Smith to make GT debut at Bathurst

Supercars regular Jack Smith is set to make his GT racing debut at the Bathurst International this weekend.

The Brad Jones Racing driver is set to join Porsche Am driver Tim Miles in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS field for the finale of this year’s Motorsport Australia Endurance Championship at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International.

Smith, who has competed in Supercars for the past three years, put the Audi R8 through its paces in two test sessions at The Bend Motorsport Park and Phillip Island.

“It’s definitely unlike anything that I’ve ever driven before,” Smith said.

“I knew they have a lot of grip and are aero dependant, but I was surprised by the performance. The cars also have ABS and traction control which was new to me, but I found them pretty easy to come to grips with and certainly a lot of fun to drive.

“GT racing is something that I’ve been wanting to do for a while now. A lot of options have been presented but for different reasons didn’t work. This opportunity with Tim came up and I grabbed it. We tested together really well at Phillip Island, he is a great guy and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“You can never have enough laps around Bathurst. You get better every time you go there. But I’m not putting any expectation on results. I’ll need to adapt to the car as quickly as you can and find the best way to make time, which will be different to a Supercar.”

There are a number of new additions to the GTWC Australia field this weekend with international GT talent Jordan Love to join Ross Poulakis in the Volante Rosso Motorsport-prepared Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Blanchard Racing Team driver Tim Slade will pair up with Brad Schumacher in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Supercheap Auto TCR Australia driver Michael Caruso will team up with Marc Cini in his Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, while David Wall and Adrian Deitz will race a Lamborghini Huracan GT3.

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim will resume their partnership after taking a victory last time out at The Bend Motorsport Park, as will seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim in the #88 Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The fight for Am Class honours will see Michael Sheargold and Garth Walden in the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3 who will go up against Theo and James Koundouris in the #47 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

Following a successful debut at The Bend, GT Trophy entrants Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Peris will take to Mount Panorama in their Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.

The GT4 Class will see National Trans Am Series frontrunner Nash Morris and c0-driver Mark Griffith resume their battle with Sam Brabham and Christos Batzios in their respective Mercedes-AMG GT4s.

The three-hour endurance race for GTWC Australia commences at 10:40 AEDT on Sunday, November 13 and will be broadcast live and ad-free on Stan Sport.

Entry list, Round 2 Motorsport Australia Endurance Championship, Mount Panorama, Bathurst

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