Liam Talbot has held off a hard-charging Yasser Shahin in a thrilling conclusion to Race Two for Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Adelaide.
The Shannons Audi and EMA Motorsport Porsche left pit lane line astern after co-drivers Christopher Mies and Matt Campbell completed their opening stints, and were never separated by more than a second and a half over the remaining twelve and a half minutes.
There was drama before the green flag had even come out, as Am competitors Brad Schumacher and Theo Koundouris came together at turn eleven on the run to the rolling start, with the Schumacher Motorsport Audi spinning as a result.
Axle Donaldson would also spin his Invitational class MARC II Mustang at turn eleven, leading to messy formation for the back half of the eighteen car field as they rolled to the start line.
At the front of the field Campbell would get the jump from pole position, as Paul Stokell would slot into second in the KFC Audi that had qualified a brilliant second in Qualifying Two.
The pace difference between the Pro Am Porsche and the Am Audi was evident, as Campbell pulled out a big advantage in the opening laps, with fellow Pros Mies, Jayden Ojeda, and Max Hofer got bottled up behind the KFC Audi.
Mies would make his way past Stokell at the end of lap three with a bold move at turn fourteen, and set about chasing down Campbell who had almost five seconds in hand over the German.
Hofer would make his way by both Ojeda and Stokell in quick succession, however by that stage the Jamec Racing Audi had lost touch with the lead pair, who were both more than ten seconds up the road.
Campbell would remain untroubled at the front of the field in the EMA Motorsport entry, however Mies would marginally close the gap in the later stages of the opening stint, though wouldn't challenge Campbell on track.
The latter half of Mies' stint proved to be pivotal in the story of the race, as with a three and a half second advantage in compulsory pit stop time, the Shannons Audi would be in a position where it would jump the Shahin/Campbell Porsche in the pit cycle.
This set the stage for a battle to the flag, as both Talbot and Shahin would not only be battling each other, but also battling through lapped traffic in the closing stages.
Talbot would be baulked on more than one occasion as he was the first to come up on traffic, with Shahin almost making a move at the turn nine hairpin on lap nineteen after Talbot was slowed by the Mercedes of James Koundouris through turn eight.
Talbot would survive that moment, and would eventually pull away from Shahin across the next five laps, establishing a big enough buffer to control the margin right the way to the finish.
Shahin would cross the line only three and a half tenths of a second behind Talbot, with the Geoff Emery/Max Hofer Jamec Racing Audi rounding out the podium almost twenty seconds behind the Talbot/Mies Audi.
In fourth outright was the first of the Am runners, Paul Stokell and Matt Stoupas enjoying a great run in their KFC Audi to finish two seconds ahead of Renee Gracie's Only Fans Audi, a personal best result for Gracie in her first weekend in the Am class.
GT3 Trophy was won by Marcos Flack in tenth outright in the Sonic Motor Racing Services Porsche, whilst the Invitational class was taken out by the T2 Racing MARC GT of Adam Hargraves.
The season finale for Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS begins at 9:20am local time tomorrow morning.
The race will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506.