Ahead of the opening round of the 2015 Australian GT Championship there was much hype over the stream of new cars and drivers entering the series, with some serious predictions about who would and who wouldn’t be challenging for this year’s championship.

Amongst the names that were promoted as serious contenders was young Sydney-based driving instructor Nathan Antunes. Antunes completed a part-season in 2014 alongside car-owner Rod Salmon, the pair finishing second in the hotly contested GT Trophy Class.

For season 2015 Salmon elected to give Antunes the car to go-it-alone in his recently upgraded 2014-specification Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra, with the former Bathurst 12-Hour winner joining Antunes for the two endurance races of the year, one of which is the second annual Phillip island ‘101’ this weekend.

Prior to the season-opener at Clipsal Antunes was considered a wildcard at best amongst drivers like former V8 Supercar regulars Tony D’Alberto, Steven Johnson, Steven Richards and Dean Canto, and Audi factory sensation Christopher Mies – a two-time Bathurst 12-Hour winner. Despite the star inclusions in the 2015 field, Antunes was un-phased and typically set about the job at hand to not just be a contender at the opening round, but effectively dominate with two wins and a third place leaving him alone at the top of the championship standings with a strong points lead.

“I almost can’t believe it..” Antunes admitted at the time. “Two wins and a third position puts us clear in the championship lead, and I really couldn’t have asked for anything more. The whole team has done an excellent job. Rod Salmon, the owner of the car has backed me 100% and I’m really grateful, and excited to get to the next round.”

12-months ago Salmon and Antunes joined forces for the first time, the duo claiming second in Trophy Class in the first ever Phillip Island 101, but for 2015, it’s all change with the Skwirk/Beechwood team as they come into the round as points leaders in the outright category, but that’s not the only thing that is different..

Just days ago, Salmon competed in arguably the toughest GT race in the world, the iconic annual Nurburgring 24 Hour race affectionately known as the ‘Green Hell’.

Driving with the Audi Sport customer racing team in an identical Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra to his own car, the former Bathurst 12-Hour winner was part of a four-man team in a field of over 150 cars that qualified for the start of the twice-around-the-clock event.

Unfortunately their car was eliminated after 37-laps of the 25-kilometre circuit after Salmon’s team-mate Niki Mayr-Meinhof struck the barriers hard just three laps after repairing the car from contact Salmon had suffered with a slower Aston Martin.

Despite completing just over one quarter race distance, Salmon admitted the experience was invaluable.

“Just to qualify for the 24-hour race I had to complete three shorter races on the circuit, and multiple laps over a couple of days in a road car, so it wasn’t just arrive-and-drive. The team was fully supported by Audi Sport customer racing team, just like here in Australia, so we had all the support we needed and it played a big part in my development as a driver.

“They say you’re never to old to learn, and what I learnt over there was incredible. I can safely say I’m now confident in my own ability to drive in the rain on slick tyres, having completed two laps of the Nurburgring under those conditions – and that was an eye-opener – and I learnt an immense amount about the car, especially the ASR (traction control) and ABS (anti-lock brakes), so that will only assist me at Phillip Island.

“I’m disappointed not to have finished at the Nurburgring, but I have taken an awful lot away from the experience and that will only aid our performance this weekend.”

From Antunes’ perspective, he too is looking forward to the event and a chance to extend his points lead, although the 27-year old understands that whilst victories are important, so too is the championship.

“I really love the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and have always done well there. In last year’s race Rod and I finished second in the older Trophy class Audi R8 LMS in a very eventful race. I definitely think a podium finish is achievable and it would be great to extend my points lead but my main focus is to finish the race as I have a championship to think of.

“I’m sure Rod will have plenty of information to bring across with him too after his Nurburgring experience, so we should be in a pretty good place come the start of practice on Friday morning. We’re certainly coming in as well prepared as we could possibly be, the only variable we can’t control though is what mother nature will provide, but it certainly looks like Rod is ready for that too..!”