Vodaphone team up with legendary trio for Bathurst 12 Hour

Multinational telecommunications conglomerate, Vodaphone, has come on board to help Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Triple Eight teammate Shane van Gisbergenbe win the 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour.

One of the most legendary entries to ever grace the roads of Mount Panorama will be competing at next year’s half-day marathon under the iconic Team Vodafone banner.

Between them, the three drivers have 15 wins and 29 podiums across the Bathurst 1000 and 12 Hour.

Triple Eight will be teaming up with Scott Taylor Motorsport to field the number 888 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

With Whincup as co-driver, STM finished second in the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hour and went on to claim this year’s Australian GT Endurance Championship and for Triple Eight, their only previous foray into the Bathurst 12 Hour was in 2017 alongside Maranello Motorsport when Lowndes, Whincup and Tony Vilander steered the team to pole position and outright victory.

“It’s sort of like the old rat pack back together again, although we’ve got Shane on board,” 2018 Bathurst 1000 winner, Lowndes said.

“The car has lots of memories of when we had Vodafone on the supercar, but it’s great to see the old colours back, great memories for that era.

“Hopefully the three of us can do Vodafone, Scott Taylor Motorsport and Triple Eight very proud.

Of the three drivers, van Gisbergen is the GT expert, having won the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in 2016.

“I think every year the event gets bigger and bigger as more European teams and drivers come out, more Australian Supercars guys jump in it too and it just seems to get tougher and tougher every year and the fans support that,” van Gisbergen said.

Vodafone Chief Commercial Officer, Ben McIntosh, said that he is proud to support the team and see Vodafone red back on iconic Mount Panorama.

“We jumped at the chance to support such a strong team entry.

“With these three experienced competitors behind the wheel, backed by Vodafone, the Bathurst 12 Hour event is sure to be a spectacle for competitors, sponsors and fans alike,” he said.

Alongside Vodafone, the no. 888 AMG will enjoy the support of Caltex and National Storage.

The 2019 Bathurst 12 Hour takes place from 31 January to 3 February, with the race being broadcast live across the Seven network.