Marcos Ambrose set for return to Aussie racing in Bathurst 6-hour event

Supercars great Marcos Ambrose is set for a long-awaited return to Mount Panorama, the site where he has been involved in some of Australian motorsport's most memorable and infamous moments. The two-time Supercars champion is finally realising a bid to compete in the upcoming Bathurst 6-Hour event, set to take place over the Easter weekend.

The 46-year-old had planned to come out of retirement last year to compete, only for mechanical issues to doom his entry before the race even began. Now, the two-time NASCAR Cup Series race winner joins George Miedecke and Tim Brook to compete for class honours in the GRM Ford Mustang.

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"I'm looking forward to finishing this story of the GRM Mustang that we built for the Miedeckes," Ambrose said. "It was supposed to run last year but we had issues with the transmission and the car just wasn't ready.

"They have been working on it in Queensland for a while, been testing and it's ready to go. I'm really looking forward to teaming up with George and Andrew (Miedecke), we've been good friends for a long time and it should be a good weekend enjoying the car and the race."

In addition to his duties behind the wheel, Ambrose will feature in the broadcast of the event. There are plans for him to immediately join the broadcast following his stints in the car to discuss it with the commentary team. It'll be a far cry from Ambrose's last proper outing at the circuit back in 2005, which ended in an controversial crash with Greg Murphy, a moment etched in the category's history.

Marcos Ambrose embracing 'old-school' in Bathurst return

Not all of Ambrose's memories at Bathurst are bad ones however - in his debut season in 2001 he was the first rookie driver to claim pole position at Mount Panorama since 1987. Ambrose said he was looking forward to the old-school feel of the event.

He last raced the Bathurst 1000 in 2015, when he made a brief comeback to the category for DJR Team Penske. "It's great to be part of the race and the broadcast team this year," said Ambrose. "I've been up there at the 6 Hour and it's become one of my favourite events to visit on the crew side.

"It feels old school to me, private teams, working on their cars all year for the one big race. There's lots of speed difference between the cars, different configurations and six hours is the perfect length for the race."

The endurance event forms a part of a huge fortnight of motorsport in Australia, with Formula One descending on Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix this weekend. While the grid will be absent seven-time race winner Daniel Ricciardo, home hopeful Oscar Piastri will give fans plenty to cheer about.

Piastri's first two races haven't quite been what the 21-year-old might have envisioned, with a retirement in his debut in Bahrain before a lap one incident in the subsequent Saudi Arabian GP ruined his chances. He had performed well in qualifying, starting from eighth, in what was ultimately a harsh outing for the McLaren driver.

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