MOTORSPORT: Factory SLS campaign for Bathurst?

Does Mercedes-Benz have racing officials at Mount Panorama? That's the scuttlebutt this week as the Australian motor racing fraternity turns its attention to the classic NSW circuit and its iconic enduro.

Though Mercedes has ruled out any participation in the V8 Supercar series, motoring.com.au understands that officials from its racing department will be at Bathurst this weekend, to assess whether the company will compete officially in next February's Bathurst 12-Hour race.

The 12-hour race features a mix of production and GT class cars in a similar mould to the Nurburgring 24-hour classic.

This year Audi surprised local race aficionados with a last minute R8 LMS two-car entry for the event — and the company is expected to return next year also. It's understood that Mercedes' customer racing department is assessing the viability of a multi-car entry in the 2012 event, using SLS GT3s. The company is currently supporting local privateer Peter Hackett in an SLS Gullwing in the GT Production series.

As we've reported in the past, visiting DTM driver Bernd Schneider and execs from AMG out here for the launch of the C 63 AMG back in 2008 were very impressed by the track. It's quite likely that the current push for Benz to enter the 12-hour event next year is coming from Schneider, who did say three years ago that he would like to run a DTM race at Mount Panorama. That has since been knocked on the head after it was established that the low-riding German tourers wouldn't have enough suspension travel to cope with the esses.

There's no official word from Benz to confirm or deny any of this, however.

"No comment at this stage," was the response from Senior Manager Corporate Communications at Mercedes-Benz Australia, David McCarthy, when motoring.com.au put the question to him.

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