Fourth Safety Car brings several contenders back into Bathurst 12 Hour

THE fourth BMW M Safety Car intervention of the day just short of the halfway mark of the 2026 Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour has brought several key contenders back into the fight.

The first use of the wave by procedure for the day has brought no less than four Pro class entries back onto the lead lap, with a total of 15 cars on the lead lap at the halfway mark.

After three Safety Cars in the first two hours of the race, the race settled down into a long green flag run, where the #2 Corvette just quietly extended its advantage at the front of the field.

However, another car quietly working it's way forward has been the #888 Mercedes-AMG Team GMR Mercedes, which after starting in 30th on the grid has worked its way into a genuine fight for victory.

Cam Waters handed the #222 Scott Taylor Motorsport entry over to Thomas Randle with just over six and a half hours remaining at the end of lap 133, the all-Aussie crew remaining well in the hunt.

It wasn't all smooth sailing for the pole-sitter, who found himself squeezed off the road by Valentino Rossi whilst battling for third, with Rossi picking up a bad sportsmanship flag for his efforts.

However, there was another twist when the green run was ended by the #15 Volante Rosso McLaren, which clouted the wall in The Esses with Rylan Gray at the wheel.

That meant those who hadn't pitted could cycle through to the lead, with the #75 Mercedes of 75 Express electing to do a brake change with the field slowed under the control of the Full Course Yellow limiter.

The #888 Mercedes also stopped under Safety Car, allowing it to cycle to the lead, with Jules Gounon installed into the #75 and leaping into second.

The timing of the yellow in the pit cycle only left eight cars on the lead lap, however the wave by procedure brought several back into contention.

Of the Pro entries, the #911 Porsche, #55 Audi, #26 Ferrari, and crucially the #32 BMW all got back onto the lead lap, a huge free kick for the BMW in particular after Lap 1, Turn 1 damage.

It was a calm restart for the leaders, with Randle muscling Ben Barnicoat in the #95 Optimum Motorsport McLaren wide at Griffins Bend.

At the official halfway mark, the #888 Mercedes (Mikael Grenier) led the #75 Mercedes (Gounon), #46 BMW (Augusto Farfus), #222 Mercedes (Randle), and the #77 Mercedes (Lucas Auer).

In the class battles, the lead of the Bronze class was fiercely disputed in an all-Porsche duel as Anders Fjordbach (#86 High Class Racing) and Ralf Bohn (#21 Herberth Motorsport) duked out for several laps.

Ultimately it was Fjordbach who got the upper hand, however the Herberth entry has regained the class lead following the #86 topping off on fuel under Safety Car.

The #193 Ferrari of Ziggo Sport Tempesta by ARGT Ferrari is second in class ahead of the #86, with all three cars a lap ahead of the competition.

The Pro-Am class is being led by the #45 RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes, which has a one lap advantage over the #99 Johor Motorsports Racing JMR Corvette.