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GT Racing
GT: Erebus Mercedes, Mopar Viper Take Australian GT Wins At Phillip Island
Wild weather and spectacular racing marks second round of the Australian GT Championship
...
Peter Hackett and James Brock lead Race 1 at a soggy Phillip Island (Photo: Nathan Wong/Shannons Nationals)
Weather played havoc with the second round of the Sergeant Security Australian GT Championship held at Phillip Island.
Cold weather and wild rain greeted the 21-car field for the first day’s running with the second practice session being cancelled as more than 40 inches of water had invaded the track at Turn 1. On-and-off rain remained for the weekend and would eventually play a major part in the outcome of Race 2.
The Erebus Mercedes Benz SLS GT3 of Peter Hackett and James Brock would be going up against Greg Crick’s Dodge Viper GT3 and the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3s of Allan Simonsen/Nick O’Halloran and John Bowe/Peter Edwards. Maranello Motorsports was the only top team to employ the Pro-Am format for their drivers.
Simonsen and Bowe proved to be lightning-quick throughout the weekend. As Maranello Motorsports skirted the weight rules closely over the weekend, their work would be undone. Simonson had set the fastest qualifying time but, together with the sister car he was sent to the back of the grid after being found underweight.
The official explanation from the team was a difference in wet/dry tire weight from their normal Michelin tires to their new Pirellis. Whatever the cause, the end result was the same and they would have to battle their way through the field.
Race 1 would get underway in dark and wet conditions with the two Erebus Mercedes leading the field.
The one-hour races would feature a compulsory pitstop – with the drivers at the front of the grid having longer pitstops to those at the back.
The tricky conditions saw the experience of Bowe come to the fore in the first half of the race as he battled from last to first before his pitstop.
After the pitstops, Edwards took over from Bowe and had several seconds in hand. The Mercedes drivers would not be denied their win and closed quickly on the AM driver.
With a handful of laps left, the Mercedes’ had caught the back of the Ferrari and in one foul swoop, the lead changed.
In a move reminiscent of Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher at Spa, one Mercedes went to the outside and the other to the inside, and in one corner, Hackett took the lead from Brock and Edwards. Edwards would continue to fall down the order and Klark Quinn took third in his Porsche.
The race was flagged five minutes early due to noise restrictions imposed on the track.
“It was remarkable for our team, as it was only the second race we ran two cars… and we came 1-2,” Hackett said after the race. “Early on, I led and John Bowe went past. James though was sitting behind me shadow boxing me all the way.
“I was on the radio to the team to ask if he was faster – and they said no! The weather came in and after the pitstops, the Ferrari was first and James was second. It was getting dark and there were four Ferraris in the race and I didn’t really know which was which. When we got to Southern Loop, I saw a red Ferrari – I didn’t know it was the leader but I hoped.
“Coming into Southern Loop the Ferrari was on the inside, James was on the outside and I through it would be strange for a Ferrari to stick on the inside out of the corner, so I planned to stick on the inside and it was one of those times where the oceans parted and went through for the lead!”
Cold weather and wild rain greeted the 21-car field for the first day’s running with the second practice session being cancelled as more than 40 inches of water had invaded the track at Turn 1. On-and-off rain remained for the weekend and would eventually play a major part in the outcome of Race 2.
The Erebus Mercedes Benz SLS GT3 of Peter Hackett and James Brock would be going up against Greg Crick’s Dodge Viper GT3 and the Maranello Motorsports Ferrari 458 GT3s of Allan Simonsen/Nick O’Halloran and John Bowe/Peter Edwards. Maranello Motorsports was the only top team to employ the Pro-Am format for their drivers.
Simonsen and Bowe proved to be lightning-quick throughout the weekend. As Maranello Motorsports skirted the weight rules closely over the weekend, their work would be undone. Simonson had set the fastest qualifying time but, together with the sister car he was sent to the back of the grid after being found underweight.
The official explanation from the team was a difference in wet/dry tire weight from their normal Michelin tires to their new Pirellis. Whatever the cause, the end result was the same and they would have to battle their way through the field.
Race 1 would get underway in dark and wet conditions with the two Erebus Mercedes leading the field.
The one-hour races would feature a compulsory pitstop – with the drivers at the front of the grid having longer pitstops to those at the back.
The tricky conditions saw the experience of Bowe come to the fore in the first half of the race as he battled from last to first before his pitstop.
After the pitstops, Edwards took over from Bowe and had several seconds in hand. The Mercedes drivers would not be denied their win and closed quickly on the AM driver.
With a handful of laps left, the Mercedes’ had caught the back of the Ferrari and in one foul swoop, the lead changed.
In a move reminiscent of Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher at Spa, one Mercedes went to the outside and the other to the inside, and in one corner, Hackett took the lead from Brock and Edwards. Edwards would continue to fall down the order and Klark Quinn took third in his Porsche.
The race was flagged five minutes early due to noise restrictions imposed on the track.
“It was remarkable for our team, as it was only the second race we ran two cars… and we came 1-2,” Hackett said after the race. “Early on, I led and John Bowe went past. James though was sitting behind me shadow boxing me all the way.
“I was on the radio to the team to ask if he was faster – and they said no! The weather came in and after the pitstops, the Ferrari was first and James was second. It was getting dark and there were four Ferraris in the race and I didn’t really know which was which. When we got to Southern Loop, I saw a red Ferrari – I didn’t know it was the leader but I hoped.
“Coming into Southern Loop the Ferrari was on the inside, James was on the outside and I through it would be strange for a Ferrari to stick on the inside out of the corner, so I planned to stick on the inside and it was one of those times where the oceans parted and went through for the lead!”
FIA GT Nogaro
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