+ Result: Practice 3
12 Hour veteran Maro Engel has topped Practice 3 at the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hour for Mercedes-AMG Team GMR, whilst Valentino Rossi also showed impressive pace for Team WRT.
Engel, who will be driving with Belgian Maxime Martin and Canadian Mikael Grenier this weekend in the #888 Mercedes, set a 2:03.8510s to top the final all-in session of the day.
The German, who holds the 12 Hour qualifying record at a 2:00.8819s back in 2023, was buoyed by the result in the final all-in practice session of the day.
"It's great to be back here, always such a magical place I've loved driving," said the 39-year-old German post-session.
"We're here to try and get that win. Whether this is the year, I don't know, but we have a strong team, a strong car, and great teammates.
"The Mercedes-AMG GT3 is an amazing car, a proven race winner here and just very, very nice to drive. Good feedback and good handling, and that's exactly what you want at a place like this.
For the first time all weekend, track running occurred with a hot pit lane, allowing all 22 entries and teams to practice pit stops and refuelling before the 12 Hour race on Sunday.