After a stellar 2024 which included defending the GT World Challenge Australia Title and an overall podium position at the Bathurst 12 Hour, Jamec Racing Audi driver Liam Talbot is once again poised to contest the 2025 Bathurst 12 Hour in the Pro category, fighting for overall honours.
Two weeks ago, that wasn’t even on the cards.
“It was super last minute. I don’t know – if it wasn’t for Broc [Feeney]’s availability, that kind of set the ball rolling,” Talbot told DSC. “I was looking at weeks and weeks of knowing I was going to sit on the couch, and that was pretty devastating!”
The way The Australian describes it makes it sound surreal.
“That was the phone call I got, basically, are you keen? Then a few sponsors came together, and everyone just decided, let’s have a crack.”
It was a very last-minute situation on all fronts – Broc Feeney had initially been pencilled in to drive for another team, before being told he was surplus to requirements; Ricardo Feller was contacted by Melbourne Performance Centre boss Troy Russell, which began a tight dialogue between Feller’s current employer Porsche and his former bosses at Audi.
And Liam (below, left) himself missed out on a drive with the team he won the GTWC Australia with just months ago.
“I was part of their planning, but you know what the world of motorsports is like at the moment,” Talbot muses. “They had another option, so it is what it is.”
That option, for Arise Racing GT, turned out to be the addition of Ferrari factory drivers, to push one of the cars into the Pro category.
But that’s something Liam Talbot already has experience in. In fact, Talbot has a Pro-class overall podium, with Kelvin van der Linde and Christopher Haase, just last year.
“It was a team effort,” Talbot is quick to clarify. “Kelvin van der Linde – I worked against him and he’s very difficult because he’s so fast, and then to be teamed up with him was super cool.
“And Christopher Haase has been a staple of Audi for years, just cool, calm and collected. Having him as like, an assassin at the end of the race, picking his opportunity, was just so cool to see.
“It was a privilege to be a part of.”
The trio brought home the first overall podium for Melbourne Performance Centre, one of the longest-serving teams at the Bathurst 12 Hour.
“Getting outright podium, it was a feeling I’ve never felt before. It was very special.”
And is there a chance for this ad-hoc team to do it once again?
“Well, momentum is everything in Motorsports.” Liam says. “You know the pieces are there. I’ve always been jealous sitting in the sister car going ‘oh, how come I don’t get [Ricardo] Feller?’ And this year I get that opportunity.
“Ricardo Feller, Broc Feeney, they’re super keen, and super motivated, and I’m very excited to be here.
“I can’t wait to get into action.”
While Talbot might be Bronze rated on paper, his pace, consistency and tenacity has shown time and time again that he can mix it in with the professionals, especially at Mount Panorama.
A few years ago, in 2023, Talbot held on to a fighting top 10 position in the early running, holding up many pro drivers in the process. Not only has he won back-to-back GTWC Australia Championships, he’s won national series in Carrera Cup, holds the Carrera Cup Am-class lap record at Bathurst, and, he’s done a 2:02 lap in a GT3 car.
“How many Pros, or Supercars drivers can say they’ve ever done a 2:02 here?” Liam points out.
Despite being both mid-engined GT3 machines, Talbot said that there was quite a difference between driving the Audi R8 LMS to the GTWC Australia Championship in 2023, and the Ferrari 296 GT3 he used to defend that title last season.
“The Ferrari’s got really good mechanical grip,” he explained. “The little engine, it’s so tiny and so low, so that fundamental chassis handling is supreme. You can overstep the mark and regain it.
“The Audi has a big V10, so there’s a lot of weight back there. But, the Evo II package is the best the Audi’s ever been.”
And last year, going back to back with a different manufacturer was something that Talbot felt was always on the cards, from the very first test with Arise Racing.
“It was quite daunting – coming into the championship, defending the title in a new car, in a new team,” Talbot said. “But from the moment we went testing, I was like, this car, this team is amazing – I was so full of confidence, and that’s what you need for a championship tilt – you need the confidence around you.
“It wasn’t a faultless season, but we were strong all year, and turning up to tracks every time that we didn’t know. But with Adam [De Borre] and his engineering prowess, and Chaz Mostert driving the wheels off it, there was nowhere to hide.
“The harder the situation, the harder I pushed. It got the best out of me.”
A return to GT World Challenge Australia with Arise Racing is the plan for Talbot in 2025, to attempt a GTWC ‘three-peat’.
One of the talking points heading into the season is the tweaks made to the calendar. This year the series heads over ‘the ditch’ to New Zealand to race at Hampton Downs for the finale – a tradition of the old Australian GT series almost a decade ago.
“It’s really nice as a finale – to have something different,” Talbot said. “And it’s close, it’s only a three hour flight away.
“I’ve got really good memories at Hampton Downs. There’s not many drivers experienced over there so it’ll be pretty interesting to see how everything goes. And it’s the last round of the championship, so the championship could potentially be on the line.”
Also new for 2025 is that SRO is promoting and running the events, which Talbot sees as a big positive for GTWC Australia.
“The GT Festival was absolutely fantastic. It was a lot of commitment to make that happen but it was executed really well.
“It’s going to be exciting to be the main category, the top draw[card], it’s really cool. And look at the calibre of driving, even the non-household names like Brendan [Leitch] – what he did last year was really cool.
“It’s going to be an exciting year.”
