Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti have claimed victory in Race 2 of GT Festival Phillip Island after holding multiple Safety Car restarts throughout an entertaining outing.
Behind the wheel of the Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3, both drivers produced a faultless run throughout the race, converting their pole position to a two-second victory.
Taking out second place was ARGT’s Elliott Schutte and Jaxon Evans in the Ferrari 296 GT3, while Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks round out the top three in the Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS EVO II.
Claiming top honours in the Trophy Class was the returning Alex Gardner and debutant Lee Stibbs in the Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 – the pair the only crew to finish the race in the class.
Like yesterday, there was plenty of drama to occur throughout the race as an eventful start saw multiple cars making contact and going off the track, including Volante Rosso Motorsport’s Josh Hunt in the McLaren 720s GT3 Evo and Luke Youlden, who would eventually retire due to the damage sustained in the incident.
Following on from the hectic start, the race settled down greatly as the Pro drivers settled into a decent rhythm with Ojeda leading Evans and the Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG of Brendon Leitch Sergio Pires at the restart.
The New South Welshman didn’t put a foot wrong for the rest of his stint as he built a lead of more than five seconds by the time they entered the pits just over the halfway mark.
It was during the race’s sole pit stop where the race proved a major difference, with the Kelso Electrical Team MPC crew taking the opportunity to give yesterday’s race winners in Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher new Pirellis on the right side of their Audi R8 LMS EVO II, giving them a decent advantage when they eventually returned to the track after their extended pit stop.
That allowed Schumacher to work his way back into contention for a podium over the rest of the stint as he picked off drivers one by one to eventually make his way up the order, including Shane Smollen in the Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO – the pair having some contact in the process.
As a result, Smollen ended up in the gravel, which brought out the Safety Car for the second time, bringing the field back in and reducing the decent gap that Lucchitti had enjoyed.
The race leader remained unfazed upon the restart though as he held his place at the front of the field ahead of Pires, who occupied second, and Schutte in third.
There would be one last spanner in the works for the race towards the final lap as a late dive from Mark Rosser in the Castrol Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II in an attempt to pass both Schutte and Pires saw him collide with the latter – eventually causing the Mercedes-AMG to retire.
That incident allowed Schutte to slot into second and Schumacher third, while Brooks and Wood’ ended up fourth ahead of Darren Currie in the Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II he shared with Valentino Astuti.
Schumacher and Feeney were ultimately handed a 15-second penalty for the incident with Smollen post-race, dropping them down the order and elevating Brooks and Wood to the podium.
Rosser eventually crossed the line in sixth, he and Tom Randle were also handed a penalty as a result of the incident with Pires wit 40 seconds added to their time to be classified 10th overall.
The incident between Rosser and Pires allowed Lucchitti to go unchallenged to the finish line and win the race by more than three seconds, while Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell’s hard work in the Zagame Autosport Ferrari 296 GT3 was rewarded with a fifth place finish courtesy of the two penalties.
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS returns in six weeks for the second round of the Shannons SpeedSeries, which takes place at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park as part of LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend on 8-10 May.