans with a thrilling spectacle. Inaugurated in 1938, it is Australia's premier race venue, ranking alongside the Australian Grand Prix, which is also of course supplied by Pirelli.

The Bathurst 12 Hours attracts the top GT cars from the world's leading premium and prestige manufacturers, most of whom use Pirelli tyres as original equipment on their road cars. Bathurst also welcomes some of the best-known drivers from global endurance racing, who come to Australia to race alongside the top names from the local V8 Touring Car series.

Pirelli signed a new five-year agreement last weekend for the Bathurst 12 Hours that continues the relationship up to 2028.

The race was won this year by Matt Campbell, Ayhancan Guven, and Laurens Vanthoor in a Manthey Racing Porsche 911GT3R.