Monochrome GT4 Australia has held the first race of its visit to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park with an entertaining affair making up Saturday’s GT Festival The Bend outing.
Silver
Tom Hayman and Max Geoghegan have produced a Silver-Cup victory for the ages thanks to a remarkable recovery drive from Geoghegan in the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4.
Despite having lost a handful of positions off the line following a challenging start to the race, the duo came home strong and ended up with a four-second victory over title rivals Rylan Gray and George Miedecke in the Ford Mustang GT4.
Rounding the class podium were Jarrod Hughes and Summer Rintoule after the JGI Triple Eight Racing Mercedes-AMG GT4 pair crossed the line two seconds behind the Mustang.
Starting from pole position after producing a brilliant qualifying lap, Hughes did everything right to hold that lead heading into the compulsory pit stops, keeping a solid distance between himself and Blake Purdie in the Purdie Racing Audi R8 GT4.
Hayman meanwhile was unable to make up any ground from the loss of positions off the line as he dropped further behind Gray, who had moved ahead of him in the early stages of the race.
Rintoule did a wonderful job to maintain her position as class leader and move to the front of the field overall once she jumped in the car, while Geoghegan eventually chased both her and Gray down and completed an epic double pass within one lap.
While Gray ultimately got past Rintoule, the teenager was able to hold on for the podium - confirming a podium of three different manufacturers.
Silver Am
Aaron Cameron and Ryan Hansford picked up their first win in Monochrome GT4 Australia after a stellar run from the latter in the Multispares Ford Mustang GT4 during the second stint helped the pair to victory.
Tufflift Racing TSM’s Zac Soutar and Glenn Nirwan finished second in the class having led for the majority of the race, while class leaders Aaron Seton and Jason Gomersall rounded out the podium.
An incredible start from Soutar saw the McLaren Artura GT4 driver race out to a massive lead in the opening laps and the Victorian kept that lead for the whole of his stint - giving Nirwan a healthy buffer at the front of the overall field when he eventually came out.
Upon coming out on track, Nirvana led the overall field for most of his stint and did his best to hold off Rintoule, however eventually dropped back behind the trio of Silver class drivers.
Unfortunately he was unable to hold off Hansford in the final stages of the race, as the Ford Mustang GT4 driver weaved his way past the McLaren to take the victory.
Am Cup
There was no major dramas in the Am Cup as Jacob Lawrence took a step closer towards a second consecutive title after the Randall Racing driver guided his BMW M4 GT4 G82 to victory.
With his main title rival Shane Smollen in the Method Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS finishing in third place behind 99motorsport’s Marcus LaDelle and Jarrod Keyte, it was a big moment in the title fight for the reigning champion.
Throughout the 28-lap affair, the class had a straightforward run with no major moments affecting Smollen and Lawrence, who were enjoying a clean run, while Method Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS driver Nathan Callaghan sat comfortably in third place.
Smollen and Lawrence were the first to pit, while Callaghan, Bailey Love and Glenn Walker all stayed out longer in the hopes of getting a good result.
In the end, Lawrence and Smollen were able to secure their podium results, while LaDelle clawed his way into second place with a strong stint after taking over from Jarrod Keyte.
Monochrome GT4 Australia returns tomorrow at 11:25 ACST with a Free Grid Walk for fans before Race 2 gets underway at 11:45pm.