The 2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli is winding down to the final five races of the year, and this coming weekend’s penultimate round at Sandown Park in Melbourne may set the foundations for championship immortality across all four classes.
In the [outright] championship class, 2013 title combatants Klark Quinn (Darrell Lea McLaren MP4-12c) and Tony Quinn (VIP Petfoods Aston Martin Vantage) have been closing in on points leader Richard Muscat (Erebus Motorsport Mercedes Benz SLS AMG) over the most recent rounds at Townsville and Sydney Motorsport Park, however Muscat returns to Sandown as the man who dominated the opening round in March.
During the season opener reigning Bathurst champion Steve Richards set pole in qualifying in the potent Interlloy Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 (1:09.5087), but it was Muscat who stole the two race wins – the first from rear of field after failing to record a qualifying time due to a rare mechanical failure.
That set up his championship assault in the Erebus Motorsport SLS, however since Sandown the Victorian has only won two of the following six races, as has Tony Quinn, although Quinn has amassed 271 points since the Sandown opener (in which he failed to finish race two), whilst Muscat has scored 245, but with 270 points on offer over the next two rounds, this season is not done yet, although a strong points haul this weekend could make life hard for Quinn on ‘home’ turf in New Zealand.
Quinn though is a ‘battler’ in the true sense of the word – someone who rises to every challenge, so don’t discount him in minimising the points deficit heading to Highlands Motorsport Park in November, where it’s expected that Garth Tander will once more join him for the final two races of the season.
Don’t discount former V8 Supercar regular John Bowe in the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari either, the Bathurst 12-Hour champion is just 11 points behind Quinn, and only 12 points ahead of two time champion Klark Quinn, and the reigning title holder is becoming more comfortable with his McLaren as the season progresses..
Whichever way it goes, this battle will be one worth watching, and one that could go all the way down to the wire.
The outright battle isn’t the only bout on the roster either.. Trophy Class too has provided a great deal of entertainment to the fans with Melbourne Performance Centre Audi team-mates Rod Salmon and Dean Koutsoumidis going head-to-head all year. Koutsoumidis and co-driver James Winslow (Equity-One Audi R8) drew first blood, leading home an Audi 1-2-3 at Sandown in March, before an errant Lamborghini ended their Phillip Island run early allowing Salmon and co-driver Nathan Antunes (Skwirk Audi R8) to leap into the points lead. That pairing extended their lead at Townsville, however Koutsoumidis and Winslow returned to the winners rostrum at Sydney, winning one of the two 60-minute races (Salmon/Antunes took the other and the round win by virtue of setting pole).
Koutsoumidis will be looking to regain some valuable points at home to reduce the current 65-point advantage enjoyed by Salmon, and with 160-points on offer, he and Winslow may well be the team to watch!
Challenge class too will see a battle royale between 2013 title contenders Ben Foessel and the Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley combination going hard at it. Foessel has seen victory at Phillip Island and Townsville, whilst Cook and Kingsley won at Sandown and Sydney, although it is reigning champion Foessel who holds the advantage coming into Sandown for the second time, the Motor School Porsche driver leading the points by 26..
Despite a nasty incident during race one at Sydney Motorsport Park last month, [then] GT Sports points leader Tony Alford was bruised but uninjured although the same could not be said for the once pristine Lotus Exige Cup R which was all but destroyed after heavy contact with the concrete barriers. Alford and the Donut King team had hoped to be at Sandown with the team’s Skyline GT-R however they were unable to prep the car in time leaving the class battle to be waged between 2013 title contenders Mark Griffith and Tony Martin in their agile Ginetta G50s.
Reigning champion Griffith claimed the lead from Alford at Sydney, and takes a strong points lead over Martin into Sandown, and notwithstanding a DNF during the event, he may wrap up the title ahead of the season final in November (7-9).
*CPS – Compulsory Pit Stop
WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR?
GT Championship (for 2012-2013 specification GT3 cars)
On form you’d be hard pressed to go past Richard Muscat, but as we’ve seen at Townsville (spin) and Sydney (mechanical failure), he’s not infallible, and with three shorter races and the chance of a Safety Car, don’t discount the powerful Tony Quinn Aston, nor the fact that Quinn has won a round at Sandown in the past (2011).
GT Trophy (for GT3-spec cars 2011 and older)
The Koutsoumidis/Winslow juggernaut prevailed in March with the round win, but Rod Salmon was without ‘new’ co-driver Nathan Antunes. Both teams will battle hard across the weekend, although Salmon may concede to his Victorian team-mate given his points lead, and carry the battle for the crown through to New Zealand.
GT Challenge (Challenge class cars – Porsche/Ferrari)
This is a tough one.. In March it was the Cook/Kingsley combination that prevailed, however reigning champion Ben Foessel has been improving with every outing and will do everything in his power to retain the points lead heading to New Zealand where he wrapped up the 2013 title.
GT Sports (GT4 category cars)
With Tony Alford sitting this round out after his Sydney accident, the 2014 championship looks to be Mark Griffith’s to lose, but don’t expect the reigning champion to just circulate, he’ll do everything in his power to win the final five races of the season!
