CoinSpot MPC Audi wins GTWC Australia Race 1 at Philip Island

The Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II recently got into the Australian market, but its first sample in the FANATEC GT World Challenge Australia was of the highest caliber possible, with the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi of Chaz Moster and Liam Talbot leading a 1-2 finish for Melbourne Performance Centre-run machines at Philip Island.

The start was some sort of surprise as Brett Hobson had no reservations on putting his big No. 96 Nissan GT-R GT3 in front of the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi, holding position until the first Safety Car intervention, caused by a crashed No. 11 Up to 11 Porsche Cup stopping in the barriers.

Things got sorted with 20 minutes of racing, but the order was also different as the pressured Hobson left the door open for both the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi and the No. 1 The Bend MPC Audi while the No. 4 Grove Porsche was hot on his rear wing, eventually finding the way past the Nissan before the pit window.

The moments right after the pit window showed no changes in the order, but a drop for the No. 24 C-Tech MPC Audi saw the No. 96 Hobson GWR Nissan fighting for dear life to defend the overall third place from the clutches of Shane van Gisbergen in the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes. Despite the deficit that the Mercedes AMG GT3 had over the weekend, van Gisbergen had enough pace to pass Hobson and start trying to chase the leading Audis.

Chaz Mostert and Christopher Mies were evenly matched in pace, so with the advantage that Mostert had, the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi was safe to go get the checkered flag while the No. 1 The Bend MPC Audi came home second and the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes completed the podium.

GTWC Australia Philip Island - Race 1 results

While not matching the pace of the Pro-Am Cup frontrunners, Brad Schumacher in the No. 55 Schumacher Audi took a convincing Trophy class win, mixing with the top class during a good part of the race and capitalizing on Brett Hobson’s drop in form.  The No. 2 KFC Audi won the Am Cup while the No. 34 Harrolds Mercedes won the GT4 class.