Grove Racing return to Grid
After missing Round 2 of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at The Bend, Grove Racing in its Mercedes-AMG GT3 will make a welcome return to the field at Queensland Raceway.
Stephen and Brenton Grove competed at the first round at Phillip Island where illness played a part in limiting the weekend for the father-son duo.
Stephen was forced to miss significant parts of the weekend as son Brenton demonstrated front-running pace in the team’s off-season acquisition.
Traditionally a Porsche team, this season marks its first in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 of which the pair is excited to return to at Queensland Raceway.
“It’s going to be great to be back in the Mercedes and also to be back racing in Australia,” said Brenton.
“I haven’t raced at QR for a while, so it will be good fun.
“We didn’t get to complete the full weekend at PI due to Steve’s illness, so fingers crossed we are able to make the full weekend this time!”
The duo were joined by full-time Supercars pilot Matt Payne and endurance co-driver Garth Tander in the 24 Hours of Portimao, but it proved an unlucky race for the quartet.
Returning to action at Queensland Raceway provides the Grove duo with confidence after a recent run there.
“Having recently tested at QR I think it will suit the Mercedes really well,” Brenton said.
“The aero works to the strengths of the Mercedes, as do the long straights.
“It was great at the test day, so hopefully we can back it up on the weekend.”
After displaying strong pace at Phillip Island as the duo aim to stand on the rostrum at the end of both one hour events.
“A podium is certainly the goal,” Brenton revealed.
“It’s going to be hard as the competition is extremely strong and we haven’t driven for a while.
“However, that won’t stop us from having a big crack!”
Arise Ferraris and MPC Audis testing At Queensland Raceway
The high-flying new Arise Racing GT squad had its Bronze-rated drivers on parade at a crucial test day at Queensland Raceway on Friday last.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS championship leader Liam Talbot and his stablemate Elliott Schutte took the reins of the team’s Ferrari 296 GT3 at The Paperclip on Friday, getting valuable seat time and set-up information ahead of Round 3 at the Queensland venue next month.
The team’s ‘Pro’ drivers – Chaz Mostert and Jaxon Evans – were unavailable to test due to a clash of commitments with their Supercars duties in Sydney.
Team principal Jordan Oon:
“It’s a really good track for Liam and Elliott to get seat times in the cars.
“We have been limited with the amount of testing between rounds, so some extra seat time for the two pre-event is a big benefit.
“They are excited to get some extra laps in the car. In Pro-Am, the Bronze driver is really the one who can make the difference. Typically, the Pros get in and drive and are all very matched on pace. That’s not always the case for the AMs, so these test days are crucial.
“We always knew that Liam would be strong with the amount of experience he has in GT cars,” said Oon.
“And Elliott has really surprised us. He first drove a GT proper only at the start of this year, so his development curve has been outstanding.
“We’ve really enjoyed the season so far. The team has a good vibe, and there’s a bit of competition with Liam and Elliott which is nice. It’s helping us drive forward.”
“It was really good,” said Talbot.
“It’s good to have no pressure with time constraints and small practice windows to tune the car, play around with settings or understanding about the set-up, what does what and what can be improved or what is a backward step. In that respect the test day has been great.
“The negative is there are no other cars here, so we can’t draw a comparison. The track conditions vary to compare it to historical data, so we’re unsure where we are.
“It’s never a bad day at a test day as we understand the car further and continue to explore what the car is capable of.”
“I’ve previously driven the 458 and 488 Ferraris, so I have the understanding there,” Talbot explained.
“It feels like the mechanical grip of the 458 and it’s got even better aero than the 488, so the 296 has the best of both worlds. “It’s a mega car. It’s very, very special in GT land compared to what I’ve driven before.”
Also testing at Queensland Raceway ahead of the round proper on August 2-4 was Melbourne Performance Centre with two of its Audis. Third placed championship fighters Tim Miles and Brendon Leitch together with Renee Gracie and Paul Stokell in the OnlyFans R8 LMS GT3 Evo2.
Ginetta Back In Business In GT4 Australia
It was a disappointing Monochrome GT4 Australia round at The Bend for Mark Cotterell and Jarrod Hughes, but a recent run at Queensland Raceway has the duo confident of a return to form.
Hughes set the pace in practice driving the Mark Cotterell Master Jeweller Ginetta G55 GT4 before a CV component inside the driveshaft broke. The particular part wasn’t available at the track leaving the pair on the sidelines.
However, Cotterell completed a shakedown of the newly repaired Ginetta at Queensland Raceway and there will be further improvements when Monochrome GT4 Australia visits next month.
“Unfortunately there wasn’t much we could do,” said Cotterell.
“The CVs on a Ginetta are very specific and you just can’t them anywhere. You get them out of England or you don’t.
“It’s a 2018 specification Ginetta, but The Bend suited us and was our chance. I think Jarrod woke a few people up and neither of us were happy with it as we’ve been battling a problem with rear end grip.”
Work has begun to cure this after the recent run at Queensland Raceway where Cotterell also ironed out a few troubles to ensure the Ginetta will be one to watch on home turf.
“We had a few issues,” summarised Cotterell.
“We had gone through changing the plugs, fuel injectors and the rail, but it didn’t start, so we put the old ones back. Then we found a valve on the gear actuator when overheated stopped shifting.
“Since then we’ve sent the shocks to a dyno and I hope this helps our lack of rear grip.”
BMW GT4 Squad Building For the Future
The team behind Steve Jakic’s Black Diamond Building and Construction BMW M4 GT4 G82 is moving into a new facility where it hopes new Monochrome GT4 Australia entries will come from in the future.
GT Collective is based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland where it has fielded a range of entries in production cars and Monochrome GT4 Australia as it aims to make a step up in the latter.
Led by Justin Anthony, GT Collective is targeting further importation of GT4 models from a range of manufacturers including BMW, Porsche and Toyota’s halo Supra GT4.
“We’re opening a new workshop on the Sunshine Coast and expand on the importing side of things,” said Anthony.
“We’re not really aligned with any brand as other teams tend to be, so if someone wanted to come do a Supra programme it’s available to do as we have a tie in to GR.”
Having aided Jakic and last year Steve Jukes, GT Collective is excited by the continued progression of Monochrome GT4 Australia.
“Next year expansion is set to continue,” said Anthony.
“As the category is in its infancy, it depends on how many other drivers get involved, but it’s got decent growth.
“We have a couple of customers aiming to join GT4, each in a different marque. We’re tooling up for the future of GT4 racing here in Australia.” There are plans for the team to expand and include long distance events as part of its schedule.
GT Collective is also eager to bring the Supra down under to compete against the various European and American nameplates represented on the Monochrome GT4 Australia grid.
