Geoff Emery enjoyed a return to the top step of the podium last weekend after securing the outright win at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit courtesty of a podium and a race win alongside Maximilian Hofer.
In what was the third round of both the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, the pair set the tone early in the weekend after qualifying third and fourth respectively for the two races.
Keeping in mind that they held a penalty off the back of a second-place finish in Perth, Emery required a fast start in the Audi R8 LMS Evo 2 to stay in contention for a podium finish, and the experienced campaigner did just that, allowing Hofer to cross the line in fourth at race end.
With a penalty-free race two, Emery was elevated into the lead after the pit-stop cycle and never looked back as a chaotic battle for the remaining podium places played out behind – handing the Jamec Racing outfit the race win and outright honours.
After two second place finishes in the opening rounds, Emery was happy to finally walk away with the win and was full of praise for his teammate Hofer.
“We have had a couple of second places at Bathurst and Perth, so it was good to finally come away with the win – it was a good result for the team,” Emery said.
“We carried the penalties for Bathurst and for Perth into this weekend, which made it hard for the first race but not having a penalty in the last one contributed to the win.
“Max is an absolute superstar; he did a fantastic job jumping in with me for the round and he is very professional in the way he goes about it, you can see why he is one of the front running factory guys and I’m hoping to get him back for some more.”
As for how Emery is going to approach the rest of the season, it was his previous championship success that would play a major role.
“I’m just going to tackle future rounds like any other championship, taking it one race at a time and not make any mistakes, that’s what has won me championships in the past,” Emery added.
“It’s my third time back in the car after three years, I am getting acquainted with the whole car now and the way the whole team is working, the more laps for me, the more confidence I get.
“The top five cars are really competitive, there have been so many different pole positions – it just shows you how tough it is at the top with everyone capable of getting the fastest lap – nobody can pull away and dominate.
“I’m starting to further understand the high speed aero of the car. I struggled a little bit at Bathurst but I’m really starting to get the hang of it. Spending two years in the Carrera Cup with very minimal aero is cause for re-adjustment.”
The Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS will next feature at Syndey Motorsport Park as part of the Sydney SuperSprint on 28-30 July.
