SpeedSeries Sandown Review
Ferrari and Aston Martin Share Spoils in Thrilling Sandown GT Weekend
A packed weekend of racing at Sandown International Raceway delivered high drama and hard-fought victories across the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, Monochrome GT4 Australia, and Trico Trans Am Series, with Ferrari and Aston Martin both standing tall in headline events.
The GT World Challenge Australia opened with Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte securing a narrow win in the Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3. After starting from pole, the pair were pushed to the limit by Ryan Wood’s Audi and Broc Feeney’s Kelso Electrical Team MPC Audi, but held on to take victory and extend their championship lead. The Am Class was won by Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman in the Black Wolf Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Paul Stokell and Matt Stoupas claimed the Trophy Class in their KFC Team MPC Audi.
Sunday’s second GT race featured a maiden victory for the Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 driven by Jamie Day and Liam Talbot. Talbot defended brilliantly on the final lap from Schumacher’s Audi, while Evans and Schutte rounded out the podium in third. Renee Gracie triumphed in Am Class with her OnlyFans Team MPC Audi.
In Monochrome GT4 Australia, Rylan Gray and George Miedecke dominated Saturday’s race in the Miedecke Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4, leading from start to finish. In Silver Cup, contact and penalties reshuffled the order, allowing Jarrod Hughes and Summer Rintoule to secure second behind the victorious Mustang, while Silver-Am and Am Cup classes saw wins for GWR Australia’s Toyota and Randall Racing’s BMW, respectively.
Sunday’s GT4 race was chaos-filled, culminating in a maiden Silver Cup win for Jake Camilleri in Gomersall Motorsport’s newly debuted Mustang GT4. The Silver-Am class was won by Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell, while Peter Lawrence took Am Cup honours in his Randall Racing BMW M4 GT4.
In the Trico Trans Am Series, James Golding took pole and won the opening race, but Sunday’s wet conditions caused a major pile-up at the start of Race 2. Todd Hazelwood emerged victorious from the shortened contest, followed by Golding and Aaron Love. Golding bounced back to win the 45-minute finale, leading Hazelwood and Love once again after Blake Tracey’s puncture ended his podium hopes.
With dramatic battles and standout debuts, the Sandown round has added fresh momentum to all three championships as the season charges ahead.