Phillip Island is a familiar circuit for Vince Gucciardo, but he has swapped his regular MG for Porsche as he tackles a part-campaign in Monochrome GT4 Australia.
A long-time contender in the Vic State Racing Series as part of the MG & Invited British Sports Cars category driving a wild MG V8 Coupe, Gucciardo made his national racing debut at Phillip Island for the opening event of Monochrome GT4 Australia in his recently acquired Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 MR CS.
“I’ve just always liked Porsche,” Gucciardo revealed.
“I used to own a Cup Car, but never raced it for about two years and sold it just prior to COVID. I wish I didn’t it sell it, I should never have done it because it was a fantastic car and I felt really comfortable in it.
“I think once you drive an MG then jump into something modern and got a few luxuries like paddle shift, you soon realise it’s pretty easy compared to the old style cars with no power steering I was previously running.
“Why a Porsche? I owned one, but this Cayman 718 GT4 MR CS came up two months ago. It’s a 2019, 2020 model and it’s only done 900km, so it’s pretty much brand new just old in years.
“I previously drove the older model and I matched my time I’d set in the MG although I thought I was just rolling around, but I hadn’t driven this one prior to Phillip Island.”
An older model compared to others in the class, it failed to slow Gucciardo as he scored a pair of fourths in Am Cup. Porsche Carrera Cup Australia driver Glen Wood has been mentoring Gucciardo and prepared him for the opening round.
“Dale and Glen Wood, who GB Galvanising has been supporting for a long-time have helped out,” Gucciardo explained.
“Glen was at the circuit supporting me across the weekend, he’s like my driving mentor. He told me ‘you’ll do one session, you’ll be so comfortable in the car don’t stress about it. You don’t need to go do a full practice day, we’ll use the weekend as a bit of a practice session’.”
Gucciardo is aiming to contest another round at Sydney Motorsport Park and maybe Bathurst ahead of a potential complete season in 2025.
“My plan is to get comfortable in the car and have a full-tilt next year dependent on budget,” Gucciardo said.
“I just want to learn and enjoy the hell out of it as much as I can.”
GB Galvanising and Kev’s Forklift Tyres support Gucciardo’s racing this season.