The fourth round of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli scheduled for Sydney Motorsport Park [SMP] this weekend promises an entertaining battle for outright victory between a number of drivers with championship winning open-wheel credentials.

Leading the charge will be the man who dominated the most recent round at Phillip Island; reigning national Formula Ford champion Jack Le Brocq. The talented young Victorian was in a league of his own on debut for Erebus Motorsport, taking the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 to two dominant victories and new qualifying and race lap records.

At Sydney he won’t expect to have things quite so easy, with 1984-85 Australian Drivers Champion John Bowe (Formula Mondial) looking to make amends for his loss to Le Brocq at Phillip Island, whilst he will also face another former Formula Ford champion, with 1994 title winner Steven Richards re-joining Justin McMillan in the 2013-spec Gallardo FLII.

And there’s one other ‘unknown’ former open-wheel star that might figure in the equation..

Whilst not a great deal is known about Rod Salmon’s driving partner for the weekend, a quick look at Nathan Antunes’ resumé will reveal the Sydney-sider has international open-wheel experience, having at one stage been involved with the Red Bull Young Drivers Academy with a little-known [then] German called Sebastien Vettel..

Antunes has not competed actively for a number of years, but is now a driver trainer at SMP, and spends most of his days turning laps of the 4.5 kilometre venue.

For Salmon though, the advantage of having Antunes onboard was two-fold.. “He walks the track at least twice a week laying out witches hats, so he knows every bump and dip in the track like the back of his hand, but as he hasn’t competed regularly in a number of years, he doesn’t incur a driver penalty. So it’s game on!” Salmon laughed.

Sadly, the SMP event will also signal the first race since the passing of 2007 Australian GT Champion Allan Simonsen, a popular figure in the GT pits, and the current lap-record holder at the Eastern Creek venue. For the purists, they would love that record to remain unbroken, however 2013 has already shown that the new generation cars with their extensive aero modifications, are very, very fast.

After making his maiden appearance in the GT Trophy Class at Phillip Island, scoring the win on debut, Steve McLaughlan is back in the Dodge Viper, with reigning Challenge class champion Jan Jinadasa also returning to the fold after a practice accident at Phillip Island delayed his competition debut in the ‘new’ JJA Consulting Gallardo LP520.

In Trophy Class the action will again unfold between the Foessel ‘twins’ and fellow Porsche pilot Brendan Cook, although Cook will have regular co-driver and former Porsche GT3 Challenge champion Matt Kingsley back alongside. Talking GT3 Cup Challenge, category points leader Ben Foessel will have his work cut out for him in Sydney, doing double duty with the Motor School Type 996, the Queenslander campaigning both Australian GT AND GT3 Cup Challenge. His father George though will just concentrate on GT, and reducing the points deficit to the younger Foessel as we pass the mid-point in the championship.

The GT4 Sports class will again feature the four-strong field of Ginetta G50s, with a similar lineup to Phillip Island. V8 Supercar part-timer Jack Perkins will again return to the Vawdrey Trailers entry of Mark Griffith, whilst Keith Kassulke will be hoping to get further than turn one this weekend after a mechanical problem in race two prematurely ended his weekend at the Island, the Touring Car Masters regular again joining car owner Darren Berry.

They’re all chasing Michael Hovey though, who will be doing everything in his power to retain the championship points lead with just two rounds remaining post-Sydney.

WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR?

The weather predictions suggest slightly overcast and dry days ahead, which will put the lap record in serious jeopardy, but as for the outright winner, expect a three way battle between Le Brocq in the Erebus Benz, Richards and McMillan in the Lamborghini, and John Bowe and Peter Edwards in the 2013-spec Ferrari 458.

But don’t discount two drivers who have almost made a career out of being overlooked; reigning champion Klark Quinn and 2012 race-winner [at the same round 12-months ago] Roger Lago. Another driver who should also be considered after his herculean effort at Phillip Island, is category-owner Tony Quinn; his drive in the Aston Martin was gutsy and showed his love for the big front-engine British car – he could again be the sleeper in the pack.

If you were going to choose a name to watch, keep an eye on Le Brocq. As John Bowe agreed post-race at Phillip Island, this ‘kid’ has the skills to be competitive at the top end of the sport in Australia, and he showed why on debut. He has a cool head on his shoulders and nothing to prove, but you can bet he will be as hungry as ever to add to the trophy collection..

The Trophy Class will see an interesting matchup between McLaughlan and Jinadasa, and the result could swing either way, whilst in the Challenge Class, expect the addition of Matt Kingsley to add a swagger to Brendan Cook’s step this weekend, and take some valuable seconds off his lap times; they’ll be a tough team to beat.

And in GT4, Jack Perkins showed great speed at Phillip Island, helping Mark Griffith to two solid victories despite his ranking [and subsequent penalty] as a professional driver, expect much the same from them again this weekend.

WHERE TO WATCH..

Live streaming will be available by; www.thenationals.com.au (Sunday, from 9:00am)

Keep track of round three of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli via the AGT website – www.australiangt.com.au and via Facebook; AustralianGT

The fourth round of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli will be televised on SBS Speedweek on Sunday, August 4 from 2:00pm AEST (check local guides for confirmation).

WHO’S ENTERED FOR ROUND FOUR?

GT CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS

1. Klark Quinn (VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3-R)

6. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS ultra)

7. Tony Quinn (Darrell Lea Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

11. Roger Lago (JBS Swift Lamborghini Gallardo LP560)

29. Jim Manolios (Chevrolet Corvette Z06.R GT3)

36. Jack Le Brocq (Erebus Racing Mercedes Benz AMG SLS GT3)

48. Justin McMillan/Steven Richards (GB Galvanizing Lamborghini Gallardo LP600+)

71. Dean Koutsoumidis/Andrew McInnes (Equity-One Audi R8 LMS GT3)

88. Peter Edwards/John Bowe (Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)

GT CHALLENGE CLASS

3. George Foessel (Motor School Porsche Type 997 GT3 Cup)

4. Ben Foessel (Motor School Porsche Type 996 GT3 Cup)

25. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (Walz Group Porsche Type 997 GT3 Cup)

GT TROPHY CLASS

75. Steve McLaughlan (JAMEC PEM Racing Dodge Viper GT3)

77. Jan Jinadasa (JJA Consulting Group Lamborghini Gallardo LP520)

GT4 SPORTS CLASS

9. Tony Martin (TM Motorsports Ginetta G50 GT4)

19. Mark Griffith/Jack Perkins (Vawdrey Semi Trailers Ginetta G50 GT4)

40. Darren Berry/Keith Kassulke (Refresh Cosmetic & Laser Clinic Ginetta G50 GT4)

73. Michael Hovey (ESP Print Management Ginetta G50 GT4)

Source : Australian GT