Heading into the final round of the 2014 Australian GT Championship, Erebus Motorsport driver Richard Muscat and 2013 series runner-up Tony Quinn were separated by just 32-points ahead of the final two races of the season, but despite immense pressure from no fewer than three current V8 Supercar race winners, Muscat prevailed to claim his maiden GT championship title on debut.
Sharing driving duties with Holden Racing Team incumbent Garth Tander, Quinn held the early advantage after the V8 Supercar driver claimed pole position in qualifying, earning him two vital points back ahead of the final two 40-minute races of the season, yet despite immense pressure from the Tander, Muscat prevailed to not just claim the title, but claim it with two emphatic victories, in the process increasing his season tally to seven wins.
In the end, the round podium reflected the season podium; Muscat claiming maximum points in New Zealand to take the round six victory ahead of Quinn and Tander, with reigning Bathurst 12-Hour champion John Bowe third.
Whilst the battle for outright honours was the focal point of the final round, both Trophy class and Challenge class titles were up for grabs, but like the Championship class, it was the points leaders heading to New Zealand who claimed victories, Rod Salmon earning his maiden AGT championship crown in Trophy class and reigning Challenge class champion Ben Foessel – like GT Sports champion Mark Griffith – defending his 2013 title to take back-to-back championship crowns.
28-cars met the starter for the opening 40-minute race, a race which was sadly cut short not long after the compulsory pit stop [CPS] window closed as a result of Keith Kassulke suffering a heavy impact with the barriers at the hairpin after the brakes failed on his Ascari. The impact was square on to the front of the car, but damage was significant enough for Kassulke to remain behind the wheel, the Safety Crew taking their time to extract him from the car with care after the Queenslander complained of discomfort in his back.
That forced officials to declare the race just shy of the 40-minute mark, with Muscat having retained the lead after his late CPS.
Second was Bowe in the Bathurst 12-Hour winning Ferrari, with Garth Tander holding on to third, the field held under Safety Car conditions for the final ten minutes.
Muscat too good in race one
The big question off the start though was the battle between the pole-sitting Aston Martin and the Muscat SLS, Tony Quinn having trumped the Mercedes during almost every other race start this season where the two had been side-by-side coming to the line, but this time Muscat was having none of it, diving into the lead on the run into the ‘bus-stop’ chicane.
From the second row Steve Richards fell into position behind Quinn, with local star Jono Lester holding out John Bowe for fourth. The bulk of the field got through the ‘bus-stop’ cleanly – although some were forced through the cut-through – but things went pear-shaped for the Camaro at turn four, Trophy class points leader Rod Salmon making contact with the left rear of the Inky Tulloch driven Chevrolet on the way through the Esses, turning him around in front of the bulk of the field.
Fortunately only Salmon made contact [for a second time, spinning him too], Tulloch able to rejoin the field – albeit from well behind – whilst Salmon was forced to serve a drive-through penalty for his part in the incident.
That allowed Trofeo Motorsport’s new star Ryan Millier to move into the top six, a position which would later pay huge dividends.
Up front though Muscat’s brief was to go, and go hard, the Mercedes driver opening up an impressive 18-second lead before the CPS, whilst behind him, Tony Quinn’s experience on the 4.1-kilometre, 14-turn circuit allowed him to hold Richards, Bowe and Lester at bay all the way until the CPS.
By virtue of setting pole and his status as a ‘Master’ driver, Muscat was forced to stop for a minimum of 80-seconds during his CPS, an identical time to Tony Quinn, whilst by virtue of his status as a ‘Pro’ driver, Jono Lester was forced to endure an 88-second stop.. enough time to enjoy a latté and a cut-lunch..!
By the time the compulsory stops had started, Shane Van Gisbergen had cut through the field in the #1 McLaren after his start from the rear of the field – the V8 Supercar star taking half the field on the opening lap alone!!
Whilst Muscat continued to circulate strongly in P1, Tony Quinn completed his CPS as soon as he was able to (Pro drivers cannot complete more than 55% of race distance), handing Tander the car from second, the Holden Racing Team star immediately on the pace, but such was Muscat’s speed behind the wheel of the SLS, Tander could only manage the third fastest race time, Muscat setting the pace with a best of 1:32.442 for a new Highlands lap record.
