They will join the family team Love Racing, formed last year by Rob and Bailey Love, in a pair of Mercedes-AMG GT4s.
Brabham is set to partner Bailey while Astuti will co-drive with Rob at the first round of Monochrome GT4 Australia Series at Phillip Island as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries bill on April 12-14.
This season will be the father and son Loves’ first full season of national level racing. Brabham and Astuti bring to the team’s driver line up experience and give the new racers an expert hand in their endeavours in GT4.
Brabham is the grandson of F1 legend Sir Jack Brabham and son of Le Mans winner David. He has competed in GT3 and GT4 racing in Australia for the past three years and aims to continue this in 2024.
“I’ve spent a bit of time in GT4 cars, and we’ve had some good seat time with the Loves in testing,” said Brabham.
“Bailey has great potential. He is still very new to car racing, but he has a lot of potential.
“We’re going to a few new circuits for the Loves, but they are approaching it the right way.
“I’ve worked with these guys for a while in track days, and at the beginning, there was no real plan for them to go racing. They are committed and it’s great to see.
“Last year, I only did three race meetings, so to have the full program locked in, it’s got me really excited for the year. This will be the first time that I’ve done a full season of racing in Australia, so to be doing a full championship is great.”
A noted driver trainer, 23-year-old Astuti has contested S5000 and Formula 4 and aims to put this to good use in Monochrome GT4 Australia.
“GT racing is what I’ve always wanted to be part of career wise. It’s pretty cool to be able to restart my racing journey in a GT car,” said Astuti.
“I’ve had a couple of chances to drive the car. The Mercedes is very enjoyable to drive and learn how to extract speed from. Compared to the wings and slicks that I’ve driven in the past, it’s certainly a lot different.
“It’s Rob’s first season in national motorsport. My goal is to help him progress as much as possible.”
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