Trophy battle heads to Winton

The world’s most exotic automotive manufacturers will once again take to the circuit this weekend as the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli heads to Winton Motor Raceway.

It marks Round 2 of the all-new Series which began in sensational fashion at Sandown in early April, and marks the first time since 2012 that Australian GT has visited the Victorian circuit.

Having been recently resurfaced, Mark Eddy’s five year old lap record tumble as the field takes to the circuit for two 50-minute races across the weekend.

Winning both races in the opening round, Greg Taylor heads the championship in the GT Motorsport Audi R8 Ultra.

Taylour though will face face stiff competition from the Fire Rating Solutions entry of Mathew Turnbull, who emerged as one of the strongest challengers at Sandown Raceway.

Joining them on track will be Garth Rainsbury and Ben Porter who once again partner up behind the wheel of the 8.3-litre Melbourne Performance Centre prepared Dodge Viper.

Down the long fast straights of Sandown the Viper proved fast enough for pole position, but the twists and turns of Winton Raceway present an altogether different challenge.

That could see fortunes swing in favour of the four MARC Cars Australia entries, with impressive driver lineups already confirmed.

Team boss Ryan McLeod will share the driving duties with Keith Kassulke, who is fresh from the inaugural CAMS Australian Endurance Championship round at Phillip Island last month.

At that event Kassulke had partnered with Jake Camilleri, though the MARC Class series leader will race solo this weekend.

Camilleri proved a strong threat throughout the opening round of the Series and with plenty of racing miles under his belt in the MARC V8 is expected to be a factor towards the front of both races.

Scott Hookey in the Exotic Track Days entry proved hugely competitive at the opening round, and is back behind the wheel of his Ferrari 458 Challenege this weekend fresh from an outing in a Mercedes-AMG SLS GT3 at Barbagallo in the CAMS Australian GT Championship.

Germany will be well represented as alongside Taylor’s Audi is a similar car for Rob Smith and a brace of Porsche’s for Rick Mensa and the Brendan Cook and Ockert Fourie partnership.

With entries from Italy, the United States and our own backyard it makes for a fascinating blend of exotic racing machines.

Entry across the weekend is free for spectators, with the green light for opening practice scheduled for 2:00pm on Friday.

A further practice then follows ahead of qualifying on Saturday before two 50-minute races, with compulsory pit stops, take place from 11:00am Sunday morning.

For those unable to check out the Australian GT action in person, both races will be broadcast live via an online stream from Sunday morning.

Entry List