THERE’S HUGE ANTICIPATION from Audi fans for the quad-ringed mob to enter two R8s into one of the world’s most prestigious endurance races, the Australian Bathurst 12-hour, to defend its title.

The Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia is traditionally famous for The Bathurst 1000 - a 1000km (620 miles) race held annually in October, which traces its history to the 1960 Armstrong 500. It is known among fans and broadcasters as “The Great Race”, and is widely regarded as the pinnacle of Australian motorsport. Since 2000, the race has been run exclusively for V8 Supercars and is now a round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Winners receive the Peter Brock Trophy, in honour of nine-time Bathurst winner Peter Brock, the most successful driver in the history of the race.

At the 12-hour event held 24-26 February, though, it’s a more international affair, and Audi’s two R8’s will be sporting local-friendly livery to commemorate the event. The two Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS racecars will take on a distinctly Australian appearance: one for Australian drivers to compete in featuring the ‘Redback Spider’ look and international drivers to compete in the ‘Kangaroo’. Way tacky, but kind of cool.

Australian drivers Craig Lowndes, Warren Luff and Mark Eddy will be driving a white R8 LMS, complete with a graphic of a ‘Redback Spider’ sitting in a black web that covers the entire surface of the car. The International team of Christer Jöns, Christopher Mies and Darryl O’Young will race a black R8 LMS, with the world famous yellow traffic sign that depicts a kangaroo reproduced on the bodywork.