Within minutes of the CPS window closing, the Safety Car was called for an incident at the hairpin, the Keith Kassulke Ascari KZR-1 embedded in the tyres after brake failure at one of the fastest parts of the circuit. The medical vehicles were immediately deployed, with the Safety Car picking up the next car around, which just happened to be the Equity-One Audi.
There were some anxious moments in the pits whilst the AGT ‘family’ waited for news on Kassulke, but fortunately – despite some serious damage to the Italian built sportscar – Kassulke was okay, an aggravated previous back injury though seeing him safely extracted from the car and transported to the local Cromwell hospital for observation.
Ultimately the race was called at the 37-minute mark with Muscat declared the winner, the Mercedes-Benz crossing the line ahead of Bowe, Tander, an elated Jim Manolios and outgoing champion Klark Quinn.
Jono Lester recovered from his lengthy stop to claim sixth from Peter Fitzgerald, Peter Edwards in the Bentley, Ockert Fourie and James Winslow.
In the battle for Trophy class honours, vital championship points went to the Equity-One team of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow after Salmon’s early contact with Tulloch forced the points leader to the rear of the field, co-driver Nathan Antunes unable to improve the team’s position after rejoining the field post-CPS not long before the Safety Car. Third in Trophy was 2014 series debutant Simon Ellingham, the New Zealander sharing driving duties with emerging V8 Supercar driver Andre Heimgartner.
Sadly for Challenge class contender Brendan Cook, his love-hate relationship with Highlands Motorsport Park continued after an overtaking move on the run into turn four went pear-shaped..
“It wasn’t even my fault,” Cook lamented afterwards. “I went into the Esses with three outright cars around me – into a sequence of corners that fits one car, but these three clowns decided they’d make it three wide, and guess who wound up in the fence..”
“If they’d waited 50 metres later, it would have been a clean pass, but I had one car on the outside, one on the inside and nowhere to go. Unfortunately they clipped me on the exit and I spun into the barrier. I remember thinking it was going to be ugly, but I just clipped the wall as I came to a stop, but that busted the radiator and from there it was all over.”
Sadly for Cook that also handed title rival and reigning champion Ben Foessel back-to-back championships, the young Porsche driver pleased to have tied things up ahead of the final race.
GT Sport too saw an ongoing battle between Mark Griffith and Tony Martin, the two Ginetta GT4 drivers running closely early before Griffith grabbed the lead after the CPS, holding on to claim yet another win to add to his already impressive tally.
Muscat claims win #7 and the 2014 title
With all but one car entered for the 13th and final race of the season, there was some expectation that with both Trophy class and outright championships still up for grabs, that fireworks might ensue, but as has been the case throughout the last two seasons, the only thing to unfold was good close racing, and the crowning of four very deserving champions.
With Tander alongside for the start of race two, Muscat knew he was always going to have his work cut out for him, but whilst the V8 Supercar regular managed to dive inside the Mercedes on the run into the ‘bus-stop’ Tander wasn’t unable to gain too much advantage over the points leader, ultimately stopping just five seconds ahead.
By that stage Muscat had Lester and Bowe locked in behind in their Ferraris, Bowe ultimately falling back ahead of the CPS as Lester looked to attack for a podium finish.
Whilst the Keith Kassulke/Les Walmsley Ascari was a non-starter in race two, Andrew Macpherson too found himself sidelined before the start, a mechanical failure on the exit lap at the start of the race saw the IMAK Porsche towed back to the pits.
Ross Lilley was the next to go during lap one, a rare mechanical failure – perhaps as a result of hitting kerbs during race one – saw the gorgeous black Koala Furniture Gallardo beached in the gravel trap at turn three fortunately without contact with anyone else, but for them it was game over and another Safety Car period.
