Jaie Robson has headed a Mercedes-AMG one-two for his second race win in his first weekend in the CAMS Australian GT Championship at Albert Park.
Robson (Aussie Driver Search Mercedes-AMG) started on pole courtesy of his entertaining victory on the Friday night and took a comfortable win again in Race 4 from Peter Hackett (Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG) and Fraser Ross (YNA Autosport McLaren 650S).
The Australian GT rookie opened up a 1.2s lead on Lap 1 and continued to clear out for the first half of the 11-lap encounter.
Behind, Hackett dropped from third to fifth in the opening stages but clearly had pace as he passed Max Twigg (#8 Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG) on Lap 2 and gained another spot when Liam Talbot (Walkinshaw Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R) ran wide on Lap 4.
Lowering the fastest lap on multiple occasions, Hackett closed in on Ross on Lap 6 and made a textbook move at Turn 3 next time around.
By that moment, Robson was 4.7s up the road but Hackett made significant inroads, bringing the gap under 3.0s by the end of Lap 9.
However, the chequered flag looked like coming soon enough for Robson and his lead grew again in the final laps to be 4.0s at the very end for a win which also sealed round honours.
Talbot passed Twigg in what was an impressive battle for third at the time at the back end of Lap 1.
Following Hackett’s charge, the final podium position looked like developing into a contact between Ross and Talbot, but the Porsche driver pinched a brake and ran wide at Turn 3 on the third-last lap.
That error, combined with the influence of lapped traffic, allowed Geoff Emery (Jamec Pem Audi R8) to range right up on the rear of car #911, but Talbot held on to finish fourth.
Twigg finished sixth, ahead of Tony Bates (Moveitnet/AFS Audi R8), Scott Taylor (#222 STM Mercedes-AMG), Tony Quinn (Darrell Lea McLaren 650S), and Nick Kelly (Industrie Audi R8), the latter of whom swept the Trophy class for the weekend.
Jeremy Gray (JMG Aston Martin Vantage) won the GT4 class in 24th outright.
Sam Fillmore (#31 The Porsche Broker Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) and Dale Paterson (Dale Paterson Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro) were non-finishers after a clumsy incident at Turn 15 on Lap 1.
The Australian GT Championship shifts into endurance mode for Round 2 at The Bend Motorsport Park on the Shannons Nationals program on April 13-15.
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Asia Pacific
Rama Danindro headed Indonesian compatriot Renaldi Hutasoit in Race 2 of the Ferrari Challenge.
Italian Philippe Prette rounded out the podium, New Zealanders David Dicker and Grant Baker finished ninth and 16th respectively, and Australian Martin Berry was a DNF.
Results: Race 4, Australian GT Championship
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Class | Laps | Race time |
| 1 | 98 | Aussie Driver Search | Jaie Robson | Mercedes AMG GTS GT3 | CH | 11 | 21:46.7142 |
| 2 | 63 | Eggleston Motorsport | Peter Hackett (VIC) | Mercedes Benz AMG GT | CH | 11 | 21:50.7192 |
| 3 | 59 | Total Oil/Opti-Coat/Logite | Fraser Ross (VIC) | McLaren 650S GT3 | CH | 11 | 21:57.4061 |
| 4 | 911 | Walkinshaw GT3 | Liam Talbot (QLD) | Porsche 911 GT3 R | CH | 11 | 21:58.0077 |
| 5 | 1 | Valvoline | Geoff Emery | Audi R8 LMS | CH | 11 | 21:58.7905 |
| 6 | 8 | WM Waste Management | Max Twigg (VIC) | Mercedes AMG GTS GT3 | CH | 11 | 22:13.0692 |
| 7 | 24 | Moveitnet/AFS | Tony Bates (VIC) | Audi R8 LMS | CH | 11 | 22:16.1192 |
| 8 | 222 | Scott Taylor Motorsport | Scott Taylor (QLD) | Mercedes AMG GTS GT3 | CH | 11 | 22:18.9994 |
| 9 | 7 | Mariani Beef Jerky | Tony Quinn (QLD) | McLaren 650S GT3 | CH | 11 | 22:20.5016 |
| 10 | 199 | Industrie Clothing | Nick Kelly (NSW) | Audi R8 LMS Ultra | TR | 11 | 22:29.9896 |
| 11 | 88 | Maranello Motorsport | Peter Edwards (VIC) | Ferrari 488 GT3 | CH | 11 | 22:34.1715 |