SCHEDULE (AEST)
Friday, 12 September
Practice #1 – 9:35am (20-minutes)
Practice #2 – 1:35pm (20-minutes)
Qualifying – 5:20pm (30-minutes)
Saturday, 13 September
Race #1 – 10:55am (40-minutes)
Race #2 – 1:35pm (40-minutes)
Sunday, 14 September
Race #3 – 11:05am (40-minutes)
AUSTRALIAN GT AND SANDOWN PARK
The Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli has already competed at Melbourne’s Sandown Park during the opening round of the season back in late March. On that occasion AGT rookie Richard Muscat dominated the event, winning both 60-minute races – the first from rear of field after failing to record a time in qualifying.
During the event reigning Bathurst 1000 champion Steve Richards set pole in the M-Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo (1:09.5087), whilst Richard Muscat established a new race lap record during race two – 1:09.5639.
The Australian GT Championship had competed at Sandown on four prior occasions; 2007 (won by Allan Simonsen/Tim Leahey – Ferrari 430), 2008 (Allan Simonsen/Nick O’Halloran – Ferrari 430), 2011 (Tony Quinn – Mosler) and 2011 (Greg Crick – Dodge Viper).
WHERE TO WATCH..
Keep track of round five of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli from Sydney via the AGT website – www.australiangt.com.au and via Facebook; AustralianGT
Tickets are available through Ticketek via; premier.ticketek.com.au
WHO’S ENTERED FOR ROUND FIVE?
GT CHAMPIONSHIP CLASS
1. Klark Quinn (Darrell Lea McLaren MP4-12C)
7. Tony Quinn (VIP Petfoods Aston Martin Vantage GT3)
8. Adrian Deitz/Josh Hunt (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
29. Jim Manolios/Ryan Millier (Trofeo Motorsport Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
34. John Morriss (GT3 Factory Porsche GT3-R)
36. Richard Muscat (Erebus Motorsport SLS AMG GT3)
48. Justin McMillan/David Russell (Interlloy Gallardo FL2 GT3)
51. Andrew MacPherson (IMAK Int. Porsche GT3-R)
63. Ross Lilley (Koala Furniture Gallardo FL2 GT3)
75. Steve McLaughlan (JAMEC PEM Audi R8 LMS ultra GT3)
88. John Bowe/Peter Edwards (Il Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)
GT TROPHY CLASS
5. Kevin Weeks (Supaloc Ford GT)
6. Rod Salmon/Nathan Antunes (Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS GT3)
33. Simon Ellingham (Fastway Couriers Porsche 997 GT3 Cup)
35. Indiran Padayachee (Rentcorp Porsche 997 GT3 Cup)
71. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (Equity-One Audi R8 LMS GT3)
72. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (OLOF Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3)
73. Michael Hovey/Matt Campbell (Triffid/Triple H Porsche Type 997 GT3 Cup)
77. Jan Jinadasa/Dan Gaunt (JJA Consulting Group Gallardo LP520)
GT CHALLENGE CLASS
3. Ben Foessel (Motor School Porsche Type 997 GT3 Cup)
25. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (Walz Group Porsche Type 997 GT3 Cup)
50. Darren Berry (Ginetta G50Z)
GT4 SPORTS CLASS
9. Tony Martin (TM Motorsports Ginetta G50 GT4)
19. Mark Griffith (Hog’s Breath Cafe Ginetta G50 GT4)
2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli
GT Championship Class points (after round four of six)
1. Richard Muscat (345 points), 2. Tony Quinn (308), 3. John Bowe (297), 4. Klark Quinn (285), 5. Justin McMillan/Steven Richards (213), 6. Peter Edwards (182), 7. Tony D’Alberto (147), 8. James Koundouris (138), 9. Andrew MacPherson (105), 10. Steve Owen (84), 11. Ross Lilley (64), 12. Garth Tander (58), 12. Steve McLaughlan/Warren Luff (58), 13. Jack Le Brocq (52), 14. Josh Hunt/Adrian Deitz (43), 15. Tony DeFelice (32), 16. Craig Baird (30), 17. Ben Porter (24), 18. Jim Manolios (23), 19. Ryan Millier (19), 20. Roger Lago/David Russell (1)
GT Trophy Class points (after round four of six)
1. Rod Salmon (380 points), 2. Dean Koutsoumidis/James Winslow (315), 3. Nathan Antunes (312), 4. Theo Koundouris (265), 5. Michael Hovey (213), 6. Jan Jinadasa/Daniel Gaunt (193), 7. Simon Ellingham (129), 8. Steve McLaughlan (97), 9. Indiran Padayachee (89), 10. Ockert Fourie/John Magro (76), 11. Matt Campbell (74), 12. Dale Paterson (70), 13. Liam Talbot (68), 14. Ben Eggleston (56), 15. Sam Power (52), 16. Barton Mawer (48), 17. Andrew MacPherson (44), 18. Keith Kassulke (33), 19. Kevin Weeks (32), 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)
GT Challenge Class points (after round four of six)
1. Ben Foessel (383 points), 2. Brendan Cook/Matt Kingsley (357), 3. Michael Almond (150), 4. George Foessel (149), 5. Paul Van Loenhout/Renato Loberto (102), 6. Indiran Padayachee (77), 7. Jeff Neale/Terry Knight (43)
GT Sports Class points (after round four of six)
1. Mark Griffith (343 points), 2. Tony Alford (297), 3. Tony Martin (221), 4. Mark O’Connor (110), 5. Hayden Cooper (102), 6. Karl Reindler (58), 7. Grant Bromley (52), 8. Ryan McLeod (42)