Monochrome GT4 Australia continued to provide plenty of highlights and storylines from The Bend where new winners were welcomed and a new marque opened up its account.
Check out what caught the eye of the Monochrome GT4 Australia media team at The Bend.
Zero to hero for Ford Mustang
The Miedecke Motorsport/Lubrimaxx Ford Mustang wasn’t going to have its own way at The Bend following a spectacular debut at Phillip Island and this is how it played out. Although it crossed the line second in Saturday’s opening race, the Mustang was disqualified post-race for being 2kg underweight. George Miedecke’s interview on Sunday’s television coverage was superb and with Rylan Gray the pair added another win later that day thus completing a great comeback.
Method Motorsport and McLaren get win number one
Method Motorsport came oh-so close at Phillip Island, but achieved its maiden win at The Bend. Young guns Tom Hayman and Marcos Flack secured the Chaz Mostert-led squad’s first win on Saturday to bring the McLaren Artura GT4 its maiden victory in Australia also. The team entry was elevated to second (see above) and its Pro-Am Porsche completed the podium in an all out dominant performance. Method Motorsport wasn’t the only McLaren going well, Jason Yu and Josh Buchan proved impressive in the Zagame Autosport entry, the latter scoring outright pole.
Can anyone beat Shane Smollen and Lachlan Mineeff in Pro-Am?
The reigning Monochrome GT4 Australia Series winner linked up with the previous TCR Australia privateer at Queensland Raceway last year tasting success, but have started this year in irresistible form. Shane Smollen was challenging some of the younger Silver Cup drivers on Sunday, while Lachlan Mineeff proved himself to be one of the faster drivers on the field setting fastest laps consistently during his stint. An outright podium in Saturday’s race was just reward for the duo.
Jacob Lawrence rides solo
Forced to drive solo for the first time due to the unavailability of his regular co-driver, racing legend John Bowe, Randall Racing’s Jacob Lawrence was chucked in the deep end and swam. Although exhausted following the opening race where he secured Am Cup honours, Lawrence received some helpful tips from George Miedecke to repeat the dose in the second event and complete an impressive weekend. Lawrence also ran comfortably in the outright top 10, no doubt making JB proud.
Ginetta struck down when hitting its straps
An unlikely brand to feature at the top of the timesheets was Ginetta, but indeed it led the way after opening practice at The Bend. Suited to the mixed conditions on-track, Jarrod Hughes in the Mark Cotterell Motorsport G55 GT4 was quick and on course for a good weekend until a driveshaft failure put it out. Although disappointing for Mark Cotterell and Hughes, the Ginetta proved a fast package at The Bend, which hopefully continues at Queensland Raceway.