A packed grid will take to the Reid Park circuit in Townsville as part of Round 5 of the CAMS Australian GT Championship this weekend (July 7-9).

Making a welcome return will be reigning champion Christopher Mies, who will steer the #1 JAMEC PEM Racing Audi R8 LMS alongside Tony Bates.

It will be the first time the duo has paired up but is far from the only change for the four ringed brand this weekend.

Joining the squad for the first time is Ash Samadi in his brand-new Audi R8 LMS, and Marc Cini will make his 2016 Australian GT debut.

Samadi and Cini form part of a mighty six-car team for the Melbourne Performance Centre which also features Steve McLaughlan, a race winner at Barbagallo, the James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall pair and Greg Taylor, fresh from a double victory at the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli at Sydney Motorsport Park last weekend.

It’s a fearsome lineup for Championship leader Nathan Morcom to contend with, the DPO McLaren 650S GT3 driver having taken the championship lead following victory in Round 4 at Phillip Island.

Grant Denyer and Jonathon Webb will combine in the #59 McLaren Melbourne entry while Nathan Antunes, who emerged victorious in Race 2 at Townsville last year, will share the Beechwood/SLR/Buildmap McLaren 650S GT3 with Elliot Barbour.

Having shown impressive pace in their first two outings, Walkinshaw GT3 returns with John Martin and new co-driver Neale Muston, who will step into the Porsche 911 GT3-R for the first time.

Porsche will also be represented by Andrew Macpherson in the AMAC Motorsport 997 GT3-R, a car he’ll share once more with Brad Shiels.

There’s plenty of German influence on the grid as BMW and Mercedes also feature prominently.

The three-pointed star will field two AMG GT3s for Mark Griffith and Scott Taylor/Craig Baird while BMW will boast Steve Richards and Max Twigg in the M6 GT3 and the ever impressive Ricky Capo in the popular Modena Engineering Z4 GT3.

Four entries from the raging bull will see former championship leaders Justin McMillan and Glen Wood once again behind the wheel of the Interlloy M Motorsport Lamborghini R-EX.

Roger Lago will pilot his Lamborghini R-EX around the streets of Reid Park, a circuit which shares much in common with the Adelaide Parklands where the JBS Australia driver proved a contender throughout the opening weekend of the championship in March.

Dean Canto and Andrew Taplin partner up once again in the Taplin Real Estate Entry while father and son combination Peter and Alex Rullo share the Performance West Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo.

Audi’s ranks are bolstered by the Fastway Couriers entry of Simon Ellingham and Tim Miles while there is a single Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from Tony Quinn in the Darrell Lea entry.

The Darrell Lea squad will also be busy with Klark Quinn’s McLaren 650S GT3, the former champ currently second in the points standings heading into the penultimate round of the season.

Already a race winner in 2016, Tony Walls will be looking to repeat that success this weekend as he once again takes control of the Object Racing McLaren 650S GT3 for both 60-minute encounters across the weekend.

The CAMS Australian GT Championship kicks off the on-track action on Friday (July 7) morning with opening practice at 9:10am with the first of two qualifying sessions scheduled for 11:30am.

Second qualifying opens proceedings on Saturday morning at 9:25am ahead of Race 1 at 11:40. Race 2 gets under way at 11:25am on Sunday.

All sessions will be shown live on Fox Sports channel 506 from Saturday morning.

Entry List

No    Team    Drivers    Car
1    JAMEC PEM Racing    Christopher Mies/Tony Bates    Audi R8 LMS
2    JAMEC PEM Racing    Steve McLaughlan    Audi R8 LMS
3    Bondi Wholefoods    Ash Samadi    Audi R8 LMS
4    Supabarn Supermarkets    James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall    Audi R8 LMS
5    GT Motorsport    Greg Taylor    Audi R8 LMS
7    Darrell Lea    Tony Quinn    Aston Martin Vantage GT3
9    Hallmarc Developments    Marc Cini    Audi R8 LMS
11    Objective Racing    Tony Walls    McLaren 650S GT3
14    Taplin Real Estate    Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto    Lamborghini R-EX
19    Hogs Breath Café/Griffith Corporation    Mark Griffith    Mercedes AMG SLS GT3
23    JBS Australia    Roger Lago    Lamborghini R-EX
33    Fastway Couriers    Simon Ellingham/Tim Miles    Audi R8 LMS Ultra
37    Darrell Lea    Klark Quinn    McLaren 650S GT3
48    Interlloy M Motorsport    Justin McMillan/Glen Wood    Lamborghini R-EX
51    AMAC Motorsport    Andrew Macpherson/Brad Shiels    Porsche 997 GT3-R
59    McLaren Melbourne    Grant Denyer/Jonathon Webb    McLaren 650S GT3
60    DPO    Nathan Morcom    McLaren 650S GT3
61    Beechwood/SLR/Buildcorp    Nathan Antunes/Elliot Barbour    McLaren 650S GT3
62    Performance West Motorsport    Alex Rullo/Peter Rullo    Lamborghini Gallardo
92    Modena Engineering    Ricky Capo    BMW Z4 GT3
100    BMW Team SRM    Steve Richards/Max Twigg    BMW M6 GT3
222    Scott Taylor Motorsport    Scott Taylor/Craig Baird    Mercedes AMG GT3
911    Walkinshaw GT3    John Martin/Neale Muston    Porsche 911 GT3-R