A 13-car field will take to the track for the penultimate sprint round of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, at The Bend Motorsport Park this weekend.
A host of new and returning entries feature in the GTWC Australia grid, which is bolstered by the addition of seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup, who will partner up with Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim in a Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT3, while freshly-minted five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Garth Tander will reunite with Yasser Shahin in the fight for Pro-Am class honours.
Heading into the outing, Pro-Am class leaders Shahin/Tander have a 20-point advantage over Liam Talbot/Fraser Ross, with the pairings to fight for outright honours in their respective Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo IIs.
GT regular Prince Jefri Ibrahim will be joined by rookie Supercars driver Broc Feeney in the second Triple Eight entry.
The Pro-Am class is rounded out by Adrian Deitz and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series leader Tony D’Alberto in a Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3.
In the Am Class, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II pilots Gary Higgon/Paul Stokell lead team-mate Matt Stoupas by 44 points, while Matt Sheargold/Garth Walden will front for the event after their recent test at the South Australian complex.
The GT Trophy class will be contested between Michael Kokkinos in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Ultra and debutants Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 out of the Tigani Motorsport stable.
The GT4 class battle will resume between Mark Griffith and Sam Brabham/Christos Batios, with four points separating the contenders.
GTWC Australia will take to the track on Friday for two 30-minute practice sessions at 10:20 local time/10:50 AEDT and 14:05 local time/14:35 AEDT.
Qualifying will consist of two 20-minute segments and will commence at 09:15 local time/09:45 AEDT on Saturday, followed by a 60-minute race at 14:55 local time/15:25 AEDT.
GTWC Australia will conclude with an hour-long finale at 11:45 local time/12:15 AEDT on Sunday.
Entry list, Round 5 The Bend Motorsport Park
Car # | Class | Sponsor/Team | Driver | Co-Driver | Model |
1 | Pro-Am | The Bend Motorsport Park | Yasser Shahin | Garth Tander | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II |
2 | Am | KFC | Gary Higgon | Paul Stokell | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II |
6 | Pro-Am | Wall Racing | Adrian Deitz | Tony D’Alberto | Lamborghini Huracan GT3 |
8 | GT Trophy | Launch Racing | Michael Kokkinos | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Ultra | |
19 | GT4 | Daimler Trucks Australia | Mark Griffith | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | |
20 | Pro-Am | Melbourne Performance Centre | Liam Talbot | Fraser Ross | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II |
23 | Am | KFC | Matt Stoupas | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II | |
44 | GT Trophy | Valmont Racing | Marcel Zalloua | Sergio Pires | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
45 | Am | RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia | Michael Sheargold | Garth Walden | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
88 | Pro-Am | Triple Eight Race Engineering – JMR | Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim | Jamie Whincup | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
101 | Am | Harrolds Volante Rosso Motorsport | Ross Poulakis | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | |
102 | GT4 | Harrolds Volante Rosso Motorsport | Christos Batios | Sam Brabham | Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
888 | Pro-Am | Triple Eight Race Engineering – JMR | Prince Jefri Ibrahim | Broc Feeney | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |