Monochrome GT4 Australia has seen off an entertaining LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend with a bang as the second race of the weekend was affected by a lengthy Safety Car period mid-race.
With 31 cars taking to the popular track for Sunday morning’s race, history was made in the Silver Cup as both the Silver-Am Cup and Am Cup produced big results for the series.
Silver Cup
Summer Rintoule became the first woman to ever win a Monochrome GT4 Australia race as she and Jarrod Hughes finally got the class victory after a year and a half of trying.
Having switched to Method Motorsport and the McLaren Artura GT4 in the off-season, the popular duo only had to wait four races into the season to notch up their first victory thanks to a smart strategy and some lady luck going their way.
Taking out second place eight seconds off was the #27 Ford Mustang GT4 of Aaron Cameron and Lochie Dalton, while Multispares Racing teammates Cam McLeod and Mason Harvey rounded out the podium.
Despite Multispares Racing finishing with a double podium, the race truly belonged to Rintoule and Hughes, who started 17th on the outright grid and 13th in class - making their victory even more special.
With the race affected by a safety car intervention, Rintoule had kept the car intact and avoided any drama before giving the car to Hughes in good condition. Hughes then came out of the pit stop window leading the class and comfortably led the way all the way following the restart.
At that point, Jake Camilleri in the Gomersall Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 occupied second in class but had a number of Silver-Am cars between him and Hughes - making it difficult to reach the leader.
However not long after the restart, Camilleri eventually got hunted down by Cameron, who wrestled his way past following some relentless pressure before McLeod got past him in the second Multispares Racing Mustang in the final stages.
Silver-Am
Ryder Quinn has continued his love affair with The Bend with another charge from the back of the field to the front - replicating his efforts from last year in the same race.
Sharing the Thunder Buddies Racing / Black Diamond BMW M4 GT4 G82 with Steve Jakic, Quinn made up plenty of spots during his stint, as the pair also benefitted slightly from some good strategy and some late moves.
In second place for the class was Nicholas McBride and Dean Koutsoumidis in the Exedra Motorsport GR Supra EVO 2, while Tony D’Alberto and Jarod Keyte rounded out the class podium in their Ford Mustang GT4 - making it three different manufacturers on the podium.
There was no shortage of drama in the class as the pole-sitting Tufflift Racing by TSM McLaren Artura of Zac Soutar and Glenn Nirwan were involved in a major incident that brought out the safety car and saw the duo retire the car.
Following the restart and the pit stop windows, it was D’Alberto who led the field before finding himself under siege from McBride, which began a fierce back-and-forth battle between the two, however McBride eventually prevailed in the tussle and took the lead.
D’Alberto again found himself under pressure shortly after in the form of Quinn, who got the pass done quickly and put himself into contention for the class win as he chased down McBride while D’Alberto remaining close behind. Quinn eventually made the decisive pass with just three minutes remaining and quickly pulled away to build a commanding lead over McBride and D'Alberto.
Am Cup
Nathan Callaghan and Chris Lillis picked up their second win of the 2026 campaign behind the wheel of the Method Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS to close the gap on overall cup leader, Glenn Walker.
Having finished second in yesterday’s outing to the Gomersall Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 of Walker, the duo ended up taking the victory in a fairly straightforward run to reach the chequered flag with a comfortable 10-second victory.
Walker’s second place in the race kept him locked in the top of standings, as he, Bailey and Rob Love in the Love Racing By TSM Mercedes-AMG GT4 rounded out the podium.
It was a decent effort for the father-son duo to seal the podium after they were involved in an incident with Method Motorsport’s Cy Pearson, who had led the class during the race and looked in with a chance to secure his first podium.
Unfortunately for the rookie, he tumbled down the order as a result of the incident but still managed to finish and bank some points in the chase.
Pearson wasn’t the only one to be involved in some drama with Ryan Sorensen in the Method Motorsport McLaren Artura having to retire due to his clash with Nirwan in the first half of the race, that ultimately brought out the safety car.
Monochrome GT4 Australia will now look towards round three of the 2026 season, which takes place at Queensland Raceway on 12-14 June.