Young gun Valentino Astuti is a late driver inclusion for the opening round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS this weekend.
The 2022 Australian Formula Ford champion has been recruited by Mike Bailey to race the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 in the Pro-Am class at the famous Phillip Island circuit.
After winning the Formula Ford title, Astuti competed in Super3 in 2023 before being recruited by Bailey for an opportunity in his popular Aston Martin V12 GT3.
In a unique twist, the event will be the first time that Valentino and his older brother Antonio will compete at the same race meeting since their karting days. Antonio will race in the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series in a Mercedes AMG GT4, and Valentino in GT3.
The Astuti family has a long history in Australian motorsport. Their father Sam raced open wheelers in the 1990s, while his father competed in the 1970s.
Official practice for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Phillip Island kicks off today (Friday), followed by qualifying and the first race on Saturday and more racing on Sunday.
All Fanatec GT Australia races will be broadcast live and free on 7plus and 7mate during the 2024 season.
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Valentino Astuti
"It’s been a while since I’ve been in a race car and I’ve never been in a GT3 before, so this is really exciting," said Astuti.
"It’s amazing to be entering race week again, it’s been a long time since I’ve been racing something, so this opportunity popped up and I’m really stoked to be back on the grid.
"'Im expecting a lot more grip with the GT3 car. I’m not used to much aero apart from the Nissan Altima I drove in Super3, so it’ll be good to get used to all of that around a high speed circuit like Phillip Island.
"It’s the first weekend my brother and I are racing together in cars, though it’s going to be competitive between us on who goes better! It’s all really fun and enjoyable."