Alan Marks had set the bar high with a clear advantage on the Qually time that saw him take pole and left the rest of the field wondering just how they were going to catch him.
After 3 false starts, we were underway, but it was clear from the onset, it was going to be a test of mental toughness to see who can go the distance.
Once drivers had settled into their rhythms it was smooth sailing for the majority of the field, however, mechanical failure saw Sam Owen & Francarlo Rizzo call it an early day, with only having completed 16 & 14 laps respectively.
Crucial pit stops saw the lead change several times as this race was shaping up as a strategic mind game and it was going to take grit and determination to finish the victor.
At the half way point, Tim Hamilton was out in front with a whole 18 second lead, leaving Jason Brooks and Pat O’Reilly tussle it out for second spot.
Ross Rizzo was looking like he was running a very tidy race having only pitted once in 34 laps. His tight line and mental discipline could mean a late surge on a podium finish!
David Lord & Shane Gilfeather were enjoying an extremely playful game of cat and mouse further down the field and looked like they were making the best of such a lengthy drive.
The final 10 laps saw an exciting race between Jason Brooks and Tim Hamilton, both exchanging the lead several times, however, it would be Jason the eventual winning holding out a slim 1.1 second lead over Tim Hamilton over the final couple of laps. Taking the bottom step was Ross Rizzo who would find it strange as it is his first defeat after 8 races. Could this be a sign of things to come ?
The result would accelerate Jason Brooks to second spot in the championship.
By Daniel GialdiniRace Results:
Finish | Start | Diff +/- | Driver | Car | Laps | Race time | Fastest lap | Qual. time |
1 | 3 | +2 | Jason Brooks | McLaren MP4-12C | 50 | 122:52.955 | 2:21.903 | 2:21.825 |
2 | 5 | +3 | Tim Hamilton | Ferrari F430 | 50 | +0:01.161 | 2:22.485 | 2:22.443 |
3 | 2 | -1 | Ross Rizzo | McLaren MP4-12C | 50 | +0:28.854 | 2:23.979 | 2:21.379 |
4 | 1 | -3 | Allan Marks | Ferrari F430 | 50 | +1:39.697 | 2:23.513 | 2:21.234 |
5 | 4 | -1 | Pat O'Reilly | McLaren MP4-12C | 50 | +1:45.359 | 2:23.149 | 2:22.345 |
6 | 12 | +6 | Shane Gilfeather | BMW Z4 | 48 | +2 laps | 2:23.737 | n/a |
7 | 9 | +2 | Nathan Tregarthan | Ferrari 458 Italia | 48 | +2 laps | 2:26.107 | 2:25.768 |
8 | 7 | -1 | David Lord | Mercedes SLS AMG | 45 | DNF | 2:23.099 | 2:22.557 |
9 | 8 | -1 | Andy Lardner | McLaren MP4-12C | 45 | +5 laps | 2:27.980 | 2:25.342 |
10 | 6 | -4 | Francarlo Rizzo | McLaren MP4-12C | 16 | DNF | 2:22.530 | 2:22.554 |
11 | 10 | -1 | Sam Owen | Ferrari 458 Italia | 14 | Suspension | 2:29.193 | 2:27.195 |
Championship Table:
2014 GT3 League | |||||||||||||||||
Drivers | State | Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 | Race 5 | Race 6 | Race 7 | Race 8 | Race 9 | Race 10 | Race 11 | Race 12 | Total Points | Current Place | ||
Ross Rizzo | QLD | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 17 | 137 | 1st | |||||||
Jason Brooks | NSW | 17 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 17 | 17 | 20 | 111 | 2nd | |||||||
Francarlo Rizzo | QLD | 15 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 7 | 101 | 3rd | |||||||
Tim Hamilton | QLD | 7 | 15 | 13 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 93 | 4th | |||||||
Allan Marks | NSW | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 71 | 5th | |||||||
Nathan Tregarthan | NSW | 3 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 67 | 6th | |||||||
Shane Van Gilfeather | NSW | 0 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 66 | 7th | |||||||
Pat O'Reilly | NSW | 9 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 8th | |||||||
Chris Herringe | QLD | 12 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 9th | |||||||
Nikolai Valge | NSW | 10 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 10th | |||||||
Chris Paras | NSW | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 11th | |||||||
David Lord | NSW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 12th | |||||||
Iain Salteri | QLD | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13th | |||||||
Ryan Healy | QLD | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 14th | |||||||
Stuart Vaughan | NSW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 15th | |||||||
Iain McIntosh | QLD | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16th | |||||||
Tim Calvert | NSW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 17th | |||||||
Andy Lardner | QLD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 18th | |||||||
Rob Cooper | QLD | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 19th | |||||||
Enda Murphy | QLD | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 20th | |||||||
Sam Owen | NSW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 21st | |||||||
Justin Wilson | NSW | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 22nd | |||||||
Luke Bannano | NSW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 23rd | |||||||
Andrew Clarke | NSW | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 24th | |||||||
Evan Golbach | NSW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 25th | |||||||
Todd Varacalli | QLD | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 26th |
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