As flagged last week by Speedcafe, Supercars drivers Broc Feeney, Ryan Wood and Jayden Ojeda have all been ruled out of the GT World Challenge Australia finale due to a clash with the championship decider.
Brad Schumacher (Melbourne Performance Centre) will need to replace Feeney, Steve Brooks (Team BRM) will have to replace Wood, and Paul Lucchitti (Tigani Motorsport) will have to replace Ojeda.
It got this author wondering who would be the best fit for the vacant seats, and it could be a crucial call to make depending on the title picture for the Am drivers.
In this story, we look at which drivers might best fit the bill.
There is one prerequisite: they must be rated no higher than Gold by the FIA.
As it stands, any driver with a Platinum rating is ineligible. That will preclude manufacturers from sending a gun professional Down Under.
Click here to find out how.
Jordan Love
As far as recent experience goes, there are few better options available than Jordan Love.
He was supposed to race in GT World Challenge Australia this year with Arise Racing GT alongside Steve Wyatt until he pulled out late.
Love knows Adelaide from his Porsche Carrera Cup Australia days and knows his way around a variety of GT3 machines, having raced the Mercedes-AMG, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 and Ferrari 296.
His Mercedes-AMG experience would be handy for Tigani Motorsport.
Tom Sargent
One of Australia’s best, plying his trade in North America and Europe, is Tom Sargent.
Sargent used Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge as his launch pad to bigger and better things in the United States.
Since then, he’s been picked up by Porsche as a North America selected driver. That could conceivably be a hurdle given the vacancies are in a Mercedes and Audi.
Sargent has flown under the radar but is without a doubt one of Australia’s best, if a little underrated.
Hunter McElrea
Hunter McElrea mightn’t have much GT3 racing experience, but he’s proven he’s quick in high-downforce cars.
The Australian-raised New Zealander knows his way around prototypes and open-wheelers.
He has won in the IMSA SportsCar Championship in LMP2 equipment and the IndyCar feeder Indy NXT.
Steve Brooks has flagged his desire to sign a speedy Kiwi. There are only nine New Zealanders rated Gold by the FIA, which limits Brooks’ options unless he expands his search to Silver rated drivers.
Nick Percat
It’s been a while since Nick Percat has been behind the wheel of GT3 machinery.
You have to go back to the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour for his last high-profile outing with Team BRM in an Audi R8 LMS.
Percat is probably among the top options given he’s only recently retired from full-time racing in Supercars and will have had a full Enduro Cup campaign this year with Triple Eight.
Being an Adelaide local and a Supercars regular for so long, his knowledge of the streets is invaluable.
Marcus Armstrong
There were discussions that Marcus Armstrong might partner his father Rick Armstrong on the streets of Adelaide.
Talk of that has since died down, but could Marcus be coaxed into one of the vacant seats?
The closest he has come to racing a GT3 car was his father’s Porsche 911 Cup car at Highlands.
They say Kiwis can fly, and Armstrong would surely give it a good nudge over the Senna Chicane.
Christian Mansell
After departing the FIA Formula 2 Championship, Australian Christian Mansell took a break from racing.
He’s since popped back up in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 with International GT Open outfit Team Motopark.
He and Maximilian Gotz have been race winners this year and sit second in the standings with three rounds remaining.
Scott Andrews
Tigani Motorsport shouldn’t have to look too far for inspiration.
The team fielded three cars in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour with a mixture of factory Mercedes drivers alongside professional and amateur drivers across Pro, Bronze, and Pro-Am.
Among the standouts was Scott Andrews, who shone in Saturday’s qualifying with the second-fastest time and eighth in the shootout.
Andrews has a wealth of experience in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, with his last four Daytona 24 starts with the brand.
Familiarity between team and driver will surely be a consideration too.
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