Taylor fastest as Australian GT hits Sydney

Greg Taylor has gone fastest fastest in the opening practice session for Round 3 of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli, heading Mathew Turnbull and Jake Camilleri.

Taylor set a blistering pace in the GT Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, chalking up nine laps around the 4.5-kilometre Sydney Motorsport Park circuit en route to the quickest lap of the day.

Fire Rating Solutions driver Mathew Turnbull was second fastest in his Lamborghini Gallardo, spending eleven laps on track as he came to grips with the circuit.

The Wall Racing prepared Grove Hire Porsche GT3 Cup Car saw Stephen Grove fourth overall and third in the Trophy Class

Southern Star Developments Audi R8 LMS entry of Rob Smith ended the day fourth fastest in class with Winton race race winner Rick Mensa in fifth.

Camilleri’s third fastest time overall saw him the fastest MARC Class entry ahead of a tightly packed group that saw six cars split by just a second.

The pack had been separated by just two tenths mid-way through the session before times began to tumble in the closing minutes.

Ryan McLeod was second in the MARC class, with Morgan Haber, in the car he’ll share with former Bathurst 1000 winner Tony Longhurst, next best.

The hotly contested MARC Class field saw Jack Smith fourth fastest ahead of Adrian Dietz and the Geoff Taunton/Jason Busk entries.

Richard Gartner and Adrian Flack combined to set the pace in their Porsche GT3 Cup Car, topping the Challenge class over Scott Hookey and the Brendan Cook/Ockert Fourie duo.

A second practice session tomorrow morning will give all teams an opportunity to further refine their setups overnight before qualifying at 2:30 tomorrow afternoon.

Two 50-minute races follow on Sunday with all the racing action streamed live via the Australian GT website.

Practice Results

Pos Team Driver Car Class Time
1 GT Motorsport Greg Taylor Audi R8 LMS Trophy 1:31.4204
2 Fire Rating Solutions Mathew Turnbull Lamborghini Gallardo Trophy 1:33.2935
3 MARC Cars Australia Jake Camilleri MARC Mazda V8 MARC 1:34.3489
4 Grove Hire Stephen Grove Porsche GT3 Cup Car Trophy 1:34.6140
5 MARC Cars Australia Ryan McLeod MARC Focus V8 MARC 1:34.7189
6 MARC Cars Australia Morgan Haber/Tony Longhurst MARC Focus V8 MARC 1:35.2132
7 MARC Cars Australia Jack Smith MARC Mazda V8 MARC 1:35.3508
8 Southern Star Developments Rob Smith Audi R8 LMS Trophy 1:35.4185
9 Safe-T-Stop Richard Gartner/Adrian Flack PorscheGT3 Cup Car Challenge 1:35.8321
10 MARC Cars Australia Adrian Dietz MARC Focus V8 MARC 1:38.7579
11 CCC Polished Concrete Rick Mensa Porsche GT3 Cup Car Trophy 1:39.0197
12 Exotic Track Days Scott Hookey Ferrari 458 Challenge Challenge 1:39.8872
13 KPH Racing/OLOF Family Cosmetic Dental Spa Brendan Cook/Ockert Fourie Porsche GT3 Cup Car Challenge 1:40.0758
14 MARC Cars Australia Geoff Taunton/Jason Busk MARC Focus V8 MARC 1:40.4855