German-based Porsche team Manthey will partner with Australian’s EMA Motorsport to start its 2023 season at the Bathurst 12-Hour.

The pair will run under the Manthey EMA banner to field a Porsche 991.2 Generation Porsche GT3 R in the Pro class at the February 3-5 event.

EMA Motorsport celebrated its European debut at this year’s 24-hour race in Spa and most recently contested the eighth round of the Nurburgring Endurance Series with the support of Manthey.

This will be only the second time that the fan-favorite ‘Grello’ livery has run in the Southern Hemisphere. The iconic neon green and yellow design was seen previously competing at Mount Panorama with Manthey in 2018, when the team finished sixth.

EMA Motorsport makes a first appearance at the Bathurst 12 Hour with the Porsche 911 GT3 R, having previously raced at the mountain as part of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia grid earlier this year.

The race will also be one of the final appearances for the 991.2 iteration of the GT3 R in top-flight competition ahead of the new 992 generation joining grids from later in 2023.

The team is currently working through the final preparations ahead of the 2023 season-opening event, including finalizing the details of the Pro driver line-up.

“The season opener of the Intercontinental GT Challenge in Bathurst is a special highlight in the racing calendar, and we are looking forward to starting our motorsport year 2023 with this event together with EMA,” said Nicolas Raeder, managing director of Manthey Racing GmbH.

“With its hilly sections, the Mount Panorama Circuit is reminiscent of the Nordschleife and places very high demands on both the vehicle and the drivers.

“This is exactly where we’re experienced from our stints in the ‘Green Hell.’ And we clearly want to compete for victory in Australia.”