Close finishes across all three classes highlighted the final race for Monochrome GT4 Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park on Sunday as the traditional one-hour race, showcased the strengths and weaknesses of each manufacturer in thrilling fashion.
Silver Cup
The Silver Cup proved a highly entertaining throughout Race 2, and it was Rylan Gray and George Miedecke who broke through to score their first victory of the season in the Miedecke Motorsport with Lubrimaxx Ford Mustang GT4.
Emerging in the lead after the pit shuffle, Gray was able to guide the Mustang GT4 home to win ahead of the Central West Prestige BMW M4 GT4 G82 of Cody Burcher and Tim Leahey.
Following the busy pit stop cycle, Burcher was forced to turn defender against a fast-charging Nash Morris in the TekworkX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS, which lasted until the Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 of Tom Hayman caught up to the duo.
A thrilling battle between Morris and Hayman ensued for the final 10-minutes of the race, allowing Burcher to build a margin and comfortably secure second.
Morris eventually went on to win that battle for third and score his second podium of the year alongside Zoe Woods as Hayman was forced to settle for fourth after an impressive opening stint by co-driver Max Geoghegan.
Am Cup
Shane Smollen capped off his remarkable return to the category by securing the Am Cup win to complete his clean sweep in the Method Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS.
The victory was hard-fought for Smollen due to early challenges by Jacob Lawrence in the BMW M4 GT4 G82 and the sister Method Porsche of Chris Lillis and Nathan Callaghan, however he did what he needed to do to take out top honours for the second time this weekend.
Unfortunately for Lawrence, his early attempt for the victory went awry due to a pit infringement penalty, but his Randall Racing team-mates Jamie Augustine and Peter Lawrence ensured a strong result for the operation in second.
Glenn Walker proved quick after the pit stops, however, was forced to settle for third in the Gomersall Racing BMW M4 GT4 F82.
An incident involving the AR Nineteen Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4 of John Nikolovski resulted in the sole safety car of the event after it spun and hit the wall near Turn 8.
Silver-Am Cup
Gomersall Motorsport’s Aaron Seton and Jason Gomersall completed a fine comeback after a difficult Saturday race to deliver a Silver-Am win in Race 2.
Following a spin and brief fire in Race 1, Seton guided the pair’s Ford Mustang GT4 to a comfortable Silver-Am victory.
Debutant Hugo Allan continued to impress by finishing second alongside Tony Quinn in the Game Over Toyota Supra GT4 Evo2, beating Ryder Quinn and Steve Jakic in their BMW M4 GT4 – the latter pair making two third place finishes for the round.
After setting a lap record during Race 1, it was a disaster for the Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Ginetta G55 GT4 of Rob Rubis and Lachlan Mineeff after the car completed just one lap before a technical fault prevented them from continuing their solid run.
The next round for Monochrome GT4 Australia will head north to Queensland Raceway – GT Festival Queensland as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries on May 30-June 1.