Ferrari has finished the opening session for Round 2 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS fastest, but it wasn’t the series leader.
The Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 shared by Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans set the fastest time around The Bend’s West configuration at a 1m 15.019s, but this was only 0.060s clear of the second placed Realta/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 featuring Jayden Ojeda pairing with Paul Lucchitti.
In what was a close session where the top 10 were covered by less than a second, it promises for a close weekend of action in the category’s first trip to The Bend facility in two years.
Racing at his home circuit, Mark Rosser’s Team BRM Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 was third with a time set by co-driver Alex Peroni as Am Brad Schumacher completed the running in the Shaw & Partners/Kelso Electrical/Team MPC example to sit an impressive fourth as Will Brown watched.
It was a positive start for the returning Adrian Deitz and Tony D’Alberto as the Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 was fifth ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Declan Fraser and Peter Hackett for Mercedes-AMG just 0.472s off the leading Ferrari’s pace.
Chaz Mostert was seventh in the second Arise Racing GT Ferrari to be shared by reigning series winner Liam Talbot, while Am Class was led by RAM Motorsport duo Mike Sheargold and Garth Walden in eighth outright driving their Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Last start winners Tim Miles and Brendon Leitch were ninth in the Dayle ITM Team MPC Audi as new teammates Steve Brookes and Nick McBride completed the outright top 10.
Just outside were the Renee Gracie/Paul Stokell Audi, the sole Trophy Class KMB Motorsport Aston Martin of Valentino Astuti and Darren Currie, while second in Am Class was the Valmont Racing R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 shared by Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires.
Leading the Am Class standings, James and Theo Koundouris were third for Supabarn Supermarkets in their Mercedes-AMG GT3 from Ash Samadi’s Audi, the returning Black Wolf Motorsport entry for Shane Woodman and Ben Schoots as Marc Cini rounded out the field.
The second and final practice session at The Bend for Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS is at 12:40pm local time (1:10pm AEST).