Melbourne Performance Centre and The Bend Motorsport Park will be in party mode after the final double header of the first season of FANATEC GT World Challenge Australia, as Yasser Shahin had the company of Christopher Mies to help him secure the series title, which only required a win on Race 1 to be a success for those in the No. 777 Audi R8 LMS Evo GT3.
The No. 777 MPC Audi got the lead from the go after a mistake about the starting position from the No. 17 BRM Audi, which found the No. 69 Supabarn Audi, practically writing the race off and calling the first Safety Car intervention with less than a lap done.
With nearly 16 minutes spent on track clearing, the race was back with the No. 777 having the No. 65 Coinspot Audi all over its rear wing, isolating more and more as they battled for the first place, and Liam Talbot made the experience appear near the pit window as the No. 65 took the lead after a brake challenge at the end of the Conrod straight.
The pit window actually gave some room to breathe for Fraser Ross in the No. 65, but then the 11 seconds he had ahead of Christopher Mies in the No. 777 started going down, and with 8 minutes to go, Mies started the attack to overtake Ross two minutes later, reestablishing the No. 777 on the top spot, and the pace advantage at disposal was more than enough for a celebrated overall win for the No. 777, while the No. 65 settled for second, and the No. 96 Hobson Nissan won the Trophy class while completing the overall podium.
Figuring in the overall top-5 was the No. 124 KFC Audi, which held some high rated competition behind to take the Am Cup.
Race 2 started with the No. 4 Grove Porsche holding its lead from the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes, while from the back of the field the No. 777 MPC Audi had Christopher Mies on a mission, passing cars non-stop until he settled for sixth overall in round seven minutes.
While in pursuit of the Grove machine, Peter Hackett lost the rear of the No. 888 Mercedes, ending in the wall a second later, which triggered the first Safety Car intervention, bringing Mies closer to the leading pack than he was previously, but while it was thought there would be some green flag racing, the No. 51 AMAC Porsche also spins and crashes at the top of the mountain, getting the No. 69 Supabarn Audi in the process and keeping the race under yellow flags.
The No. 4 was still leading the pack when the green flag came after the pit window, having the No. 65 Coin Spot Audi and the No. 9 Hallmarc Audi going elbows out for second, with the No. 65 winning the duel and focusing efforts in getting first place. Once Talbot found room, he stuck in the inside and got the lead of the race, and the No. 96 Hobson Nissan followed the momentum and snatched the second place.
Brett Hobson looked set to catch Liam Talbot, but traffic and tire wear held him and his GT-R back, allowing the No. 65 Coin Spot Audi to win the race, while the No. 96 Hobson Nissan settled for Trophy honors and second overall.
GTWC Australia - Bathurst II event results
The No. 45 RAM Mercedes had to see someone else get the Am Cup win again on Sunday, as the No. 9 Hallmarc Audi got class honors from eighth place overall.
The results of the weekend crowned Yasser Shahin as the 2021 FANATEC GT World Challenge Australia champion with 168 points, while MPC team mate Garth Tander came in second with 143 points as he skipped the Bathurst finale due to Supercars commitments.
AMAC Motorsport lifted the Am Cup title with both Andrew MacPherson and Ben Porter as they scored 131 points against the 111 of Tony Quinn.
The Trophy class has the tightest of the fights, with Brad Schumacher’s 138 points being barely enough to hold Brett Hobson’s good moment, as he stopped on 130 points in the standings.
PHOTOS: SRO, ARG
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