GT4 Australia Round 3: Queensland Raceway Report
Queensland, Australia – The Monochrome GT4 Australia Championship resumed its action-packed season with Round 3 at Queensland Raceway, featuring a competitive field of 28 cars across three classes.
Qualifying Highlights
In Saturday’s qualifying session, Blake Purdie secured pole position in the #48 Purdie Racing Audi, outpacing Jarrod Hughes in the #87 JGI Triple Eight Racing Mercedes and Aaron Seton’s #71 Gomersall Motorsport Mustang—both by less than a second.
Race 1 Summary
The opening race began under increasingly adverse weather conditions, with light rain prompting multiple teams to switch to wet tires. A pre-race incident saw Hughes pit early, vacating his spot on the grid. The race commenced amid intermittent rain, leading to immediate chaos as several drivers lost control on cold slick tires.
Purdie was knocked off the track by Seton’s Mustang at Turn 3, prompting a safety car deployment to manage multiple collisions, including Jake Camilleri’s crash into a barrier. With many cars pitting for wet tires, a significant portion of the field fell a lap down.
Once racing resumed, the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren led until Ryan Hansford in the #27 Multispares Mustang passed to take the lead. Further incidents led to another safety car, culminating in a lengthy caution period. Upon restart, Hansford collided with a wet patch and crashed into the pit wall, resulting in a red flag with just 8 minutes remaining.
Post-race penalties significantly altered the standings, with the leading trio receiving drive-through penalties for disregarding the red light at the end of the pit lane. This unexpected ruling elevated Shane Smollen in the #1 Method Motorsport Porsche to victory, marking a notable win in the Am class.
Race 1 Podium:
- Shane Smollen (Porsche #1)
- Burcher/Leahey (BMW #22)
- LaDelle/Keyte (Mustang #21)
Race 2 Insights
Qualifying for Race 2 saw Max Geoghegan take pole in the #25 Method Motorsport McLaren. The race began cleanly as Miedecke in the #35 Mustang seized an early lead, amid a mid-field collision that sent the #24 McLaren to the back.
Geoghegan later managed to overtake Miedecke only to be hampered by a safety car due to a competitor’s spin. Misjudging the pit strategy, Geoghegan lost his lead when he pitted one lap too late.
After a 22-minute caution, racing resumed but quickly faced further interruptions. A multi-car incident in the midfield prompted another safety car, resulting in a dramatic finish.
With just minutes to go, Cameron Gray in the #35 Mustang held off a late charge from Hughes in the #87 Mercedes. Gray narrowly clinched the victory by just two-tenths of a second, while Morris secured third in the #210 TekworkX Motorsport Porsche.
Race 2 Podium:
- Cameron Gray (Mustang #35)
- Jarrod Hughes (Mercedes #87)
- Nash Morris (Porsche #210)
Championship Context
Following Race 2, the standings tightened significantly, with Miedecke and Gray now only 7 points behind the leaders, Hayman and Geoghegan.
Monochrome GT4 Australia will continue on July 25-27 with the next pair of races at Sandown Raceway.
