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More fresh metal to enter GT World Challenge Australia
A new Audi R8 GT3 LMS has arrived on Australian shores and recently tested at The Bend Motorsport Park last week.
Owner Mark Rosser debuted in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS last round at The Bend where he raced an older specification Audi R8 GT3 LMS Ultra to a top five finish.
Since then, Rosser has taken delivery of a latest specification Audi in preparation for the three-hour endurance events to be held at both The Bend and Supercheap Auto Bathurst International later this year.
The campaign is being overseen by S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship winning operation Team BRM, with both parties emerging delighted after the test.
“We tested last week and it went well,” Team BRM’s Mark Rundle summarised.
“It was just about getting mark up to speed as he adapted from his older spec Audi to the newer version.
“From a technology point of view it’s a fair step forward, but Mark got down to where he wanted to be by the end of the day, which was good.”
Scheduled to debut at Sandown, it’s the longer distance events closing out the inaugural Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS season where Rosser will be partnered by a rising star of the sport competing in high-level sedan racing.
“Mark’s really looking forward to the endurance rounds and those events are his main aim,” said Rundle.
“His main goal is to make sure he’s all prepared for that side of the campaign. At the next round, he’s definitely looking forward to try and run towards the front of his class, which I think he is more than capable of doing.”
Rosser’s pathway into the category is one many competitors are beginning to follow as the number of current specification models on the grid continues to grow.
“We got the old car originally because he wanted a toe in the water experience, Mark’s come from Saloon Car racing 10 years ago and that’s realistically the extent of his racing so he didn’t want to jump too far in too quickly,” Rundle explained.
“The old car came up at the right time and it was at a reasonably good price. Mark decided to go down that road and make sure he liked it first, before committing to something that’s a lot financially.
“Mark enjoyed the racing that he did in the older spec Audi and this new one came up so he thought why not, let’s jump on it.
“It’s part of the progression where he was originally going anyway. At the end of the day, he loves the Audi product, the support from MPC and Audi is fantastic, so when the new R8 became available it was a real no-brainer.”
Rundle explained it took Rosser 10 laps to achieve comparable lap times to his older specification Audi.
“It’s significantly faster at the end of the day,” Rundle stated.
The next round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS will be held at Sandown on September 17-19.