Final Bathurst 6 Hour field set

The 150-plus drivers spread across 62 entries for the 2021 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour have been confirmed.

As well as former winners of Australia’s largest Production Car enduro, the grid includes Supercars champions, the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion, 12-Hour winners and legends of the sport.

There’s also a significant family theme in this year’s field with no less than four entries fielding drivers from within the same family.

The star-studded entry list includes the most recent Bathurst 6 Hour winners, Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey, who return to defend their 2019 crown aboard their BMW M3 Competition.

The duo won the 2019 race by a full lap, setting a new six-hour distance record by completing 131 laps (813km) across the six-hours.

2018 champions Sherrin Racing also return for another crack at victory, though this year it will be experienced Supercars co-driver David Russell joining Grant Sherrin behind the wheel of their BMW M4.

The addition of the Ford Mustang to the eligibility list has drawn four of the V8-powered coupe’s to the list, with a raft of well-qualified combinations set to drive them.

Among them include the Local Legends-backed entry owned by Tony Quinn, who will share his car with Grant Denyer and Carrera Cup racer Tim Miles.

2017 6-Hour winner Paul Morris will share George Miedecke’s entry while race regulars Coleby Cowham and Lindsay Kearns will share another.

Morris is the only driver in Bathurst history to win the three current Mount Panorama ‘majors’ – the 6 Hour, 12 Hour and Bathurst 1000.

Of the others on the grid, John Bowe and Shane van Gisbergen could join that elite list should they win on Sunday.

The family theme includes several famous and successful Bathurst surnames appearing for the second or third generation on Mount Panorama.

Cousins Ben (son of Jason) and Jude (son of Harry) Bargwanna will share a Volkswagen Golf GTI for the first time in an attempt to mirror their respective fathers’ class victory in the 1992 Bathurst 1000.

Meanwhile, brothers Nicholas, Ben and Cameron McLeod will share a HSV Astra VXR entered by their father, Ryan.

They’ll be the third generation of McLeod’s to tackle the race following in the foosteps of their dad and 1987 Bathurst 1000 winner, Peter.

It’s not the first time an all-McLeod combination has tackled a Bathurst enduro, either; Peter and Ryan shared a Holden Commodore in the 1994, 1995, and 1996 Bathurst 1000s, before the pair were joined by Gerard McLeod for two Bathurst 12 Hour campaigns in 2009 and 2010 – winning their class in the second year.

In another all-family squad, three-time Bathurst 1000 podium finisher Steven Ellery will pair with his two sons, Tristan and Dalton, in a BMW M3.

The Ellery juniors are both well credentialed karters with Ellery senior, who finished third in the 1996, 2003 and 2005 Bathurst 1000 races, to make a racing comeback at a national level next weekend.

The trio will drive a BMW M3 prepared by reigning 6-hour champion, Beric Lynton’s team.

Meanwhile, father and son duo Tony and Kyle Alford will be one of the four combinations entered driving another brand-new Ford Mustang GT.

Current Supercars stars entered include Shane van Gisbergen and Tim Slade, while former Super Touring and Supercars privateer Cameron McLean will make a racing return this weekend – sharing a Ford Mustang with young-gun Bayley Hall and Steve Hay.

The vastly experienced Craig Baird will share a HSV Commodore, while double Bathurst 1000 champion and former 12-hour winner John Bowe will also be HSV bound, sharing a VF GTS with Barry Sternbeck and Tony Virag.

Other notable names on the grid include one-make Porsche young-guns Madeline Stewart, Matthew Payne, Bayley Hall and Ryan Suhle, S5000 racer Antonio Astuti and Triple Eight Super2 star Angelo Mouzouris.

Across the eight classes, only the outright-winning BMW of Beric Lynton and Tim Leahey are able to defend their crown this year – no other former class winners re-forming in their previous incarnations this year.

Tickets remain on sale via Ticketmaster for the event this weekend, while tickets will also be available for purchase at the gate.

Action from the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour will be broadcast live and free on the screens of Seven this weekend.

