While the fast and flowing nature of the Phillip Island circuit helped spice things up, the pair of races that opened the 2024 FANATEC GT World Challenge Australia delivered more than expected, showing a level of competitiveness that would rival with any of the previous seasons, with the No. 1 Arise GT Ferrari 296 GT3 of Liam Talbot and Chaz Mostert having the top step of the podium on Saturday, while the Sunday was commanded by a stellar performance of the No. 7 Dayle ITM/MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Tim Miles and Brendon Leitch.
The start of the first race had Audi vs. Ferrari side by side as the No. 8 Arise entry took the lead while the No. 87 Shaw & Partners/Kelso Audi was barely trailing it, but the problem for Brad Schumacher was that he was falling prey of the No. 181 OnlyFans Audi and the No. 1 Arise Ferrari.
With 15 minutes of action, the No. 181 took second place from the No. 87 as Schumacher was struggling to find grip, and once Paul Stokell was free, he started to reduce the gap to Elliott Schutte, and seven minutes later, Stokell puts the No. 181 ahead as the speed was in his favor. The No. 1 Arise Ferrari had time to pass the No. 87 before the pit window, allowing both Arise GT cars to regroup and push to mount an attack on the No. 181, but not only the team was having trouble trying to position their cars as the No. 1 was faster, but also some rain fell briefly on the track, creating a dilemma as to wether it would be good to stay or stop, though the spin of the No. 24 TBR Mercedes proved it would be too slippery to stay.
The No. 181 was in between the Arise GT cars, but the podium lasted only two corners as the No. 8 Arise Ferrari passed and Renee Gracie spun once it touched the Turn 2 kerbs, which opened the way for the No. 7 Dayle ITM Audi after it passed the No. 87 Shaw & Partners/Kelso Audi, and Brandon Leitch was totally in place with the slippery surface, enough to pass the No. 8 for second place after it lost grip for a moment.
Unfortunately, the fight for the lead wasn’t possible as the No. 16 Black Wolf Mercedes was smashed into the tire barriers at full straight line speed, leaving a partially dismantled car in the way and an even more dismantled tire barrier, which brought the Safety Car until the race was red flagged with 3 minutes to go with the No. 1 Arise Ferrari in first. To make matters worse for the No. 7, a time penalty was issued for passing under yellow flags, sending it out of the podium.
The No. 44 Valmont/Tigani Audi won the Am Cup, mixed between the Pro-Am Cup field in an overall top-10 finish.
GTWC Australia - Philip Island Race 1 results
The second race started with contact, as the No. 45 RAM Motorsport Mercedes was shown the way to the grass while the rest of the field stood between the white lines, led by the No. 66 Realta/Tigani Mercedes but with the No. 1 Arise Ferrari right at its back wing.
Jayden Ojeda and Chaz Mostert were bringing along Brendon Leitch in the No. 7 Dayle ITM Audi, but were more into their own battle with the lead in play. Mostert was using of his experience to throw Ojeda off his line, but pace was too similar to make a move, which was attracting the No. 7 to the fight, which would have massive repercusions in a high speed track like Philip Island.
Arise GT stopped their Ferraris earlier in the window, but a collection of mistakes for Liam Talbot basically ruined their possible undercut, as he stalled the car to avoid pitlane contact, got stuck into the pit limiter and then spun on Turn 2, where the No. 1 finally released the No. 8 to race.
Basically, the whole meed threw the No. 7 in the lead with the No. 66 in second and the No. 87 Shaw & Partners Audi in third, but the No. 66 was falling more into the No. 87`s view than attacking the No. 7, to a point where Oaul Lucchtti had Brad Schumacher all over him, and with 15 minutes to go, the No. 87 was finally second.
Schumacher wasn`t happy with just second place and went all over to chase Tim Miles, and after haunting him for 8 minutes, schumacher didn’t find the way on Turn 2 and spun in the penultimate lap, basically leaving open way to the No. 7 Dayle ITM Audi to catch the checkered flag.
The No. 66 Realta/Tigani Mercedes still got second place, and Schumacher still salvaged a podium by beating Liam Talbot to put the No. 87 Shaw & Partners Audi in third. The No. 22 MPC Audi finished as the best Am Cup car behind the whole Pro-Am Cup field.
GTWC Australia - Philip Island Race 2 results
The series will return to action in a month, with The Bend being the host on 1 and 2 June.
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