GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS wrapped up Pre-Qualifying with Tigani Motorsport once again setting the pace, as Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti recorded the fastest time of the session.
Ojeda’s late flyer of 1:30.397 sealed the top spot, edging out Pro-Am title contenders Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher by just seven-hundredths of a second to complete a commanding day in the Mercedes AMG GT3 for the Sydney-based squad at Hampton Downs.
Underscoring the tight competition across the field were Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks in the Melbourne Performance Centre/Wolfbrook Audi R8 LMS Evo II, only nine-hundredths shy of the Kelso Electrical Audi R8 LMS Evo II, while current Pro-Am leaders Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans were a further nine-thousandths back to end the session fourth overall.
Rounding out the top five were Practice 2 pace-setters George King and Marcel Zalloua in the second Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, whose best lap was three tenths slower than its sister car.
The margin between the front-runners remained razor-thin, with another two crews within one-tenth of the Mercedes. Zagame Autosport’s Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell were only five-thousandths behind, while Jonny Reid and Sam Fillmore — impressive on debut — ended just shy of one-tenth off the Ferrari.
It was a promising outing for both debutant pairings, with Reid and Fillmore setting the early benchmark before gradually slipping down the order as the session unfolded.
In the Am Cup, Black Wolf Motorsport’s Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman topped the times, finishing three-tenths clear of 111 Racing’s Grant Donaldson and Darren Currie to close out a productive day for the Mercedes-AMG runners.
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS returns tomorrow with a double qualifying session and Race 1, which will be broadcast on 7plus live and free at 2:26pm AEDT / 4:26pm NZDT.