Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS
Will Brown and Brad Schumacher became the fourth different winners for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS 2024 season after claiming today’s sole one-hour race.
Behind the wheel of the Shaw & Partners/Kelso Electrical/Team Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2, the duo ended up taking out the race win over Ferrari 296 GT3 drivers Chaz Mostert and Liam Talbot, Arise Racing GT teammates Jaxon Evans and Elliot Schutte crossed the line a further seven seconds behind.
Crossing the line more than 18 seconds ahead of the two Ferraris, the victory came off the back of a solid opening stint from Brown, who produced a brilliant manoeuvre to slot into second after the Am Class pit stop cycle.
Chasing down Mostert for the race lead, Brown then put in a brilliant lap when Mostert went into the pits to successfully complete the overcut and give the car to Schumacher with a good advantage.
Schumacher then continued Brown’s good work and didn’t relinquish the lead for the rest of the race – crossing the line for the pair’s first race win together.
The victory then helped the pair secure overall round honours over Mostert and Talbot by just two points, while yesterday’s winners Declan Fraser and Peter Hackett ended the weekend in third.
In the AM class, Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden held onto the win in race two to secure the class win for the round, beating James and Theo Koundouris by eight seconds in the race, as well as the round.
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS continues at Queensland Raceway on 2-4 August.
Trico Trans Am Series
Reigning Trico Trans Am Series champion James Moffat’s title defence received a major boost today after the Victorian picked up the round win in South Australia.
Despite not winning a race today, Moffat’s two runner-up finishes, along with yesterday’s podium and victory saw him take out the overall round results over Todd Hazelwood and Jordan Boys.
Both Hazelwood and Boys picked up wins in today’s races with the former’s victory in the morning putting him in the box seat to win the round – only for a five second penalty in the afternoon race to demote him to fourth behind James Golding and hand Moffat the round win.
Boys was the big winner in that final race as he took advantage of the skirmish between Hazelwood and Moffat to gain the lead on the third lap – a position he held onto for the rest of the 16-lap race.
The victory leapfrogged Boys above Nathan Herne to the outright podium by just one point., while Golding comfortably locked in fifth place overall.
The Trico Trans Am Series continues midway through next month with the fifth round of the season to take place at Race Queensland on 12-14 July.
Monochrome GT4 Australia
Round one winners George Miedecke and Rylan Gray overcame a challenging start to Race Tailem Bend to take out the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series’ second outing.
The Miedecke Motorsport/Lubrimaxx pair had a race to forget yesterday when they were disqualified post-race but delivered a special performance in their Ford Mustang today with a strong 11 second victory over Marcos Flack and Tom Hayman.
Right from the outset, the #35 Ford Mustang was on a roll and grabbed the lead early, but faced pressure from Monochrome GT4 Australia reigning champion Shane Smollen in his Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 MR CS.
Despite the pressure, Gray and Miedecke both put in good stints that helped them enjoy a lights-out to chequered flag victory, while Flack and Hayman’s second place in the McLaren Artura helped them grab the overall round win.
Crossing the line just under one second behind Flack and Haymen was another McLaren Artura, with Nathan Morcom and Tom McLennan’s third place continued to them securing a round runner-up finish.
Smollen and Method Motorsport teammate Lachlan Mineeff ended the second race in outright fourth place, which sealed them the Pro-Am victory after beating Josh Buchan and Jason Yu in both races.
Jacob Lawrence’s outright 10th place saw him seal back-to-back victories in the AM Cup, as well out overall round honours.
The Monochrome GT4 Australia Series resumes at Queensland Raceway on 2-4 August.
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia
Oscar Targett and Clay Osborne were in the thick of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia action in both affairs with the two title contenders having been sent down the order in the morning’s endurance race before climbing their way back up the field in the final race.
Claiming the win in that first chaotic race was Brock Gilchrist, who capitalised on a small incident involving Osborne and Targett, and led at every stage after taking the lead on the second lap.
With a mountain to climb, Targett worked extremely hard in the 24-lap race and took advantage of the multiple safety car restarts to finish in second place ahead of Aron Shiels – only for the two to be one of many receiving post-race penalties and relegated multiple positions.
