Monochrome GT4 Australia has kicked off its season finale at Sandown Raceway with an action-packed opening race, which featured plenty of talking points across all three classes as the 30 cars battled the wet and wild conditions.
Silver Cup
Cameron McLeod and Jack Wallis have broken through for their maiden Monochrome GT4 Australia Silver Cup victory after producing an impressive performance to guide the #62 Wallis Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 to the win.
Having started towards the front of the field, the pair ultimately held off a late charge from the #27 Multispares Racing Ford Mustang GT4 of Aaron Cameron and Lochie Dalton, with the two cars separated by less than a second at the chequered flag.
Rounding out the class podium was the #48 Purdie Racing / Team BRM Audi R8 LMS GT4 of Blake Purdie and Jobe Stewart, who finished just over two seconds behind the race winners.
McLeod got proceedings underway with a strong opening stint to build a healthy advantage before handing the car over to Wallis during the pit stop window.
With a lead of approximately 12 seconds at the driver change, Wallis looked to be in a comfortable position to secure the victory, however Dalton produced an incredible second stint to steadily close the gap and bring himself within a second of the leading Mustang.
Despite the pressure, Wallis held his nerve during the closing stages to secure a breakthrough victory for the pair and their first in the category.
William Exton and Jack Johnson also enjoyed an impressive run in the 40-lap affair, with the #128 Team Soutar Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4 finishing fourth, while Daniel Frougas rounded out the top five in the #9 GWR Australia GR Supra GT4 EVO 2.
There was also a significant development in the championship battle, with Tom Hayman and Jett Murray becoming class champions-elect despite finishing ninth in class in the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4.
The pair effectively secured the Silver Cup title, having built an unassailable advantage heading into the final race as Purdie and Stewart needed to win to keep their championship hopes alive, but were ultimately unable to do so.
Silver Cup driver Jensen Sherar was also involved in a major incident that brought the race to a temporary suspension after contact with Silver-Am Cup competitor Cody Burcher in the #118 Method Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4. The pair ultimately made contact that sent Sherar into a heavy impact with the barriers, severely damaging the #46 RENNEN Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS and bringing out the red flag.
Silver-Am
Lachlan Evennett and Andrew Torti enjoyed a commanding performance in the Silver-Am Cup to produce a convincing class victory aboard the #88 CAMM Quarries & Concrete Racing GR Supra GT4 EVO 2.
The pair crossed the finish line ahead of Caleb Paterson and Kent Quinn in the #28 Norganic Proteins Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS, while Tyler Collins and Adam Gowans completed the podium in the #227 Multispares Racing Ford Mustang GT4 - a breakthrough performance for the pair in just their second round.
Evennett made a strong start to the race and, although he was unable to get past pole-sitter Paterson immediately, it didn't take him long to make his move and take control of the class lead.
Once in front, Evennett never looked like relinquishing the position, producing a composed opening stint before handing the car over to Torti.
Torti was equally impressive behind the wheel, maintaining the advantage throughout his stint and bringing the GR Supra home in a near-perfect performance to secure the pair's class victory and keep himself well in contention for the Silver-Am Cup title.
Paterson and Quinn also enjoyed a relatively straightforward race, holding onto second position for the remainder of the event after Paterson initially lost the lead.
Behind the leading pair, however, there was plenty of movement involving several of the class title contenders, with Burcher and Dean Campbell in the #118 Method Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4 receiving a drive-through penalty following the contact with Sherar.
Ryder Quinn and Stevan Jakic also received a drive-through penalty in the #3 Thunder Buddies Racing / Black Diamond BMW M4 GT4 G82, resulting in both cars tumbling down the order.
The #118 Mustang ultimately finished seventh in class, while the #3 BMW came home eighth, delivering a minor blow to the championship aspirations of both crews.
The drama provided an opportunity for Collins and Gowans to fly under the radar and secure the final podium position, having started eighth in class.
Am Cup
Nathan Callaghan and Chris Lillis continued their dominant weekend in the Am Cup, converting their pole position into another race victory aboard the #64 Method Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS.
The pair enjoyed a relatively straightforward race, leading from start to finish before crossing the line ahead of Ryan Sorensen in the #11 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura GT4.
Rounding out the podium was the #16 Team Soutar Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS of Marty Craggill and Tom Sandow, who celebrated a podium finish in their first official Monochrome GT4 Australia race together.
Callaghan and Lillis were in control from the outset, producing a clean opening stint before maintaining their advantage through the pit stops and ultimately securing the victory by 17 seconds.
Sorensen's day got off to a difficult start after beaching the McLaren during qualifying, however the Method Motorsport driver never looked back from that moment and produced an impressive recovery to climb from fifth to second, taking advantage of the success penalties applied to several of his rivals.
It was a similarly impressive result for Craggill and Sandow, who showed plenty of speed during Thursday's practice sessions before qualifying sixth for their series debut.
Both drivers produced solid stints behind the wheel and made the most of the opportunities presented throughout the race to work their way onto the podium.
The pair also had to withstand a late challenge from Glenn Walker in the #14 Gomersall Motorsport Ford Mustang GT4, with the experienced driver closing in during the final stages.
However, Craggill and Sandow managed to hold on to third position, crossing the line just seven tenths of a second ahead of Walker.
Rounding out the top five was Peter Lawrence in the #33 Randall Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, who finished ahead of Randall Racing teammate Jacob Lawrence in the fully repaired #32 BMW M4 GT4 G82.
Just one race remains for Monochrome GT4 Australia at Sandown Raceway, with the final race of the 2026 season set to determine the remaining championship honours.