The race for the highly acclaimed SRO GT Academy prize has tightened ever so slightly at Hidden Valley Raceway after Valentino Astuti outscored championship leader Oscar Targett across the weekend.
With a fully-funded Silver Cup entry at the 2027 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on the line, Astuti's solid weekend kept him within range of the leader, who has put himself in a commanding position to secure the special prize after four rounds.
Introduced at the start of this year, the SRO GT Academy provides a pathway for emerging GT talent to reach the pinnacle of global GT racing through skill, dedication and professionalism, with one GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS driver earning the coveted international opportunity.
Open to FIA Silver-graded drivers under the age of 30, points are awarded based on qualifying pace, average stint times and sportsmanship rather than outright race results.
Targett arrived in Darwin in outstanding form after claiming the previous four races, having swept both outings at The Bend before adding another two wins on home soil at Queensland Raceway, and the Queenslander extended his streak to five after winning Saturday's race at Hidden Valley with co-driver Shane Smollen.
Despite the strong start to the weekend, the round ultimately belonged to Astuti in the SRO GT Academy battle, with the Trading Garage / Team MPC driver outperforming Targett in five of the six scoring criteria.
On the points though, Targett's only advantage came in Race 1 qualifying, when he guided the #56 Kollosche AMG by Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 to a better grid position before Astuti went on to have a better run in both Race 1 and all of Race 2.
The weekend was a much-needed result for Astuti, who shares the #2 Trading Garage Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II with Darren Currie, as he clawed back 12 points on the SRO GT Academy leader to reduce Targett's overall lead to 42 points and ensure the fight for the prize remains alive.
With two rounds still to come in 2026, the fight for the SRO GT Academy title and the opportunity to compete on the international stage remains wide open.
The battle will resume when GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS heads to Sydney Motorsport Park for the fifth round of the season on September 18-20.
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