The penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Australia Championship got underway at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend, South Australia, with Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday.
After topping both practice 1 and 3, the #66 Realta Tigani Mercedes AMG at the hands of Jayden Ojeda topped qualifying 1, setting a 1:45.20 to lead the field by over a tenth for tomorrow’s grid, while Qualifying 2 saw Liam Talbot snag pole by 0.048 of a second.
The #1 Volante Rosso Aston Martin driver just pipped the Kelso Electrical #888 Audi of Brad Schumacher, while row 2 featured local hope Mark Rosser in the #268 Team BRM Audi and the championship-leading #26 Arise Racing Ferrari of Elliot Schutte.
On a warm but windy Saturday afternoon, it was Rosser who got the best start of the top group, jumping Schumacher to settle into second behind pole-sitting Talbot. The Aston Martin and Audi jump away to the tune of 3 seconds over the rest of the field, Rosser applying the blowtorch to the rear of Talbot’s #1 Aston Martin.
The pressure reached a boiling point, forcing a mistake from Talbot through the sweeping turn 13. Talbot caught the grass on exit, which pitched the car into a spin to the left. The Aston Martin spun 180 degrees and tagged the outside wall with the right side of the car, damaging the front and diffuser. Talbot was able to get back on track, albeit down in 5th, and keep the Aston Martin on track for a points finish.
This left Rosser out in front solo with the #268 BRM Audi, enjoying a 5-second lead over the #888 Kelso Electrical Audi of Schumacher, with Elliot Schutte lurking a further 3 seconds behind in the #26 Arise Racing Ferrari. This would hold until the pit sequence, where the longer success-adjusted pit stop for the #888 saw Broc Feeney pop out just behind Evans in the #26 Ferrari, now 15 seconds behind the leading #268.
With only 77 points on the table after Race 1, the #888 Audi team needed to ensure they took as much as possible out of the #26 Ferrari to stay in the hunt. Evans was wise to the situation, making the #26 Ferrari as wide as possible as Feeney attempted to muscle past, almost managing to do so at Turn 17. But Evans held on and started to stretch the gap as Feeney’s pace advantage faded.
But all of this was immaterial to Alex Peroni, who enjoyed a trouble-free stint to come home in first place, over 15 seconds ahead of Evans, then Feeney. Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks finished in 4th, while the #66 Realta/Tigani Mercedes rounded out the top 5. The #1 Aston Martin recovered to finish in 8th place.
In Am, Renee Gracie led early on in the #181 OnlyFans Audi before a spin through the triple-right-hander saw her drop 20 seconds and behind the #47 Supabarn Mercedes. Compounded by a larger pit stop time, Gracie couldn’t close down the gap with Theo and James Koundouras taking the win by 22 seconds. The #24 KFC Audi rounded out the field, taking Trophy class honours in the process.
The victory for Rosser and Peroni is their second of the season after a win at Ipswich in round 3, and racks up the fourth win for Audi in the 2025 GTWC Australia Season, while the #26 Arise Racing pair now lead the championship by 33 points over the #888 Kelso Electrical Audi duo, with only three races remaining this season.
Image courtesy of World Challenge Australia
