2016 Australian GT Championship

2016 Australian GT Championship season
Previous:	2015	Next:	2017

The 2016 Australian GT Championship will be a CAMS-sanctioned Australian motor racing championship open to FIA GT3 cars and similar cars as approved for the championship. The season will begin on 3 March 2016 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and will end on 13 November at Highlands Motorsport Park and will be the 20th running of the Australian GT Championship, with some of the races held in New Zealand.

The season will mark an expansion in Australian GT, with a separate endurance championship, the CAMS Australian Endurance Championship, being run for the first time. There will also be a third series for older-specification GT3 and GT4 class cars called the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series.^[1]

The Australian GT Championship events will be held in support of V8 Supercar events, as part of rounds of the Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships and as self-promoted events. The Australian Endurance Championship will also share events with V8 Supercars and the Shannons Nationals, though its final two rounds will be at Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park, both owned by series owner Tony Quinn. The Australian GT Trophy Series will run exclusively at Shannons Nationals events.^[1]

Divisions

The 2016 season will include three separate championships:

• CAMS Australian GT Championship, shorter races for current-specification GT3 cars.
• CAMS Australian Endurance Championship, longer endurance races featuring multiple drivers and current-specification GT3 cars.
• CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series, shorter races for older-specification GT3 and GT4 cars.

All competitors are able to enter the Australian GT Championship and the Australian Endurance Championship, and all are eligible to win the categories outright, however only older-specification cars may enter the Australian GT Trophy Series.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers have taken part during the season.^[2][3]

Team Vehicle No. Drivers Class Events Australian GT Championship Jamec Pem Racing Audi R8 LMS 1 Christopher Mies Geoff Emery GT 1–2 Audi R8 LMS Ultra 2 Steve McLaughlan GT 1–2 Supabarn Supamarkets Audi R8 LMS 4 James Koundouris Marcus Marshall GT 1–2 Adina Apartments Hotels Audi R8 LMS 5 Greg Taylor GT 1–2 Skwirk Online Education Audi R8 LMS Ultra 6 Rod Salmon GT 1–2 Darrell Lea Aston Martin Vantage GT3 7 Tony Quinn GT 2 McLaren 650S GT3 37 Klark Quinn GT 1–2 Tony Quinn 1 Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 8 Cameron McConville Adrian Deitz GT 2 Ferrari 488 GT3 88 Tony D'Alberto Peter Edwards GT-I 2 Team ASR Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 9 Ash Samadi GT 1–2 Objective Racing McLaren 650S GT3 11 Tony Walls GT 1–2 Taplin Real Estate Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 14 Andrew Taplin Dean Canto GT 1–2 Veloce Motorsport - ULX110 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 15 Keith Wong GT-I 1 Hog's Breath Cafe / Griffith Corporation Mercedes-AMG GT3 19 Mark Griffith GT 1–2 Rosso Verde Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 21 Hector Lester GT-I 2 JBS Australia Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 23 Roger Lago GT 1–2 HBS Motorsports Audi R8 LMS Ultra 33 Simon Ellingham GT 1–2 Tim Miles 2 Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 38 Matthew Solomon GT 1–2 63 Peter Hackett Dominic Storey GT 1 Koala Motorsport Ferrari F430 GT3 43 Brenton Griguol Tim Macrow GT-I 1–2 M Motorsport Interlloy M Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 46 John Magro GT 2 Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 48 Justin McMillan Glen Wood GT 1–2 Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 49 John Magro Hayden Cooper GT 1 DeFelice Homes Ferrari 488 GT3 49 Andrea Montermini Benny Simonsen GT-I 2 AMAC Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3-R 51 Andrew Macpherson GT 1–2 Tekno Autosports McLaren 650S GT3 59 Jonathon Webb Grant Denyer GT 1–2 60 Nathan Morcom GT 1–2 61 Nathan Antunes Elliot Barbour GT 1–2 Performance West Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 62 Alex Rullo Peter Rullo GT 2 Modena Engineering BMW Z4 GT3 92 Ricky Capo GT 1–2 Waltec Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3-R 93 John Martin Aaron Tebb GT 1–2 Miedecke Motor Group Aston Martin Vantage GT3 95 George Miedecke Andrew Miedecke GT-I 2 Fire Rating Solutions Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560 GT3 99 Matthew Turnbull GT-I 2 BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3 100 Steven Richards Max Twigg GT-I GT 1 2 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 222 Scott Taylor Craig Baird GT 1–2 Australian GT Trophy Series Adina Apartments Hotels Audi R8 LMS 1 Greg Taylor Barton Mawer TR 1 Fire Rating Solutions Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560 GT3 9 Matthew Turnbull TR 1 KPH Racing / OLOF Family Cosmetics Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 12 Brendan Cook Ockert Fourie TR-C 1 Trofeo Motorsport Maserati Trofeo 29 Jim Manolios TR-C 1 Tusk Windsor Lamborghini Gallardo 31 Francis Placentino TR 1 Exotic Track Days Ferrari 458 Challenge 33 Scott Hookey TR-C 1 MARC Cars Australia MARC Focus V8 54 Tony Alford TR-M 1 92 Michael Benton Bruce Williams TR-M 1 95 Geoff Taunton Sam Gerrard TR-M 1 MARC Mazda3 V8 93 Jake Camilleri TR-M 1 94 Morgan Haber Jimmy Vernon TR-M 1 Southern Star Developments Audi R8 LMS 57 Rob Smith TR 1 Warrin Mining Volvo CE Porsche 911 GT3 Cup 60 Jed Wallis Adam Wallis TR 1 Melbourne Performance Centre Dodge Viper 66 Ben Porter TR 1 Whitlock Bull Bars Audi R8 LMS 72 Con Whitlock TR 1 JJA Consulting Group Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560 GT3 77 Jan Jinadasa TR 1

