Alex Fontana will be part of the Tsunami R.T. crew for the 23rdedition of the Bathurst 12 Hour race at the wheel of the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) on 15 February 2026. The San Marino team, a leading contender in endurance racing in Europe and the Middle East, will be making its debut in Oceania in the continent’s most famous GT endurance race. For Alex Fontana, 2026 will see a return to the Mount Panorama circuit after his 2024 debut in the final round of the GT World Challenge Australia, which saw in him finish just outside the top 10 overall in both sprint races.
The Bathurst 12 Hour presents a unique scenario, staged on a rather atypical street circuit that twists and turns for 6.213 kilometres and has a maximum height difference of 174 metres between the lowest point and the top of the “Skyline” in the central sector. Added to the difficulties of what is an unusual layout by today’s standards are the elements of an endurance race, with a night-time start and having to cope with lapping cars from different categories. In 2025, the event attracted more than 50,000 spectators and brought together the stars of the GT3 world and the Mount Panorama specialists.
The team led by Valerio Speziali will be retaining the line-up already seen in the Middle East with Alex’s 2026 debut in the Dubai 24 Hours. In Australia, too, the Swiss driver’s teammates will be Fabio Babini, former winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Johannes Zelger, from Verona, who has made a name for himself on the international stage in the GT Open and GT Cup Europe series with Tsunami R.T. and finally New Zealander Daniel Gaunt, who has significant experience in Oceania, having finished third in the Carrera Cup Australia.
The Bathurst 12 Hour will be the first round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar. The SRO series is set to celebrate the 10thanniversary of the championship’s inception in 2016, the year Fontana competed in the 24 Hours of Spa with the McLaren 650 S GT3. Since then, the Lugano-born driver has taken part in at least one race in six different editions, the last of which was in 2024. The 2026 programme includes six practice sessions, followed by qualifying, which will conclude with the spectacular “Pirelli Pole Battle”, in which the leading drivers will battle it out, skimming the barriers to secure pole position. The race will start at 5:45 a.m. Australian time, which is 7:45 p.m. CET on Saturday 14 February.
The Bathurst 12 Hour presents a unique scenario, staged on a rather atypical street circuit that twists and turns for 6.213 kilometres and has a maximum height difference of 174 metres between the lowest point and the top of the “Skyline” in the central sector. Added to the difficulties of what is an unusual layout by today’s standards are the elements of an endurance race, with a night-time start and having to cope with lapping cars from different categories. In 2025, the event attracted more than 50,000 spectators and brought together the stars of the GT3 world and the Mount Panorama specialists.
The team led by Valerio Speziali will be retaining the line-up already seen in the Middle East with Alex’s 2026 debut in the Dubai 24 Hours. In Australia, too, the Swiss driver’s teammates will be Fabio Babini, former winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, Johannes Zelger, from Verona, who has made a name for himself on the international stage in the GT Open and GT Cup Europe series with Tsunami R.T. and finally New Zealander Daniel Gaunt, who has significant experience in Oceania, having finished third in the Carrera Cup Australia.
The Bathurst 12 Hour will be the first round of the 2026 Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar. The SRO series is set to celebrate the 10thanniversary of the championship’s inception in 2016, the year Fontana competed in the 24 Hours of Spa with the McLaren 650 S GT3. Since then, the Lugano-born driver has taken part in at least one race in six different editions, the last of which was in 2024. The 2026 programme includes six practice sessions, followed by qualifying, which will conclude with the spectacular “Pirelli Pole Battle”, in which the leading drivers will battle it out, skimming the barriers to secure pole position. The race will start at 5:45 a.m. Australian time, which is 7:45 p.m. CET on Saturday 14 February.
Alex Fontana
“It’s a great opportunity for me to support Tsunami R.T. in this race. It will be my first time at the Bathurst 12 Hour and I’m really looking forward to experiencing the excitement of this endurance event at the start of the year. I’ve already had the chance to race at Mount Panorama in 2024, but this will be a completely different scenario compared to a sprint race.”
“It’s a great opportunity for me to support Tsunami R.T. in this race. It will be my first time at the Bathurst 12 Hour and I’m really looking forward to experiencing the excitement of this endurance event at the start of the year. I’ve already had the chance to race at Mount Panorama in 2024, but this will be a completely different scenario compared to a sprint race.”