GT Sport driver Tony Martin was the next to go, the Ginetta G50 driver forced off the circuit and into a dip in the track which ultimately tore the diff mounting out of the rear of the car.. “I had nowhere to go, but fortunately the Ginetta’s are so bullet-proof, we’ll be able to fix the car for the 101,” Martin explained post-race.
As the CPS approached, Tander was up by five seconds, with Muscat holding Lester at bay, whilst John Bowe had his mirrors full of Craig Lowndes, the Red Bull Racing driver working his way through from the rear to inside the top six within the opening few laps, but by the CPS, the big Camaro was searching for fresh rubber, such was Lowndes early race pace.
Tony Quinn inherited the lead after Tander’s stop, and an additional four second advantage by virtue of finishing third in race one, Muscat’s CPS 80-seconds to the #7 Aston’s 76, but whilst the VIP Petfoods team conducted their stop, Muscat charged, his in-lap and out-lap after his CPS allowing him to close to the tail of the Aston within two laps.
You could almost sense the conflict going on behind the visor in the #36 SLS.. to pass, or not to pass. In the end the former Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge champion pounced, and at one of the most difficult parts of the circuit.. the exit of the Pirelli bridge.
“It played on my mind a little bit, and perhaps on reflection it was a risk, but at the time I knew I could do it and that he probably wouldn’t have expected it there, so I pounced, but just hoped that I could pull it up by the braking point and make the corner.
“Tony didn’t make it easy, but as he had done all year, he was hard but fair – he tried to close the door, but also give me room. After that it was just focusing on the run to the finish.”
No sooner had Muscat effected the pass than the Safety Car board was displayed for the luckless Jono Lester stranded mid-field after contact coming out of Southern Loop.
“That lengthy CPS really cost me, but I was closing on Muscat and Tony and knew if I kept pushing I’d be okay,” Lester explained. “Unfortunately I caught one of the Porsches into the Loop and he held me up. I sat just off his left rear, but he kept moving across on the exit which pushed me onto the dirty part of the circuit and I looped it and clipped the wall.
“It was my fault entirely, but I could see a podium in front of me, and I was worried that Bowey behind me might get a slingshot down onto the bridge because I was being held up.. Fortunately – next to a broken left rear upright – the damage was mostly superficial, so within an hour of the race the car was ready to go again, so we’ll give it another crack during the 101.”
That allowed the field to bunch up again behind the leader, but once free of the Safety Car Muscat charged away, crossing the line three seconds clear of Quinn, with Bowe, Van Gisbergen and Peter Edwards close behind.
“I kept praying every time I came to the line that I’d see the chequered flag,” Edwards admitted post race.. “It was hard work, and whilst the car was still suffering some of the problems we had in race one, I just thought I’d just get stuck in and have a go, so fifth is a pretty good reward for what has so far been a challenging weekend..”
Steve Richards had closed in on Edwards towards the end of the race, but he was unable to effect a challenge for position, whilst Dan Gaunt put in a blinding run over the closing laps to lock onto the tail of the Interlloy Lamborghini in front of him.
Inky Tulloch crossed the line in eighth place, with a smile wider than most of the black stripes he’d left on the circuit over the closing laps. Ninth was the Trofeo Motorsport Ferrari with Ryan Millier putting in another solid drive over the closing stanza of the race, with Peter Fitzgerald tenth, the Porsche stalwart wondering why he hadn’t discovered the GT series earlier in the season.. “How much fun is this!” he beamed.
James Winslow crossed the line as second Trophy class car, the Le Mans prototype star explaining that he’d had team instructions to hold behind Trophy class leader Gaunt because they felt the JJA Racing Lamborghini was a lap down.
Despite that, they were classified as the round winner, the third time in six rounds, the Koutsoumidis/Winslow combination though falling 15-points short of series victory, a win in race two ultimately would not have changed the result.
That handed the series win to inaugural Highlands race winner Rod Salmon, the two-time Bathurst 12-Hour champion beaming from ear-to-ear despite admitting that he felt they’d done just about everything they could to sabotage the title..