Class Meaning GT Australian GT Championship GT-I Australian GT Championship (Invitational Class) TR Australian GT Trophy Series TR-C Australian GT Trophy Series (Challenge Class) TR-M Australian GT Trophy Series (MARC Class)

• Walkinshaw Racing will enter the Australian GT Championship with a factory-supported Porsche team.^[4] John Martin was confirmed as the driver for the Australian GT Championship, and will be joined by Duvashen Padayachee for the Australian Endurance Championship rounds.^[5]
• Former series runner-up Peter Hackett returned to the series with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. Hackett led a two-car team with factory support from Mercedes AMG, operated by Eggleston Motorsport.^[6] Scott Taylor Motorsport will also run a Mercedes-AMG GT3.
• V8 Supercar team Tekno Autosports ran three McLaren 650S GT3s.^[7]
• BMW entered the championship with Steven Richards and Max Twigg driving the team's BMW M6 GT3.^[8] Ricky Capo will run a privately-entered BMW Z4 GT3.^[9]
• A Ferrari 488 GT3 was campaigned by Vicious Rumour Racing from the second round of the Australian GT Championship after the car was received in late February.^[10]
• Trofeo Motorsport will run a pair of Lamborghini Huracán GT3s from mid-season onwards.^[11]

Race calendar

The Australian GT Championship will be contested over six rounds, the Australian Endurance Championship over four rounds and the Australian GT Trophy Series over five rounds. Each race, with the exception of the Australian Grand Prix round of the Australian GT Championship, will include at least one compulsory timed pit stop.^[1] The exception is the Australian Grand Prix round where drivers seeded time is added to the final race time.

