GT team finds silver lining in absence of Supercars stars

Liam Talbot and teammate Elliott Schutte will test at Queensland Raceway on Friday ahead of the upcoming round of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS in August.

The pair will have the team’s Ferrari 296 GT3 pair to themselves for the day’s entire running with Mostert and Evans contesting the Sydney SuperNight.

Although they’ll be without on-hand tutelage from Mostert and Evans, a day without interruptions will be valuable for Talbot and Schutte.

Between the Pro drivers, there’s very little to separate the best of the best. Ultimately, there are greater gains to be found in the Am drivers to being them closer to their Pro teammates.

“It’s a really good track for Liam and Elliott to get seat times in the cars,” said team principal Jordan Oon.

“We have been limited with the amount of testing between rounds, so some extra seat time for the two pre-event will be a big benefit.

“They are excited to get some extra laps in the car. In Pro-Am, the bronze driver is really the one who can make the difference.

“Typically, the Pros get in and drive and are all very matched on pace. That’s not always the case for the Ams, so these test days are crucial.

Mostert and Talbot lead GT World Challenge Australia ahead of Melbourne Performance Centre duo Will Brown and Brad Schumacher in their Audi R8 LMS GT3.

Evans and Schutte sit third and a meagre 20 points in arrears of the lead.

“We always knew that Liam would be strong with the amount of experience he has in GT cars,” said Oon.

“And Elliott has really surprised us. He first drove a GT proper only at the start of this year, so his development curve has been outstanding.

“We’ve really enjoyed the season so far. The team has a good vibe, and there’s a bit of competition with Liam and Elliott which is nice. It’s helping us drive forward.”

Also testing at Queensland Raceway this week are Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles and MPC teammates Renee Gracie and Paul Stokell.

The third round of GT World Challenge Australia takes place at Queensland Raceway on August 2-4.