Jake Santalucia and Hamish Fitzsimmons were elevated to second and third as a result of the penalties, setting them up for a big charge, while Targett’s final classified position was P14.
When it came to that final race, the Grove Racing junior produced one of the most mesmerising performances, charging his way through the field to claim victory in the final round.
By the first lap, Targett had made up seven positions, and by the end of the fourth, he had worked his way into third place.
Dropping back down to fourth, the Queenslander was then given second place when Gilchrist and Osborne had an incident with each other, which elevated Fitzsimmons to the lead, who received a penalty himself post-race, giving Targett the race win.
Targett’s final race win helped him pick up the outright and Pro class win, while a victory in the morning and a top five in the last race saw Pan Boyaci top the Pro-Am Class. Two victories for Jacque Jarjo today helped the New South Welshman to the Class B win.
The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series’ third round of the season will be at Queensland Raceway on 2-4 August.
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series
Zac Soutar ended the fourth round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series on top of the standings after a perfect Sunday where he won both of the category’s races.
Starting from the front row in the reverse-grid race due to a disappointing result yesterday, Soutar got the jump on polesitter and title rival, Ben Bargwanna early and led the field for the full 17-lap race.
Not putting a foot wrong in the race, Soutar broke away from the chasing pack to finish more than seven seconds ahead of Brad Harris and Josh Buchan, who made up six places.
With the grid recalculated for the final race based on the previous two outings, Buchan started from pole and Soutar in third, with the consistent Jordan Cox splitting the two.
Buchan was slow to get off the line when the race began and fell multiple positions, as Cox and Soutar took advantage of the New South Welshman’s costly start.
Soutar eventually snatched the lead off Cox after the New South Welshman lost his way at the end of the sixth lap and endured a half spin, giving Soutar the lead.
With Buchan making up places to slot back into second place, he attempted to hunt down Soutar, but the Tuff Loift Racing driver held on for the win by half a second.
Buchan’s recovery drive to second saw him claim the overall round win over Soutar, while Cox rounded the round podium despite falling to seventh in the finale.
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series returns to action next month at Race Queensland Raceway on 12-14 July.
Precision International Sports Sedans Series
Thomas Randle completed a clean sweep of wins in a perfect Sunday to take out the Precision Sports Sedans Series round at Race Tailem Bend.
The series was one of the first of the weekend to wrap up its round and it was the returning Victorian who picked up maximum points having beaten Geoff Taunton and Peter Ingram.
On Sunday, Randle experienced two different types of races on his way to the outright victory, which started out with a comfortable seven second win in race two over Ingram, while Taunton finished third a further 16 seconds off.
The series then capped off its weekend with an epic finale as Steve Tamasi enjoyed a brilliant start off the line to leapfrog Randle, Ingram and Taunton and take the lead on the opening lap.
Tamasi then did his best to keep the Holden Calibre in top spot, but his tyres began to give way in the final stages of the race, as Randle managed to pip his fellow statesman on the third last lap.
Up until that point, Randle had been made to work extremely hard for the win after a sluggish start of the line saw him drop to fourth on the opening lap, forcing him to work his way past Taunton, Ingram and then eventually Tamasi for the win.
Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars
The Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars had just one race today, which was won by Grant Sherrin.
Sherrin’s victory in the final race saw him claim outright honours over Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell, while Nathan Callaghan and Chris Lillis rounded out the overall podium.
While Sherrin snatched the outright round win over Crick and Campbell, the two entries couldn’t be separated in the Class X points, with both picking 130 points across the weekend and sharing top honours.
Not only did Callagan and Lillis produce a strong outright performance, but they also picked up a class win, dominating the A2 class in every race..
In the A1 class, Paul Buccini ended up with the victory after picking up his only win of the weekend this morning due to a DNF for three-time race winner Chris Sutton, as the BMW M140i driver’s three runner-up finishes earlier this weekend contributing to his round win.
Other class winners included Kate Buccini and Courtney Prince in B1, Damien Croxon in B2 and Allan Jarvis in Class C.
The Meguiar’s Australian Production Cars next round of its 2024 season will be Race Queensland on 12-14 July.