Australian GT Championship
Round	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date	Winners
1	Adelaide Street Circuit	Adelaide, South Australia	3 x 40 minute	3–6 March	Justin McMillan Glen Wood
2	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit	Melbourne, Victoria	4 x 25 minute	17–20 March	Christopher Mies Geoff Emery
3	Barbagallo Raceway	Perth, Western Australia	2 x 60 minute	6–8 May
4	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	2 x 60 minute	27–28 May
5	Townsville Street Circuit	Townsville, Queensland	2 x 60 minute	8–10 July
6	Highlands Motorsport Park	Cromwell, New Zealand	2 x 60 minute	11–12 November
Australian GT Trophy Series
Round	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date	Winners
1	Sandown Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	2 x 50 minute	1–3 April	Greg Taylor Barton Mawer
2	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	2 x 50 minute	10–12 June
3	Sydney Motorsport Park	Eastern Creek, New South Wales	2 x 50 minute	1–3 July
4	Queensland Raceway	Ipswich, Queensland	2 x 50 minute	29–31 July
5	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	2 x 50 minute	9–11 September
Australian Endurance Championship
Round	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date	Winners
1	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	1 x 101 laps	28–29 May
2	Sydney Motorsport Park	Eastern Creek, New South Wales	1 x 101 laps	26–28 August
3	Hampton Downs Motorsport Park	Waikato, New Zealand	1 x 101 laps	28–30 October
4	Highlands Motorsport Park	Cromwell, New Zealand	1 x 101 laps	13 November

Australian GT Championship

Round 1: Clipsal 500

Christopher Mies secured pole position in qualifying ahead of Craig Baird.^[12]

The opening race was won by Roger Lago who benefited from a safety car when Hayden Cooper got his Lamborghini stuck in the gravel trap at Turn 11. Lago's shorter pit stop time allowed him to leap the pack before passing Scott Taylor to take the win. Nathan Morcom was second with the McLaren of Tony and Klark Quinn in third. The Lamborghini of Dean Canto and Andrew Taplin was excluded for running underweight.^[13]

Race 2 saw James Koundouris and Marcus Marshall take victory. Again a shorter pit stop time allowed the pair to jump free from the pack to hold on to a commanding lead for much of the race. However, a late race safety car bunched the pack and saw Geoff Emery in the #1 Audi R8 push him in a final two lap sprint to the finish. Roger Lago finished third while an opening lap accident for Keith Wing saw the Porsche of John Martin and Aaron Tebb and Rod Salmon's Audi all eliminated at Turn 9. Mark Griffith also failed to finish after a water pump seized following contact with Morcom earlier in the race. Emery and Mies were given a post-race time penalty which dropped them to eighteenth place.^[14]

The final race saw Roger Lago dominate the second half of proceedings, only to run off on the final lap and damage his Lamborghini while attempting to rejoin. That allowed Tony Walls through to first place and his first Australian GT victory. The second-placed Lamborghini of Justin McMillan and Glen Wood pushed Walls hard in the closing stages but wasn't able to get through. Debutante Matthew Solomon ended the race third.^[15] Solomon's Eggleston Motorsport team-mate Peter Hackett crashed heavily on the opening lap with James Koundouris and was excluded from the weekend and fined $20,000.^[16]

