Almost six months ago, the Equity-One Motorsport team of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow left the opening round of the 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli at Sandown Park in Melbourne as the Trophy Class points leaders, so it was no surprise that they arrived at the penultimate round of the season at the same venue as event favourites, ultimately dominating qualifying and all three 40-minute races.
“This was all down to Dean,” James Winslow credited post-round. “He has been getting better and better all season, but it wasn’t really until we were here a couple of weeks ago in a low powered road car, that it all came together.”
Winslow was right too.. From opening practice it was almost impossible to tell who was in the car. Koutsoumidis set the pace in opening practice, and despite being in two generation older equipment [Trophy Class is for 2011 specification GT3 cars and older], the Equity-One team-boss was fifth fastest, and less than four tenths slower than championship points leader Richard Muscat!
Session two saw much of the same with the #71 Audi again at the top of the timesheets, whilst Winslow went three tenths faster than title rival Nathan Antunes in qualifying to claim pole position and more valuable championship points, in the process claiming a third row starting position just one tenth of a second slower than the Bathurst 12-Hour winning Ferrari 458 of John Bowe..
Koutsoumidis looked to be a different man ahead of the opening race, fully focused on the job at hand he started strongly and drove away from team-mate and title rival Rod Salmon during the opening stanza of the race, handing Winslow a comfortable lead he would carry to the flag, handing the Equity-One team a sixth placed finish outright, two positions clear of Salmon and co-driver, Nathan Antunes.
“That’s one,” Koutsoumidis beamed post-race. “Now to close down the points gap.”
Winslow got a strong start in race two, but Antunes in the Salmon Audi got a better start, too good in fact, the Skwirk.com.au Audi pilot crossing the timing line ahead of Winslow and ultimately incurring a time penalty post-race which handed the Equity-one Audi team their second win.
“That’s not the way we wanted to do it, but the stewards made the decision, so we’ll take it,” Koutsoumidis explained.
He was back behind the wheel for the final 40-minute race, but despite a strong start he got held up in turn one, allowing Salmon to move through to the lead. The two Melbourne Performance Centre Audi team-mates circulated nose to tail for a number of laps before Dean stuck his nose down the inside at turn #### and took away the class lead.
He wasn’t content to just hold position either, moving forward another position before the compulsory pit stop, handing Winslow the car in sixth position.
The Englishman kept the teams strong pace all the way through to the chequered flag, claiming seventh and their third consecutive race win for the weekend [their fourth win in a row having claimed race two in Sydney]. In the end their points haul was assisted by South Australian Kevin Weeks in the Trophy Class Ford GT who split the two Audi title rivals, dropping Salmon and Antunes back to third.
“This weekend had everything,” Koutsoumidis explained after accepting his second round winner’s trophy of the season. “We had the pace from Friday, and it was nice to be on pole and then win three races to take maximum points. We’ve just got to keep fighting all the way to New Zealand now. We’ve recovered some ground on Rod and Nathan [Antunes], and are within striking range, so we’ll be giving it our best shot.”
Having clawed back 33 valuable championship points across the weekend, the Equity-One team head to the final round in New Zealand just 32 points behind Salmon in the title race, and with 110 points still on offer, the championship is still wide open..
“I’m so proud of Dean and what he’s achieved this weekend,” Winslow explained. “What ‘clicked’ in his head will be with him for life now, and I think as a result, you’ll see him running with the leaders now consistently, and that’s what makes you a championship winner.”
“I’m loving it..” Koutsoumidis agreed with a broader smile than usual. “It’s nice to finally be driving the car the way it’s supposed to be driven, and that’s all down to James’ assistance as a driver coach, his help has been invaluable. It really wasn’t until two weeks ago when we were hear in a slower car that I could see clearly everything James had been telling me, and it has been a real pleasure to drive the car ever since.
“Had it not been for the accident that took us out at Phillip Island [the #71 Audi was forced into the infield tyre barrier at Siberia as a result of someone else’s accident] we would most likely have been the championship points leaders heading to New Zealand, but we’re not and that’s just the way it goes. It’s certainly not over, but it will be a big ask, especially at a circuit where Rod was a race winner in 2013..
“Bring on New Zealand!!”
The final round of the 2014 championship will be held in just under two months time [7-9 November] at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell on the South Island of New Zealand.
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Rnd#5 – 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Sandown Park – Qualifying (12 September)
1. Justin McMillan/David Russell (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3) – 1:08.8147R
2. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – 1:09.1171
3. Klark Quinn (GT – McLaren MP4-12C) – 1:09.1524
4. John Bowe/Peter Edwards (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – 1:09.7005
5. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 1:09.8012
6. Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3) – 1:09.8252
7. John Morriss (GT – Porsche GT3-R) – 1:10.0165
8. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 1:10.1161
9. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 1:10.7136
10. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – 1:10.8003
Race#1 – 40-minutes (13 September)
1. Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3) – 26-laps
2. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3)
3. Justin McMillan/David Russell (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
4. John Morriss (GT – Porsche GT3-R)
5. Ross Lilley (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
6. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
7. John Bowe/Peter Edwards (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
8. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
9. Steve McLaughlan (GT – Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
10. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (GTT – Lamborghini Gallardo LP520) – 25-laps
Race#2 – 40-minutes (13 September)
1. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – 32-laps
2. Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
3. John Bowe/Peter Edwards (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
4. John Morriss (GT – Porsche GT3-R)
5. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
6. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
7. Ross Lilley (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3) – 31-laps
8. Justin McMillan/David Russell (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
9. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
10. Michael Hovey/Matt Campbell (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
Race#3 – 40-minutes (14 September)
1. Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3) – 31-laps
2. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3)
3. Justin McMillan/David Russell (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
4. John Bowe/Peter Edwards (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
5. John Morriss (GT – Porsche GT3-R)
6. Ross Lilley (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
7. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
8. Kevin Weeks (GTT – Ford GT) – 30-laps
9. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
10. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
GT Trophy points (after round five of six)
1. Rod Salmon (507 points), 2. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (475), 3. Nathan Antunes (439), 4. Michael Hovey (314), 5. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (276), 6. Theo Koundouris (265), 7. Matt Campbell (175), 8. Simon Ellingham (173), 9. Kevin Weeks (132), 10. Indiran Padayachee (116), 11. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (99), 12. Steve McLaughlan (97), 13. Dale Paterson (70), 14. Liam Talbot (68), 15. Ben Eggleston (56), 16. Sam Power (52), 17. Barton Mawer (48), 18. Andrew MacPherson (44), 19. Keith Kassulke (33), 20. Jono Lester (29), 21. Peter Conroy/Dean Grant (18), 22. Duvashen Padayachee (16), 23. Warren Luff (10), 24. Jonathon Venter (1), 25. Graham Lusty/Geoff Fane (0)