Car #	Class	Driver A	Driver B	Driver C	Car Make	Car Model
4	A1	Anthony Soole	Dylan Thomas		BMW	M4
6	A1	Rod Salmon	Steve McLaughlan	Neale Muston	Mercedes-Benz	A45
9	A1	Hadrian Morrall	Tyler Mecklem		Mitsubishi	Lancer EVO
15	A1	Michael Kavich	Ben Kavich		Mitsubishi	Lancer EVO RS
17	A1	Jessy Bryan	Cody Donald	Angelo Mouzouris	BMW	M1
19	A1	Jimmy Vernon	Mark Griffith		Mitsubishi	Lancer EVO RS
33	A1	Aaron McGill	Michael Caine		Ford	Falcon GT-F
42	A1	Garth Walden	Michael Auld		Mercedes- Benz	A45
45	A1	Michael Sheargold	Brett Hobson	Ollie Shannon	Mercedes-Benz	AMG
50	A1	Cem Yucel	Iain Salteri		Volkswagen	Golf R
52	A1	Mark Eddy	Dean Grant		Audi	TTRS
55	A1	Daniel Flanagan	Merrick Malouf		Mitsubishi	Lancer EVO RS
57	A1	Dimitri Agathos	Matthew Boylan		Mitsubishi	EVO X RS
59	A1	Ian Geekie	Anthony Carolan	Grant Stephenson	BMW	1M
67	A1	Jeremy Gray	Jeff Hume	Stephan Robinson	Ford	GTF
77	A1	Zac Raddatz	Jack Winter		Mitsubishi	EVO 9
7	A2	Tony Quinn	Grant Denyer	Tim Miles	Ford	Mustang GT
16	A2	Jason Simes	Anthony Levitt		Mercedes-Benz	AMG C63
18	A2	Graeme Muir	Jamie Hodgson		Holden HSV	GTS
23	A2	Michael James	Antonio Astuti	Ryan Suhle	Holden HSV	GTS
25	A2	Coleby Cowham	Lindsay Kearns		Ford	Mustang GT
28	A2	Bayley Hall	Steve Hay	Cameron McLean	Ford	Mustang GT
29	A2	Darren Forrest	Paul Razum		Holden HSV	R8 Clubsport
29	A2	Darren Forrest	Paul Razum		Holden HSV	R8 Clubsport
44	A2	Daniel Clift	Ashley Heffernan		Holden HSV	R8 Clubsport
49	A2	Tony Alford	Kyle Alford		Ford	Mustang
53	A2	Robert Coulthard	Trevor Symonds		Holden	CSV Monaro
64	A2	Chris Lillis	Josh Muggleton	Mathew Holt	Holden	HSV Clubsport R8
95	A2	George Miedecke	Paul Morris		Ford	Mustang GT
48	B1	Scott Gore	Keith Bensley		BMW	135i
82	B1	Peter O’Donnell	Peter Johnston	Garry Mennell	BMW	335i
40	B2	James Herington	Arthur Tsovolos	Drew Russell	Holden	Commodore SSV
73	B2	Matthew Forbes-Wilson	Ashley Seisun	Michael Ferns	Holden	SSV Lowndes
20	C	Robin Lacey	Matilda Mravicic	Peter Lacey	VW	Scirocco
3	C	Nicholas McLeod	Ben McLeod	Cameron McLeod	Holden HSV	Astra VXR
5	C	Doug Westwood	Cody Gillis		BMW	M3
13	C	Colin Osborne	Rick Bates		Renault	Megane
31	C	Josh Haynes	Kaide Lehmann		Renault	Megane
37	C	Jake Camilleri	Scott Nicholas		Mazda	MPS3
47	C	John Fitzgerald	Scott Turner	Urs Muller	BMW	130i
51	C	Chris Holdt	Madeline Stewart	David Ling	Holden HSV	Astra VXR
84	C	James Hay	Paul Hansell	Patrick Navin	VW	Scirocco
89	C	David Krusza	Jake Williams		BMW	135i
11	D	Mitchell Maddren	Mathew Payne	Murray Dowsett	Subaru	BRZ
24	D	Graeme Heath	David Hassall	Stephen Stockdale	Toyota	86 GTS
36	D	James Holloway	Michael Holloway	David Brown	Toyota	Celica
71	D	Ben Bargwanna	Jude Bargwanna		VW	Golf GTi
78	D	Jason Walsh	Alan Letcher	Ben Crossland	KIA	Proceed
86	D	Richard Mork	Ric Shaw	Tom Shaw	Toyota	86 GTS
14	D	Lachlan Mineeff	Thomas Sargent		Toyota	86 GTS
2	E	David Worrell	Andrew McMaster		Mazda	3 SP25
35	E	Brianna Wilson	Jake Lougher	Philip Alexander	Mazda	3-SP25
43	E	Michael Hopp	Steve McHugh	Michael Rice	Suzuki	Swift Sport RS416
46	E	Ian Cowley	Daniel Natoli	Matt Thewis	Suzuki	Swift Sport RS416
1	X	Beric Lynton	Tim Leahey		BMW	M3
8	X	Bradley Carr	Tim Slade		BMW	M3
21	X	Simon Hodges	Mark Caine		BMW	M4
27	X	Grant Sherrin	David Russell		BMW	M4
34	X	Christopher Manley	Calum Jones		BMW	M3
41	X	Tony Virag	John Bowe	Barry Sternbeck	Holden HSV	GTS
97	X	Shane Smollen	Rob Rubis	Shane van Gisbergen	BMW	M4
99	X	Steven Ellery	Tristan Ellery	Dalton Ellery	BMW	M3