Will Brown and Brad Schumacher have become the first repeat race winners of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season at Queensland Raceway in what was an Audi 1-2.
Schumacher guided the Shaw & Partners/Kelso Electrical Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II to victory from Dayle ITM Team MPC’s Tim Miles in a reversal of the result from Race 2 at Phillip Island earlier this season. Third was Triple Eight Race Engineering duo Peter Hackett and Declan Fraser to complete a German clean-sweep of the podium.
It was the same in the Am Class as RAM Motorsport greeted the flag in its Mercedes-AMG GT3.
There was drama before the race even started when pole sitter Jayden Ojeda felt something amiss on the reconnaissance lap, which upon inspection was a cracked brake rotor. This was replaced on the Realta/Tigani Motorsport just before the start, but it didn’t worry Ojeda.
It was a frantic, but clean start as fellow front-row startel Brown moved the Shaw & Partners/Kelso Electrical Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II across on Ojeda before Turn 1, but it was the Mercedes-AMG holding the advantage.
The big mover was Brendon Leitch, who demoted Brown in the Dayle ITM Team MPC Audi on the opening lap as the Supercars Championship leader struggled in the early phase.
Behind the lead trio, Jaxon Evans in the lead Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 was challenging Declan Fraser for fourth, but the Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG held the New Zealander at bay.
Series leader Chaz Mostert was playing tail-gunner to teammate Evans ahead of yesterday’s race winner Alex Peroni driving the Team BRM/ACM Finance Audi.
An impressive performance was eighth for Valentino Astuti piloting the KMB Motorsport Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3, but an off at Turn 1 dropped him into the clutches of Renee Gracie’s OnlyFans Team MPC Audi.
Gracie lost time compared to the leaders as she failed to pass the Trophy Class Aston Martin.
Leading the Am Class was the winning team from Race 1, Black Wolf Motorsport with Ben Schoots starting, but this changed once the pit stops were made as Ash Samadi emerged at the front.
When the Pro-Am pit stops occurred following the Am Class, Gracie was the first to pit and hand over to Paul Stokell, but the leaders pitted a couple of laps later and emerged altogether.
It was Brad Schumacher leading from Tim Miles and Paul Lucchitti in the pole-sitting Mercedes-AMG.
But the pressure was on as Peter Hackett led the attack on Lucchitti, which also included the pair of Arise Racing GT Ferraris.
Hackett succeeded in moving through on Lucchitti and set about chasing Miles, who remained 6.2s behind the leader Schumacher.
Mark Rosser had an eventful start to his stint having swapped with Peroni as first he ventured into the Turn 1 sand trap, before contact with Paul Stokell led to a spin at the third corner and a 15s penalty for the OnlyFans Team MPC Audi was the result.
Series leader Liam Talbot also moved through on Lucchitti into fourth, but teammate Elliott Schutte was unable to find a way through.
A superb stint from RAM Motorsport’s Garth Walden elevated the Mercedes-AMG GT3 into Am Class contention, which turned into the lead when he made a successful pass at Turn 2 on Samadi.
The Team BRM/ACM Finance Audi’s luck failed to improve when a suspected engine problem forced it into the pit lane and although it re-emerged on track, Rosser was many laps down.
Although the Am Class win was somewhat decided, the battle for fourth was heating up between Woodman and the returning Harrolds Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo in the hands of Ross Poulakis.
At the front, Schumacher maintained a comfortable margin to share victory with Brown to become the first repeat winner of the season.
Miles was unable to close as he scored second alongside Leitch from Hackett/Fraser, Talbot/Mostert and Lucchitti/Ojeda rounded out the top five.
Following in sixth was the second Arise Racing GT Ferrari of Schutte/Evans, Stokell/Gracie and the winning Am Class entry of Sheargold/Walden for RAM Motorsport.
Samadi was second in Am Class and eighth outright, while rounding out the top 10 was the KMB Motorsport Aston Martin as Darren Currie finished off the early work completed by Valentino Astuti to win Trophy Class.
The Koundouris brothers -James and Theo - had been struggling with fuel pressure problems across the weekend, but took third in Am Class ahead of the Harrolds Racing entry of Ross Poulakis and Chris Batzios.
Race 1 Am Class winners Schoots and Woodman took fifth ahead of Marc Cini in the Hallmarc Team MPC Audi.
A penalty was handed to the Scott Taylor Motorsport Trophy Class Porsche, but it still achieved second in Trophy Class for Scott Taylor and Paul Morris.
Rounding out the field was the Team BRM/ACM Finance Audi, which as previously mentioned stopped a second time to cure an engine malady.
The next round for the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS is the inaugural SRO GT Festival at Phillip Island on August 23-25.