Van der Linde went as quick as a 2:02.7346s in the 40-minute session, with the #22 Audi finishing half a second ahead of the two Team WRT BMWs, Charles Weerts having set a 2:03.2445s in Car #32 and Raffaele Marciello a 2:03.3544s in Car #46.
The 2022 and 2023 race winners, SunEnergy1, ended up fourth thanks to Luca Stolz’ 2:03.4664s in the #75 Mercedes-AMG, ahead of the #2 MPC Audi, the #912 Manthey EMA Porsche, and the #888 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG.
Overnight rain had left the Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit damp off-line when the field exited pit lane at 08:15 local time in overcast conditions.
Kelvin van der Linde kicked things off with a 2:09.3553s and then a 2:06.2403s in the #22 Audi, before being usurped by brother Sheldon van der Linde on a 2:04.6305s in the #32 BMW as drivers’ Pirelli tyres came up to temperature.
Kelvin van der Linde then made contact with an Invitational class entry when he caught the #702 TekWorkX Motorsport IRC at The Cutting, but it was a light nudge and the Audi pilot was back on top when he clocked a 2:03.9010s on his fifth lap.
The van der Linde versus van der Linde theme continued when Sheldon set a 2:03.8561s, before Kelvin nailed a 2:02.8839s and a 2:02.7346s when he found some clear track.
Click here now.
SunEnergy1’s Stolz split them with a 2:03.4664s to put the #75 Mercedes-AMG into second before he followed Kelvin van der Linde into pit lane.
By then, the #32 BMW had undergone a driver change and, with just under five minutes to go, Weerts put it back into second on the timing screen with a 2:03.2445s, before Marciello moved into third with a 2:03.3544s in the sister #46 M4.
The #75 SunEnergy1 Mercedes-AMG thus ended up fourth and the #2 MPC Audi fifth after Ricardo Feller’s 2:03.8867s during the opening run.
First of the Pro-Am entries was the #27 Heart of Racing/SPS Mercedes-AMG in eighth outright on a 2:04.5711s, with the #88 Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG second in class in 10th outright on a 2:04.6846s.
Practice 2, for Bronze drivers only, starts at 09:50 local time/AEDT.
Results: Practice 1 All drivers
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver(s) | Car | Cls | Fastest lap | Split |
| 1 | 22 | Wash It Team MPC | C.Haase/K.van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | PRO | 2:02.7346 | |
| 2 | 32 | Team WRT | C.Weerts/S.van der Linde | BMW M4 GT3 | PRO | 2:03.2445 | 0:00.5099 |
| 3 | 46 | Team WRT | M.Martin/R.Marciello | BMW M4 GT3 | PRO | 2:03.3544 | 0:00.6198 |
| 4 | 75 | SunEnergy1 | K.Habul/J.Gounon | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | PRO | 2:03.4664 | 0:00.7318 |
| 5 | 2 | KFC Team MPC | M.Winkelhock/R.Feller | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | PRO | 2:03.8867 | 0:01.1521 |
| 6 | 912 | Manthey EMA | A.Guven/M.Campbell | Porsche 992 GT3R | PRO | 2:04.2655 | 0:01.5309 |
| 7 | 888 | National Storage Racing | W.Brown/M.Grenier | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | PRO | 2:04.3573 | 0:01.6227 |
| 8 | 27 | Heart of Racing by SPS | Alex Riberas | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | PAM | 2:04.5711 | 0:01.8365 |
| 9 | 130 | Mercedes-AMG Team GruppeM | M.Engel/F.Fraga/D.Reynolds | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | PRO | 2:04.6253 | 0:01.8907 |
| 10 | 88 | Triple Eight JMR | J.Whincup/J.Love | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | PAM | 2:04.6846 | 0:01.9500 |
| 11 | 9 | Hallmarc Team MPC | L.Holdsworth/D.Fiore | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | PAM | 2:04.9439 | 0:02.2093 |
| 12 | 222 | Scott Taylor Motorsport | C.Waters/C.Lowndes | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | PRO | 2:04.9906 | 0:02.2560 |
| 13 | 911 | The Bend Manthey EMA | A.Picariello/H.King | Porsche 991 GT3R Spe | PAM | 2:05.0378 | 0:02.3032 |
| 14 | 48 | MMotorsport | Glen Wood | Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO | PAM | 2:05.0520 | 0:02.3174 |
| 15 | 44 | Valmont Racing/Tigani M’sport | M.Zalloua/S.Pires | Audi R8 LMS | SIL | 2:05.1873 | 0:02.4527 |
| 16 | 13 | Phantom Global Racing | Joel Eriksson | Porsche 992 GT3R | PRO | 2:05.1885 | 0:02.4539 |
| 17 | 93 | Wall Racing | David Wall | Lamborghini Huracan | SIL | 2:05.1985 | 0:02.4639 |
| 18 | 47 | Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani | T.Koundouris/D.Russell | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | SIL | 2:05.3779 | 0:02.6433 |
| 19 | 77 | Mercedes-AMG Team Craft-Bamboo | D.Juncadella/M.Goetz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | PRO | 2:06.5060 | 0:03.7714 |
| 20 | 111 | MRA Motorsport / 111 Racing | R.Gray/G.Donaldson | Marc II 2023 | INV | 2:07.2275 | 0:04.4929 |
| 21 | 10 | SUPAGLASS RACING | N.Percat/C.Hill | IRC GT | INV | 2:07.9368 | 0:05.2022 |
| 22 | 20 | T2 Racing / Localsearch | C.Sbirrazzuoli/A.Hargraves | IRC GT | INV | 2:08.4449 | 0:05.7103 |
| 23 | 91 | Wheels FX Racing | K.Kassulke/T.Slade | Marc II 0 | INV | 2:08.6611 | 0:05.9265 |
| 24 | 702 | IRC / TekworkX Motorsport | Daniel Stutterd | IRC GT | INV | 2:12.8753 | 0:10.1407 |
| 25 | 50 | KTM Vantage Racing | T.Harrison/L.Kraihamer | KTM XBow GT2 | INV | 2:13.3817 | 0:10.6471 |
| 26 | 25 | Method Motorsport | M.Flack/C.Mostert/J.Bryan | McLaren Artura GT4 | GT4 | 2:18.7181 | 0:15.9835 |
| 27 | 19 | Prestige Iveco | A.Christodoulou/D.Bilski | Mercedes-AMG GT4 | GT4 | 2:19.0972 | 0:16.3626 |
| 28 | 56 | Ginetta Australia | P.Buccini/O.Hizzey | Ginetta G56 GT4 | GT4 | 2:20.1821 | 0:17.4475 |
| 29 | 701 | Vortex | L.Amrouche/J.Boillot/P.Bonnel | Vortex Vortex 1.0 | INV | 2:25.8172 | 0:23.0826 |
| 30 | 230 | Method Motorsport | T.Hayman/T.McLennan/E.Schutte | McLaren Artura GT4 | GT4 | 2:26.3256 | 0:23.5910 |
Discussion about this post