“Nathan [Antunes] started and bolted away to a comfortable class lead, but the water temperature started to climb as he sat behind Lowndes in the Camaro, and that eventually set off all the alarms. We were worried the engine was compromised, so we backed right off and just did what we needed to, just to make the finish. That dropped us back to 16th at the flag, and the MPC team discovered afterwards that there had been debris buildup in one of the cooling radiators and that had forced the car into ‘safety’ mode to protect the engine..”
The Challenge class victory went once more to Ben Foessel after a late race battle with new AGT recruit Paul Van Loenout – title rival Brendan Cook sidelined once again with cooling issues, a result of their race one contact with the barriers.
With Tony Martin out early after being forced off the circuit, mark Griffith was able to claim his second GT Sports victory handing the newly crowned champion his sixth win of the year.
For the bulk of the Australian GT field, the season will conclude with the ‘Highlands 101’, a three hour endurance event around the Highlands circuit, with 34-cars entered in the field. A 40-minute qualifying session will get underway at 10:30am, with the ‘main event’ underway at 1:25pm.
To keep up to date, keep an eye on ‘Race Monitor’; https://www.race-monitor.com/Results/Session/5202320 with session times available via; http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/1095739
WHERE TO WATCH..
Coverage of the Highlands event will be available via www.australiangt.com.au each day, with a one-hour AGT/Highlands 101 package going to air on TV3 in New Zealand (23 November, 2:00pm) and a one hour package available in Australia at a date yet to be determined. Stay tuned to, to www.facebook.com/AustralianGT for regular updates, video clips and photographs.
Rnd#6 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ (7 November)
Race#1 (40-minutes – 8 November, 2014)
1. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – 19-laps
2. John Bowe (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
3. Garth Tander/Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
4. Ryan Millier/Jim Manolios (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
5. Shane Van Gisbergen/Klark Quinn (GT – McLaren MP4-12C)
6. Jono Lester (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
7. Peter Fitzgerald (GT – Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
8. Peter Edwards (GT – Bentley Continental GT3)
9. John Magro/Ockert Fourie (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
10. James Winslow/Dean Koutsoumidis (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 18-laps
11. Adrian Deitz/Cameron McConville (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
12. Simon Ellingham/Andre Heimgartner (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
13. Steve McLaughlan (GT – Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
14. Ross Lilley/Paul Kelly (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
15. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (GTT – Lamborghini Gallardo LP560)
16. Michael Hovey/Matt Campbell (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
17. Andrew MacPherson/Ben Porter (GT – Porsche 997 GT3-R)
18. Ben Foessel (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup)
19. Craig Lowndes/Inky Tulloch (GT – Chevrolet Camaro GT3)
20. Sam Fillmore/Danny Stutterd (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
21. Nathan Antunes/Rod Salmon (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
22. Paul Van Loenhout (GTC – Ferrari 458 Challenge)
23. Justin McMillan/Steve Richards (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
24. Indiran/Duvashen Padayachee (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup) – 17-laps
25. Mark Griffith (GTS – Ginetta G50 GT4)
26. Tony Martin (GTS – Ginetta G50 GT4)
DNF. Keith Kassulke (GTT – Ascari KZR-1) – 13-laps
DNF. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup) – 9-laps
Race#2 (40-minutes – 8 November, 2014)
1. Richard Muscat (GT – Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3) – 22-laps
2. Garth Tander/Tony Quinn (GT – Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
3. John Bowe (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
4. Shane Van Gisbergen/Klark Quinn (GT – McLaren MP4-12C)
5. Peter Edwards (GT – Bentley Continental GT3)
6. Justin McMillan/Steve Richards (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3)
7. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (GTT – Lamborghini Gallardo LP560)
8. Craig Lowndes/Inky Tulloch (GT – Chevrolet Camaro GT3)
9. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
10. Peter Fitzgerald (GT – Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
11. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
12. Adrian Deitz/Cameron McConville (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
13. Steve McLaughlan (GT – Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra)
14. Simon Ellingham/Andre Heimgartner (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
15. Michael Hovey/Matt Campbell (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
16. Nathan Antunes/Rod Salmon (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3)
17. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (GTT – Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 21-laps
18. Ben Foessel (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup)
19. Sam Fillmore/Danny Stutterd (GTT – Porsche GT3 Cup)
20. Paul Van Loenhout (GTC – Ferrari 458 Challenge)
21. Indiran/Duvashen Padayachee (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup)
22. Mark Griffith (GTS – Ginetta G50 GT4)
DNF. Jono Lester (GT – Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) – 17-laps
DNF. Tony Martin (GTS – Ginetta G50 GT4) – 7-laps
DNF. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (GTC – Porsche GT3 Cup) – 2-laps
DNF. Ross Lilley/Paul Kelly (GT – Gallardo FL2 GT3) – 1-laps
DNF. Andrew MacPherson/Ben Porter (GT – Porsche 997 GT3-R) – 0-laps
DNS. Keith Kassulke (GTT – Ascari KZR-1)
2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
GT Championship Class points (after round six of six)
1. Richard Muscat (595 points), 2. Tony Quinn (542), 3. John Bowe (470), 4. Justin McMillan (347), 4. Klark Quinn (347), 6. Peter Edwards (314), 7. Steven Richards (247), 8. Tony D’Alberto (147), 9. Ross Lilley (146), 10. Garth Tander (145), 11. James Koundouris (138), 12. Andrew MacPherson (130), 13. Jim Manolios (127), 14. Ryan Millier (123), 15. Steve McLaughlan (115), 16. David Russell (101), 17. John Morriss (89), 18. Steve Owen (84), 19. Adrian Deitz (69), 20. Warren Luff (58), 21. Shane Van Gisbergen (55), 22. Jack Le Brocq (52), 23. Josh Hunt (43), 24. Ben Porter (35), 25. Peter Fitzgerald (33), 26. Tony DeFelice (32), 27. Inky Tulloch/Craig Lowndes (30), 28. Craig Baird (30), 29. Cameron McConville (26), 30. Jono Lester (26), 31. Paul Kelly (10), 32. Roger Lago (1)
GT Trophy Class points (after round six of six)
1. Rod Salmon (566 points), 2. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (551), 3. Nathan Antunes (498), 4. Michael Hovey (374), 5. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (356), 6. Theo Koundouris (265), 7. Simon Ellingham (249), 8. Matt Campbell (235), 9. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (174), 10. Indiran Padayachee (136), 11. Kevin Weeks (132), 12. Steve McLaughlan (97), 13. Andre Heimgartner (76), 14. Dale Paterson (70), 15. Liam Talbot (68), 16. Ben Eggleston (56), 17. Sam Power (52), 18. Barton Mawer (48), 19. Andrew MacPherson (44), 20. Keith Kassulke (36), 20. Duvashen Padayachee (36), 22. Jono Lester (29), 23. Sam Fillmore/Danny Stutterd (22), 24. Peter Conroy/Dean Grant (18), 25. Warren Luff (10), 26. Jonathon Venter (1), 27. Graham Lusty/Geoff Fane (0)
GT Challenge Class points (after round six of six)
1. Ben Foessel (649 points), 2. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (503), 3. Paul Van Loenhout (193), 4. Michael Almond (150), 5. George Foessel (149), 6. Renato Loberto (102), 7. Indiran Padayachee (77), 8. Jeff Neale/Terry Knight (43)
GT Sports Class points (after round six of six)
1. Mark Griffith (593 points), 2. Tony Martin (425), 3. Tony Alford (297), 4. Mark O’Connor (110), 5. Hayden Cooper (102), 6. Karl Reindler (58), 7. Grant Bromley (52), 8. Ryan McLeod (42)
The 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli is proudly supported by Pirelli, AHG Ltd, Darrell Lea, Mentum Design and Z Motorsport Memorabilia.
2015 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
Rnd#1 – 26 February-1 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA**
Rnd#2 – 22-24 May, Phillip Island, Victoria*
Rnd#3 – 10-12 July, Townsville, Queensland**
Rnd#4 – 21-23 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW**
Rnd#5 – 11-13 September, Sandown 500, Melbourne, Victoria**
Rnd#6 – 6-8 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ (TBC)
(* with the Shannons Nationals, ** with V8 Supercars)