MARC Cars team ready for Bathurst return

FRESH from competing internationally at the Dubai 24 Hours, MARC Cars Australia drivers Darren Currie and Axle Donaldson head to the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour ready to challenge for Invitational class honours.

The pair will be joined by rising Super2 star Rylan Gray aboard a brand-new MARC II entry this year, one of a pair of the popular second-generation Aussie-built racers on the grid.

The other car is a recently rebuilt example to be driven by Keith Kassulke, Hadrian Morrall and Supercars young gun, Cameron McLeod, while additional cars will also run in the Combined Sedans field on the event undercard.

The #111 entry won their class last year with the pair – and the team – ready to defend their Bathurst title this year.

“Darren and Axle are back to defend the invitational class win for last year and are fresh off the back of the Dubai 24 hour,” explained MARC Cars Australia’s Matt Baragwanath.

“We have plenty of race miles under their belts and are ready to attack the mountain in Axle’s near new Marc 2.”

Added Currie and Donaldson: “We are pumped to be returning to the Mountain this year to defend our class title, there is some strong competition inside the invited class this year so both us and our team will need to be on our game!”

The MARC Cars team will run in a fiercely competitive Invitational category this year which is comprised of several endurance racing specials from around the world.

As well as the pair of MARC II racers, three IRC GTs will race as well as the popular KTM XBOW GT2 and the Aussie debut of the French-built Vortex racer.

It’s the largest and most competitive Invitational class field in seven years.

The team has released a bold new livery for the entry while also confirming they will again race for a charitable cause in this year’s event.

The team has donated a pair of corporate tickets in the sold-out Repco Bathurst 12 Hour Club for Saturday and Sunday of the event, to be auctioned off for charity prior to the weekend.

The tickets will be actioned off to the highest bidder at a Friday night gathering of ‘Shakedown’ forum members at Bathurst’s iconic Oxford Hotel, with funds going towards the Childhood Cancer Association, who provides practical, hands-on support to children with cancer, and their families.

Last year, the team auctioned off the roof of their first-generation MARC Cars racer, signed by the entire field and featuring a large Valentino Rossi graphic as a welcome to the international racing legend.