Skaife, Longhurst and Ingall in one car in next year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour makes for a stellar driver lineup of surely unparalleled experience, even if all three have been absent from full time professional for a number of years – more than 10 years, in Longhurst’s case.

Between them they boast 10 Bathurst 1000 wins. Skaife has won it six times, Ingall and Longhurst are two-time winners.

The car is a brand-new BMW M6 GT3 which will compete as part of the two-car effort from BMW Team SRM. Team leader Steven Richards heads a yet-to-be named driver squad in the other M6 GT3.

While Skaife and Ingall these days work together as part of Foxsport’s V8 Supercar TV coverage commentary team, they were not so friendly during their careers on the track. Such was the bitterness of the rivalry between them that 10 years ago it would have seemed inconceivable to ever see them sharing the same car.

“Who would have thought that myself and Mark Skaife would be pairing up together to do an endurance race?” Ingall said. “I would say nobody. And when you look at someone like Tony Longhurst, who has been integral in putting this whole programme together, and you look at the Bathurst wins between the three of us, this is people who know how to win Bathurst and are very passionate about racing. It’s going to be fantastic.

“Make no mistake, we are taking this seriously. We’re going there to try and win the race.”

Skaife also reflected on the unlikelihood of the driver pairing, given the on-track history between himself and Ingall.

“Who would have thought I’d have a team-mate like Russell Ingall at some stage?

“We won’t go there and not do a good job. You can’t go to a place like Bathurst and have the tiger by the tail, you have to go there and be able to drive the car properly. I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t.

“BMW are very serious about it, and we’ve got some great corporate partners too. The way we’re going to go about this is as good as we can do it. At the end of the day, we want to surprise a few people.”

The third of Skaife’s six Bathurst wins was shared with Longhurst. Of the three Bathurst legends, Longhurst is the only one to have won the Bathurst 12 Hour.

While Skaife and Ingall are new to BMW, much of Longhurst’s success in his touring car career came as a factory BMW driver.

“I started my career back in 1984 with Jim Richards, and this will be my last time at The Mountain with Steve Richards,” Longhurst said. “That’s pretty neat. And to do it with BMW, that’s very special for me. The best moments of my career have been in BMWs, but what a difference between the M6 GT3 and the 635 that I drove in 1984…

“We’ve got a trick team. We’re very, very fortunate to have Mark and Russell on board, and Steve and this team. We’ve got the cream of the crop. We’ve got the right people around us, no egos, it’s nice and calm.”

The Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour for GT3 sports cars takes place on February 5 next year.