Mark Rosser has taken the outright lead of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS series after an enthralling debut race for the series at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin.
Rosser dodged the carnage during a dramatic start to the opening race of the weekend, which saw numerous cars facing the wrong way at the exit of the first corner as he and teammate Alex Peroni led from start to finish.
Behind the wheel of #268 Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II, Peroni and Rosser ended up crossing the finish line 8.903 seconds ahead of the #66 Move My Wheels by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO of Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti.
Rounding out the podium a further 1.385 seconds off after a brilliant recovery drive was the #181 OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Will Davison and Renee Gracie - the pair overcoming a challenging qualifying session to secure their second podium in as many rounds.
The top three cars ultimately ended up where they were as a result of escaping any damage during a dramatic opening lap that saw the likes of Sergio Pires in the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, the #1 Kelso Electrical Team MPC Audi R8 LMS of Brad Schumacher and the #26 ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3 of Elliott Schutte all facing incidents at Turn 1.
While Pires and Schumacher were able to escape with no true damage sustained, the same couldn't be said for Schutte, who was forced to bring the car into the pits, retiring the Ferrari he shares with Jaxon Evans.
Steve Brooks also suffered big damage from the opening lap and, although he did his best to keep the #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport / Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO II running after having jumped to second place. However, he was soon shown the black flag and was brought into the pits to have it fixed - he and teammate Ryan Wood were forced to circulate towards the back of the field due to the extra stop.
Schumacher, who was a man on a mission having lost his previously-earned pole position due to a post-qualifying penalty, again found himself in the thick of the action after he and Sergio Pires made contact when he was attempting a pass - the New South Welshman was handed a five-second penalty for the incident.
His charge saw him make up plenty of positions and picked off drivers one by one to make it as high as Gracie in third place before the mandatory pit stops took place.
There was no such drama at the front of the field though as Mark Rosser charged out to a massive lead with clear air and everyone fighting behind him - the South Australian eventually getting out to a 15-second lead when he came to the pits to hand the car over to Peroni.
Once the pro drivers all replaced the Ams, it was far more straightforward as Peroni cruised to the chequered flag, while Ojeda continued Lucchitti's good work to bring the car home in second.
Not far behind Ojeda was the battle for the final podium position as Feeney came out and picked up where Schumacher left off in his push for the podium. The Queenslander got to within one second of Davison, but the latter was able to hold on for his podium position.
With Feeney and Schumacher classified fourth, making up the top five was Zagame Autosport’s Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell – the pair capping off a memorable day in their #23 Ferrari 296 GT3 having scored a Race 2 pole position in the afternoon.
Finishing sixth and seventh respectively were their Tigani Motorsport teammates, with the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing Mercedes-AMG of Brendon Leitch and Pires crossing the line comfortably ahead of SRO GT Academy leader Oscar Targett and Shane Smollen in the Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG.
In eighth overall was the #24 KFC Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Paul Stokell and Matthew Stoupas – the pair also claiming Trophy Class honours having led from start to finish.
They ultimately dominated the class as their rivals Luke Youlden and Nathan Halstead in the #71 AED Consulting by Tigani Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3R finished and were no match for the winning crew.
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS has one more race remaining for the weekend, with the series set to run the first race of the Shannons SpeedSeries action at 10:10am ACST.