Australian GT confirms AGP sprint format

The Australian GT Championship has confirmed that it will again adopt a four-race sprint format for its Australian Grand Prix round.

Introduced last year as a response to scheduling requirements at the Formula 1 event, the format allows amateur drivers to share a car with a professional over the course of the weekend or drive alone.

Professional drivers will take part in the first qualifying sessions and Races 1 and 3, while Amateur drivers contest the second qualifying session and Races 2 and 4.

Qualifying 1 sets the grid for Race 1, the results of which set the grid for Race 3.

The same applies for Qualifying 2, Race 2, and Race 4.

Single driver entries will compete in all six sessions.

The new Australian GT season, which will encompass a mixture of sprint and endurance rounds this year with the latter folded into the main championship, begins at the AGP on March 22-25.

The 2005 Australian Grand Prix winner Giancarlo Fisichella will drive a Maranello Motorsport-run Ferrari 488 with Peter Edwards at Albert Park, with a full entry list set to be released closer to the event.

Kelvin van der Linde and Geoff Emery won the corresponding round in 2017 after the former took out both of his races.

Schedule: Australian GT Championship, Albert Park