The Bend MPC Audi takes convincing Race 2 victory at Philip Island

Christopher Mies and Yasser Shahin were on an absolute roll on Sunday for the second FANATEC GT World Challenge Australia race at Philip Island, top a podium dominated by Audis that had all the attention during the whole race, as the new R8 LMS GT3 Evo II was class of the field.

None of the guys looked worried to go three-wide to Turn 1 at the start, with the No. 1 The Bend MPC Audi taking advantage over the No. 888 Triple Eight Mercedes and the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi. The No. 24 C-Tech MPC Audi also jumped into the frontrunner party and found its way into third position by throwing the No. 888 even lower in the table.

Things moved quickly to a two-car battle for the lead as the No. 65 was glued into the No. 1’s back wing, but with both pros recording the best line lap after lap, Mostert’s policy was to wait for an opening and sit back while keeping Mies in his vision, but things had a tiny change of figure when they faced traffic, as the No. 65 had nowhere to go and got front end damage from an equally cornered No. 1.

With both leader and runner-up having to do some nursing along the regular service, the No. 24 C-Tech MPC Audi jumped in front, with Tony Bates trying to make the most of his advantage, especially as the No. 1 was coming closer with Yasser Shahin at the wheel. Unfortunately for Bates, the pace deficit was too much, and with a bit of extra force and some rubbing, the No. 1 got into first place, and the No. 24 eventually fell victim of the No. 65 too, restoring the order from before the pit window.

The final moments offered no problems to the No. 1 The Bend MPC Audi, so Yasser Shahin just had to bring it home to victory, followed by the No. 65 CoinSpot MPC Audi and the No. 24 C-Tech MPC Audi, while Brad Schumacher did a hero drive in the final minutes to not only stay with the Trophy class win but also get fourth place overall.

GTWC Australia Philip Island - Race 2 results

Matt Stoupas in the No. 23 KFC Audi had a comfortable run to the Am Cup win, and the No. 34 Harrolds Mercedes won the GT4 class.

Next to the calendar is the Bathurst 12 Hour weekend on 15 May, with extra incentives for the local teams as COVID restrictions in Australia made SRO and ARG change the class structure so the Pro-Am Cup became the top class for this edition.

PHOTO: SRO, ARG