The opening round of Monochrome GT4 Australia last weekend was dominated by the brand-new Ford Mustang GT4, with Miedecke Motor Group taking both races in a car they only received on Tuesday.
Both races went down to tight finishes, with the #35 Mustang of Miedecke and Gray challenged by the Method Motorsports McLaren of Flack and Hayman throughout the weekend. Ultimately, the pace of Gray in Race 1 and a drive-through Penalty for the #25 Method Motorsports car in Race 2 were enough for Gray and Miedecke to take a double victory, on a weekend celebrating 60 years of the Mustang in Australia.
A strong entry of 18 cars, including entrants from Mercedes, BMW, McLaren, Ford, Porsche and a sole Ginetta, took the track for the debut of the Monochrome GT4 Australia series, featuring some well-known names in Australian motorsport. Entries were split across 3 driver classes; Silver Cup, Pro-Am, and Am.
Qualifying 1 in damp conditions saw two of those names at the head of the field; Sam Brabham putting the #17 Love Motorsport Mercedes on pole ahead of Ryder Quinn’s #3 Thunder Buddies Racing BMW, with row 2 shared by the Method Motorsports McLarens of Marcos Flack and Nathan Morcom. Tim Leahey took Am class pole, down in 9th place overall in his #22 BMW.
In qualifying 2, Rylan Gray set pole in the #35 Miedecke Motorsport Mustang, with a 1:34.95 almost a full second and a half quicker than the rest of the field. Once again Method Motorsport locked out the next few positions; the #1 of Shane Smollen ahead of Tome Hayman in the #25 Mclaren, with Tim Leahey setting a great lap to be fourth overall and the Am leader.
Race 1
Race 1 was shortened to 40 minutes due to earlier barrier repairs from the GTWC Australia race, taking place as the last event on Saturday afternoon. A great start from Sam Brabham saw the #17 Mercedes lead from Steve Jakic in the #3 BMW in the early running, but Marcos Flack quickly brought the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren to the lead and broke out from the pack.
The battle pack from second down to 7th were almost nose to tail, with George Miedecke working his way through in the #35 Mustang to move into second, as Sam Brabham started to drop away in the #17 Mercedes, falling behind Steve Jakic’s #3 BMW, and struggling to stay ahead of Nathan Morcom in the #24 Method Motorsport McLaren, and Lachlan Mineeff’s #1 Method Motorsport Porsche, with Antonio Astuti just behind the group in the #27 Love Motorsport Mercedes.
There was drama at the pit stops though for Astuti and Mineeff; Astuti left his braking for pit entry way too late, smashing into the rear of Mineeff’s Porsche, and putting the Mercedes out of the race. Mineeff was able to get to the garage, and the team repaired the Porsche and put Smollen back out on track, but well behind the field.
Up front, Tome Hayman in the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren held a slender advantage over Rylan Gray’s #35 Miedecke Motorsport Mustang, but that very quickly disappeared as Gray put the hammer down. Gray decided to make the lunge through to the lead on the entry to Stoner corner, and popped out the other side of the fast, sweeping corner in the lead of the race. Hayman tried to battle through the hairpin, but couldn’t make inroads. Despite the gap not growing beyond 2 seconds for the rest of the race, Gray couldn’t be headed, taking a classy victory in the first race of Monochrome GT4 Australia.
Third place went to Tim Lahey in the #22 BMW, over 25 seconds back from the leaders. Tim was the biggest beneficiary of the troubles up ahead and powered on to Am-class honours and the overall podium.
The top 5 was rounded out by the second Method Motorsport McLaren – the #24 of Morcom and Bryan – followed by Jake Camilleri in the #26 Gomersall Motorsport Mercedes. Pro-Am honours went to the #26 Team DNA Racing pair of Josh Buchan and Jason Yu, finishing an impressive 9th after being excluded from both qualifying sessions, even after taking a 40-second post-race penalty for not fulfilling the minimum pit stop time.
Race 2
There was one fewer starter for Race 2 come Sunday morning, with the #27 Astuti/Love Mercedes withdrawn after the pit-lane entry crash on Saturday damaged the car beyond repair at the circuit. Compounding the repair for the team will be a 5-place grid penalty for the contact, next time out.
From the green, Gray started Race 2 where he left off race 1, taking the holeshot into turn 1, with Tome Hayman following into the Southern Loop. The Mustang and McLaren were the class of the field in the first stint, pulling away from the chasers to the tune of 20 seconds as the battles went on behind. Shane Smollen in the #1 Method Motorsport Porsche struggled off the front row, and lost bodywork at the rear of his GT4 Cayman, forcing that car into the lane to repair the damage.
Tim Leahey headed the chasing pack in the #22 BMW, ahead of Jake Camilleri in the #36 Gomersall Motorsport Mercedes, and the second Method Motorsport McLaren of Morcom and Bryan.
There was contact further down the field, with a big lockup at the Honda Hairpin from Steve Jakic in the #3 Thunder Buddies Racing BMW sending him into the side of Tony Quinn’s #101 Game Over Mercedes, forcing both cars out of the race. The awkward contact was compounded by the fact that Jakic’s co-driver, Ryder Quinn, is Tony Quinn’s grandson!
Much like the GTWC Australia, the Monochrome GT4 Australia series uses additional pit stop time as success penalties for competitors. This would mean that the Gray/Miedecke Mustang would need an additional 5 seconds in the pits compared to the #25 Flack/Hayman McLaren, as they came into the pits in the mid part of the race. However, the gap after the pit stops was out to over 18 seconds, with the #24 McLaren well up the road.
This caught the attention of race control, with the stewards handing down a pit-lane penalty to the #24 for not completing the required pit stop time – the team neglecting the additional 10s assigned to them for their second place yesterday.
This dropped the Flack/Hayman #25 McLaren down to second, and allowed George Miedecke a simple run to the line, to take a perfect weekend for himself and Rylan Gray in the #35 Miedecke Motorsports Ford Mustang GT4. Hayman and Flack finished second once again, with Jake Camilleri rounding out the podium in the #36 Gommersall Motorsport Mercedes.
The top Am runner once again was Tim Leahey, finishing fourth overall in the #22 BMW, while the top 5 was rounded out by the #24 Method Motorsport McLaren, who picked up a drive-through penalty for the same infringement as the sister car.
Pro-Am honours went to Mineeff and Smollen in the #1 Method Motorsport Porsche, who recovered to 8th place after having to repair the rear bodywork outside of the pit window.
Monochrome GT4 Australia joins the SpeedSeries bill at Shell V-Power Motorsports Park at The Bend for Round 2, alongside the GTWC Australia, on May 31-June 2, for the next round of the series.
