Experienced New Zealand racer Steve Brooks will team with Australia Porsche stalwart Nick McBride in the second round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at The Bend this weekend.
Brooks and McBride will drive an Audi R8 LMS Evo II, prepared by Melbourne Performance Centre.
The car was last seen competing in the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour, finishing third outright in the hands of Kelvin van der Linde, Christopher Haase and Liam Talbot.
The entry will mark Brook’s first GT3 race in Australia, and his first-ever visit to The Bend.
While Brook is new to GT3 racing in Australia, he knows his way around Audi GT3s. He has competed in the South Island Endurance Series, as well as other long distance GT events – all in Audi R8s.
McBride is no stranger to sportscar racing, having competed in the competitive Carrera Cup championship since 2014. The Victorian has finished with a best season result of fourth outright on three occasions (2016, 2017 and 2019).
This year, McBride is racing in Carrera Cup with Melbourne Performance Centre, and that association was the catalyst for him partnering with Brooks.
The second round of Fanatec GT Australia will be held on The Bend’s West circuit layout, featuring two one-hour races on Saturday and Sunday.
All races can be watched live and free on the screens of Seven (7mate and streamed on 7plus). International viewers, including New Zealanders, can watch via the GT World YouTube channel.
QUOTES
Steve Brooks
#88 Team MPC, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2
“I’ve raced GTs in New Zealand previously in the South Island Endurance Series driving an Audi and Tony Quinn’s six hour event at Highlands, plus even gave the Bathurst 6 Hour ago, but we broke a driveshaft an hour in,” said Brooks.
“I love the Audi. I think out of all the GT3 models the Audi is really good value for money and in my opinion outperform the other brands. The Audi here in New Zealand is consistently first or second in those conditions, so it’s part of the reason I’ll jump into one of those in Australia.
“Never been to The Bend. I’m looking forward to checking out the facility, it’s an amazing venue and it’s been done well, plus the museum is pretty cool I hear.
“I’m looking forward to working with Nick, studying his data and seeing how we can improve.”
Nick McBride
#88 Team MPC, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2
"I'm really excited for the opportunity and a new challenge driving an Audi R8 GT3 at The Bend this weekend," said McBride.
"I've never been around The Bend short track, and I've never driven a GT3 car before, so this will be an all-new experience and a great chance to try something a little different.
"I watched the opening round from Phillip Island on the television and I had some serious FOMO. It looked like so much fun.
"The GT3 races are really interesting, with Ams starting one day and the Pros the next day. I love the team aspect of it. We don't get that so much in Carrera Cup. We are generally out there in Sprint races, so it will be cool to team up with someone else and have the team make an impact in the races.
"I have no idea what to expect. It will be a huge learning curve, but I'm just going in with eyes wide open."