Triple Eight Race Engineering has confirmed that Declan Fraser and Peter Hackett will take the wheel of its Mercedes AMG GT3 in the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS.
The champion Queensland-based squad will enter one car for the full championship in the Pro-Am class.
Fraser is no stranger to Triple Eight. The North Queensland native drove one of the team’s Super2 entries to title success in 2022 and competed in its Bathurst 1000 wildcard with Craig Lowndes the same year.
The 2024 season will mark Fraser’s first drive in GT racing machinery. His only experience in sports cars was a one-off race in a GT4 car at Sandown in 2022 with Mark Griffith.
Hackett is a stalwart of GT racing in Australia and around the world. These days, he fills his time being responsible for conducting the on track experiences for Mercedes Benz and AMG in South East Asia, but he has plenty of runs on the board behind the wheel in competition. He won the 2017 Australian GT Championship with New Zealander Dominic Storey and finished on the podium in his class at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2012.
Hackett’s last race in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia came at Mount Panorama in 2022 where he partnered Prince Jefri Ibrahim.
The team will reveal the look of the Mercedes AMG GT3 in the coming weeks ahead of a test day for both Fraser and Hackett at Queensland Raceway.
This year marks the fourth season that Triple Eight will compete in Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS having been involved in the series since the inception of SRO into the Australian market in 2021.
The team has enjoyed great success in the national category, claiming five race wins with a best championship finish of third in 2022.
Triple Eight is dovetailing its Australian GT program with its exploits in selected rounds of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, spearheaded by drivers Ibrahim, Jordan Love and Luca Stolz. The team will compete at prestigious events like the Crowdstrike 24 Hour of Spa and the Indianapolis 8 Hour.
The opening round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia will be held as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries at Phillip Island on April 12-14.
QUOTES
Declan Fraser
#888 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes AMG GT3
“It’s cool to team up again with Triple Eight. I won the Super2 title with them, coming back into a professional class, I’m really excited to get underway,” said Fraser.
“I have never raced a GT3 car. The only time I have raced this style of car was a one-off race at Sandown in GT4, but we have a test day at Queensland Raceway beforehand, plus plenty of practice miles at Phillip Island leading into the event.
“Going to Phillip Island is going to give me the best grasp on how the cars react, trusting the aerodynamics, trusting the tyre. A Supercar has a fair bit of aero, but a GT3 car has even more, so I will need to learn as I go.
“Triple Eight has such a plethora of information and data with these cars, and Peter Hackett has raced them so many times. I’m really going to lean on his experience to understand how the cars work.
“We’ve assembled an amazing combination for this entry – drivers, team and car. Pete has done so much, and so has the team. I’m really confident that we are going to have a good result.
“The GT class looks very strong, too. Every day it surprises me – new big names being announced – a few GT experts and Supercars drivers. It’s going to showcase the skills everyone has, the variety in the brands of cars, and that’s exactly what GT racing is about.”
Peter Hackett
#888 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes AMG GT3
“It’s super exciting for me. I’ve been in this championship in various guises over the years, but not since I won with Dom in 2017 and it’s a title that I’d love to win again,” said Hackett.
“I’m honoured to be part of Triple Eight again. I know how much they want to win and I’m keen to be part of its assault on the title.
“GT racing has been growing in Australia for a long time. It has been through a number of phases, but it's a spectacle that drivers and sponsors want to be a part of. With top line Supercars drivers and internationals taking part, these are the type of drivers and teams that should be in this class.
“And with the BOP that the class has, it gives everyone an equal chance to win.
“We know that Declan is fast. Anyone who drives a race car as well as he does can get the job done in GT cars. I’m looking forward to helping him out as he gets used to the class, but I’m under no illusions that he is the gold rated driver and I’m the bronze. My job is to bring the car home safe for him.
“It’s really cool that guys like Declan want to be in GT World Challenge too. It says a lot for the championship as it moves forward.”