Outside of the thrilling battle for line honours in the Repco Bathurst 12 Hour, the class battles were also closely contested by local teams in Pro-Am and Silver.
Dual Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS Series winner Yasser Shahin led the race outright at one stage, but emerged victorious in a close Pro-Am Class battle marking a double victory for Manthey EMA as it also achieved the ultimate with its latest specification Porsche Type-992 GT3R ‘Grello’.
Shahin joined by Harry King and Alessio Picariello in the previous generation Porsche backed by The Bend finished ninth outright, just ahead of the Heart of Racing by SPS Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Alex Ribera’s, Ross Gunn and Ian James.
Triple Eight Race Engineering finished third in the class after slowing during the closing stages with Jamie Whincup behind the wheel. Prince Jefri Ibrahim and Jordan Love completed superb stints prior in the mixed conditions to place the Mercedes-AMG in contention.
It proved a tough day for the class winning Manthey EMA Porsche after a tangle with Pro-AM rival M Motorsport at McPhillamy Park left Shahin stuck in the gravel trap, however the recovery drive from the trio ensured it outlasted its rivals to take the win.
Finishing fourth was the Hallmarc Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 of Marc Cini, Lee Holdsworth and Dean Fiore, while M Motorsport in its Mercedes-AMG GT3 experienced a tough day including contacting the wall at Skyline, but Justin McMillan, Jack Le Brocq, Glen Wood and Garth Walden completed the top five.
Silver Class was secured by a dominant performance from Wall Racing in the debut appearance of the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo owned by Adrian Deitz. Joined by Tony D’Alberto, David Wall and Grant Denyer, Deitz gave the Lamborghini first up success as it proved a strong race package despite the treacherous conditions.
Valmont Racing’s Sergio Pires, Marcel Valloua, Luke Youlden and local Brad Shiels took second in the Audi ahead of stablemates James and Theo Koundouris, David Russell and Jonathon Webb in the Supabarn Supermarkets Mercedes-AMG.
Other drivers set to have an impact in this year’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS season included Liam Talbot, who took third outright in his last start for Audi alongside Christopher Haase and Kelvin van der Linde.
Jason Evans was fourth in the Phantom Global Racing Porsche alongside Joel Eriksson and Bastian Buss, with the long-time driver of the German brand racing alongside Talbot at Arise Racing GT in two Ferrari 296 GT3s.
Luck was not on Brad Schumacher’s side as part of Audi Sport Customer Racing Australia’s attack as suspension damage forced the KFC/Jamec Racing R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 into retirement on lap 216.
The opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS season is at Phillip Island on April 12-14.