2025 GT World Challenge Australia Set for Season Finale at Hampton Downs
Hampton Downs, New Zealand — The 2025 GT World Challenge Australia culminates this weekend with a 14-car field at the Hampton Downs circuit, marking its debut in the series. The event is particularly significant as the 3.8-kilometre track previously hosted the Australian GT Championship until 2018.
Championship Contenders
The spotlight is on the Pro-Am drivers’ championship as Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte in the #26 Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 hold a commanding 30-point lead over Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher, piloting the #888 Melbourne Performance Centre Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II. With 52 points available, the title is still very much at stake. Evans and Schutte have shown remarkable consistency, with only one outing outside the top five this season.
Supporting the title bids, Evans and Schutte are joined by teammates Jordan Love and Steven Wyatt in the #77 Arise Racing GT Ferrari, while Feeney and Schumacher have locals Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks in the #88 Wolfbrook Audi.
Renee Gracie joins the Pro-Am ranks in her #181 OnlyFans Audi, partnered with newcomer Damon Leitch for the season finale. Gracie, the reigning Am Class Champion, transitions up after a dominant season.
Team Standings
In the Pro-Am teams’ championship, Arise Racing leads Melbourne Performance Centre by a narrow 11 points, while Tigani Motorsport remains a theoretical contender, 40 points adrift. Tigani enters two Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos, with Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti in the #66 and George King alongside Marcel Zalloua in the #55 entry.
Mach 1 Engineering returns to competition, having missed much of the season due to repairs on its #96 AMG GT3 Evo. It features Anthony Pedersen and 2024 Monochrome GT4 Australia Pro-Am champion Shane Smollen, who will make his GT3 debut.
New Entries and Absences
The grid sees the addition of a third Ferrari from Zagame Autosport, with Josh Buchan and Cameron Campbell driving the #23 296 GT3. The #27 IMS Racing Audi will feature Kiwis Jonny Reid and Sam Fillmore, though neither entry will earn championship points.
The Pro-Am class includes Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz in the #93 Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO II, and a driver change in the #1 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, with Josh Hunt joining Liam Talbot.
Notably, Team BRM, which won Race 1 at The Bend, will not participate, and the Koundouris siblings’ #47 Tigani Motorsport entry, currently second in the Am class standings, is also absent.
Am Class Overview
The Am Class will feature two Mercedes-AMGs: Benjamin Schoots and Shane Woodman of Black Wolf Motorsport, who need just one point to surpass the Koundouris for second, and Darren Currie and Grant Donaldson pursuing their first 2025 win with the 111 Racing AMG GT3 Evo.
Schedule
The GT Festival at Hampton Downs runs from October 31 to November 2, featuring two Free Practice sessions and Pre-Qualifying on Friday, followed by a double qualifying session and Race 1 on Saturday. The final race of the season will occur on Sunday morning.
Images courtesy of Race Project/Daniel Kalisz/GT World Challenge Australia