Championship standings

Australian GT Championship

Pos. Driver ADE ALB BAR PHI TOW HMP Pts. 1 James Koundouris Marcus Marshall 8 1 Ret 3 13 7 1 225 2 Klark Quinn 3 4 12 13 3 3 20 206 3 Nathan Morcom 2 13 9 11 1 6 15 197 4 Justin McMillan Glen Wood 5 3 2 7 19 Ret 8 184 5 Christopher Mies Geoff Emery 9 17 15 2 15 6 2 182 6 Roger Lago 1 2 Ret 8 9 Ret DNS 177 7 Matthew Solomon 10 20 3 10 11 1 22 167 8 Tony Walls 7 8 1 19 14 Ret 3 163 9 Nathan Antunes Elliot Barbour 6 21 23 14 4 10 7 133 10 Jonathon Webb Grant Denyer 11 7 13 16 5 12 11 131 11 Scott Taylor Craig Baird 15 9 6 1 15 Ret Ret 129 12 John Martin Aaron Tebb Ret Ret 5 12 7 8 5 113 13 Tony Quinn 3 4 12 DSQ 10 DSQ DNS 105 14 Steve McLaughlan 19 6 18 21 16 2 16 103 15 Greg Taylor 22 5 11 22 23 4 14 101 16 Andrew Taplin Dean Canto DSQ 14 4 9 17 Ret 18 98 17 Simon Ellingham 12 10 10 27 18 20 4 89 18 Ricky Capo 13 12 8 15 Ret 11 9 83 19 Mark Griffith 4 Ret 7 18 Ret DNS DNS 70 20 Andrew Macpherson 14 11 14 28 26 9 Ret 55 21 Cameron McConville Adrian Deitz 6 27 21 21 44 22 Tim Miles 27 18 20 4 89 23 Ash Samadi 16 15 21 24 24 19 17 42 24 John Magro Ret 16 17 20 12 Ret DNS 33 25 Steven Richards^1 Max Twigg^1 18 19 16 Ret 20 17 13 26 26 Hayden Cooper Ret 16 17 15 27 Rod Salmon 20 Ret 19 26 Ret DNS DNS 12 28 Alex Rullo Peter Rullo Ret Ret 22 Ret 4 – Peter Hackett Dominic Storey DSQ DSQ DSQ 0 Invitational class cars ineligible for championship points – Andrea Montermini Benny Simonsen 5 2 14 6 0 – George Miedecke Andrew Miedecke 4 8 5 19 0 – Hector Lester 23 25 13 10 0 – Matthew Turnbull 25 22 16 12 0 – Tony D'Alberto Peter Edwards 17 21 Ret DNS 0 – Brenton Griguol Tim Macrow 17 18 20 29 DNS 18 23 0 – Keith Wong 21 Ret 22 0 Pos. Driver ADE ALB BAR PHI TOW HMP Pts.

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not participate (DNP) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Notes:

• ^1 – ineligible for championship points at Adelaide.

Gold Driver Cup

The Gold Driver Cup is for drivers over 40 years of age, competing solo and ranked Pro 4 or below.^[17]

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Roger Lago	341
2	Tony Walls	327
3	Greg Taylor	283
4	Steve McLaughlan	271
5	Mark Griffith	207
6	Ash Samadi	192
6	Andrew Macpherson	165
8	Rod Salmon	89

References

1. Coch, Mat. "Australian GT announces full 2016 calendar". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
2. "Australian GT reveals Clipsal 500 entry list". Speedcafe. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
3. "Capacity Australian GT grid set for Albert Park". Speedcafe. 14 March 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
4. Coch, Mat. "Walkinshaw to enter Australian GT". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
5. Paul, James. "Walkinshaw confirms Australian GT driver line-up". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
6. Coch, Mat. "Australian launch for Mercedes-AMG GT3". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
7. Paul, James. "Scott Taylor switches focus to Australian GT". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media.
8. Coch, Mat. "BMW expands Australian GT Programme". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
9. Coch, Mat. "Capo to race BMW in Australian GT". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
10. Coch, Mat. "First Ferrari 488 GT3 lands in Australia". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
11. Howard, Tom. "Lamborghini Huracans headed to Aus GT". Speedcafe. BAM Media. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
12. "Mies on record pace in Adelaide". Australian GT.
13. Paul, James. "Lago charges to victory in GT opener". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
14. Coch, Mat. "Audi 1-2 on streets of Adelaide". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
15. Coch, Mat. "Walls wins dramatic AGT finale". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
16. Howard, Tom. "Hackett fined $20K, excluded from AGTC opener". Speedcafe. BAM Media. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
17. Coch, Mat. "New Award for Australian GT Racers". Velocity Magazine. Grand Prix Media. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

External links

• Official website