| 12 | 34 | Motorsport Leasing/RaceRamps | John Marriss (VIC) | Porsche GT3-R | TR | 11 | 22:36.4325 |
| 13 | 23 | Kentucky Fried Chicken | Matthew Stoupas (VIC) | Audi R8 LMS Ultra | TR | 11 | 22:39.8567 |
| 14 | 188 | E.A.T Furniture | Rio Nugara (VIC) | Audi R8 LMS Ultra | TR | 11 | 22:47.0753 |
| 15 | 100 | BMW Team SRM | Dean Grant | BMW M6 GT3 | CH | 11 | 22:48.0551 |
| 16 | 47 | Mack Bros Roofing Products | Wayne Mack (VIC) | Ferrari 458 GT3 | TR | 11 | 22:55.0655 |
| 17 | 32 | The Porsche Broker | Daniel Stutterd | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | TR | 11 | 23:18.2788 |
| 18 | 10 | Hallmarc | Michael Loccisano | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | TR | 11 | 23:36.6256 |
| 19 | 25 | Porsche Centre Brighton | Nick Karnaros (VIC) | Porsche 997 Cup | TR | 11 | 23:45.4287 |
| 20 | 21 | Melbourne Orthopaedic Group | Shane Barwood (VIC) | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | TR | 11 | 23:55.6394 |
| 21 | 29 | Haemokinesis/Trofe | Jim Manolios (VIC) | Lamborghini Huracan | CH | 10 | 21:56.2318 |
| 22 | 64 | Aaron Laboratories | Joseph Ensabella (VIC) | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | TR | 10 | 22:06.8115 |
| 23 | 12 | Sedler Group | Chris Seidler (VIC) | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | TR | 10 | 22:09.7275 |
| 24 | 67 | JMG/Bilstein | Jeremy Gray (NSW) | Aston Martin Vantage | GT4 | 10 | 22:10.6917 |
| 25 | 4 | BP Ultimate | Xavier West | BMW M4 GT4 | GT4 | 10 | 22:13.1300 |
| 26 | 19 | Hogs Breath Cafe/Griffith Co | Mark Griffith (QLD) | Ginetta GT4 | GT4 | 10 | 22:21.0831 |
| 27 | 48 | Interlloy M Motorsport | Justin McMillan (VIC) | KTM X-Bow | GT4 | 10 | 22:39.7193 |
| DNF | 31 | The Porsche Broker | Sam Fillmore | Porsche 991 GT3 Cup | TR | 1 | 3:07.8462 |
| DNF | 71 | Dale Paterson Motorsports | Dale Paterson | Chevrolet Camaro GT3 | TR |
Australian GT Championship
| Pos | Num | Driver | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1 | 98 | Jaie Robson | 156 | 156 | |||||
| 2 | 63 | Peter Hackett | 135 | 135 | |||||
| 2 | 63 | Dominic Storey | 135 | 135 | |||||
| 3 | 1 | Geoff Emery | 135 | 135 | |||||
| 4 | 59 | Fraser Ross | 129 | 129 | |||||
| 5 | 222 | Scott Taylor | 126 | 126 | |||||
| 5 | 222 | Craig Baird | 126 | 126 | |||||
| 6 | 911 | Liam Talbot | 120 | 120 | |||||
| 6 | 911 | John Martin | 120 | 120 | |||||
| 7 | 8 | Max Twigg | 89 | 89 | |||||
| 7 | 8 | Tony D’Alberto | 89 | 89 | |||||
| 8 | 88 | Peter Edwards | 87 | 87 | |||||
| 9 | 24 | Tony Bates | 69 | 69 | |||||
| 9 | 24 | Daniel Gaunt | 69 | 69 | |||||
| 10 | 100 | Dean Grant | 64 | 64 | |||||
| 10 | 100 | Steve Richards | 64 | 64 | |||||
| 11 | 7 | Tony Quinn | 56 | 56 | |||||
| 12 | 29 | Jim Manolios | 44 | 44 | |||||
| 12 | 29 | Dean Canto | 44 | 44 | |||||
| 13 | 3 | Ash Samadi | 20 | 20 |
Australian GT Trophy Series
| Pos | Num | Driver | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| 1 | 199 | Nick Kelly | 220 | 220 | ||||
| 2 | 32 | John Marriss | 172 | 172 | ||||
| 3 | 23 | Matthew Stoupas | 159 | 159 | ||||
| 4 | 188 | Rio Nugara | 139 | 139 | ||||
| 5 | 47 | Wayne Mack | 81 | 81 | ||||
| 6 | 32 | Daniel Stuttered | 80 | 80 | ||||
| 7 | 10 | Michael Loccisano | 78 | 78 | ||||
| 8 | 21 | Shane Barwood | 68 | 68 | ||||
| 9 | 25 | Nick Karnaros | 54 | 54 | ||||
| 10 | 64 | Joseph Ensabella | 46 | 46 | ||||
| 11 | 12 | Luke Seidler | 42 | 42 | ||||
| 11 | 12 | Chris Seidler | 42 | 42 | ||||
| 12 | 71 | Dale Paterson | 40 | 40 | ||||
| 13 | 31 | Sam Fillmore | 37 | 37 | ||||
| 14 | 77 | Jan Jinadasa | 24 | 24 |
Australian GT4 Standings
| Pos | Num | Driver | Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 1 | 67 | Jeremy Gray | 191 | 191 | |||||
| 2 | 4 | Xavier West | 189 | 189 | |||||
| 3 | 48 | Justin McMillan | 156 | 156 | |||||
| 4 | 19 | Mark Griffith | 149 | 149 |
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