Both new and returning names will add to a competitive 31-car field for Round 2 of the Monochrome GT4 Australia season at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Phillip Island provided plenty of action as Monochrome GT4 Australia continues to grow in stature. Sydney’s layout will provide further challenges for teams thanks to its high tyre degradation in addition to its mixture of fast and slow speed sections.
Headlining the list of new additions is 2024 Pro-Am Cup (Silver-Am in 2025) champion Shane Smollen, who returns to Monochrome GT4 Australia for a cameo in the same title-winning Porsche 718 Cayman RS CS prepared by Method Motorsport.
Other new additions to the field include a second TekworkX Motorsport Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS for Josh and Diesel Thomas in the Silver class, while the Ford Mustang GT4 ranks are bolstered by 99motorsport featuring its team owner Marcus LaDelle pairing with Jarrod Keyte, who are running in the Am Class alongside Smollen.
The addition of Smollen in the #1 car and the 99motorsport pairing of LaDelle and Keyte will provide stiff competition to current Am Cup leader Jacob Lawrence in the Randall Racing BMW M4 GT4 G82, who took both class victories at Phillip Island.
Lawrence will have a second Method Motorsport Porsche to worry about in the form of West Australia duo Chris Lillis and Nathan Callaghan in their freshly repaired 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS after a collision with another competitor hampered their pursuit of Am Cup honours at Phillip Island.
Backing up Lawrence in BMW’s Am Cup attack is father Peter joined by Jamie Augustine in the second Randall Racing entry in the G82-specification M4s and McElrea Racing’s Nathan Murray in the EVO Spec. Previous generation F82s will feature in the hands of Gomersall Racing’s Glenn Walker in addition to Randall Racing’s third BMW for Suzanne and Lib Palermo.
Mercedes-AMG is well represented in Am Cup by the three entries from AR Nineteen Motorsport for Mark Griffith, John Nikolovski and Jamie Arratoon, while Love Racing father-son pairing Rob and Bailey Love will also be in contention.
Breaking up the German element is the returning Property Investment Store McLaren 570s GT4 of Grant Denyer and Anthony Soole after not making the start at Phillip Island due to a since cured electrical problem.
Silver-Am welcomed success for the GWR Australia Toyota Supra GR GT4 Evo2 shared by Daniel Frougas and Tim Berryman, but on home turf it is sure to be tough to beat.
Ford Mustang GT4s were strong in Silver-Am at Phillip Island and will enjoy the long straight in Sydney. Aaron Seton and Jason Gomersall debuted their Gomersall Racing Mustang at the same circuit last season, while the DA Campbell Transport is coming off a major success in the Bathurst 6 Hour for drivers Cameron Crick and Dean Campbell, so confidence will be high approaching Sydney.
Purchase tickets to the GT Festival Sydney.
Fighting the Mustangs was an unexpected rival in the form of the Fisherman’s Wharf Seafood Ginetta G55 GT4 of Lachlan Mineeff and Rob Rubis after achieving third in Race 2 at the Island.
Lochie Dalton and Ben Newman started their successful partnership in Sydney last year in the Buckby Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4, so the pair will be hoping to build on this to kick start their 2025 campaign.
The sole BMW representative in Silver-Am Cup endured a tough time at Phillip Island, but Ryder Quinn and Steve Jakic are sure to be in contention as part of an expanded three-car TekworkX Motorsport entry for Round 2.
The Tufflift Racing TSM has worked hard to repair its McLaren Artura GT4 after an incident at the start of Race 2 last time out. Zac Soutar and Glenn Nirwan will aim to continue their learning in the new McLaren at Sydney.
Recent New Zealand Toyota GR86 Championship winner Hugo Allan is an exciting addition and will team with Tony Quinn in the Game Over Toyota Supra GT4 Evo2. Allan’s opportunity is reward for winning the title and comes courtesy of the Tony Quinn Foundation to help New Zealand drivers on their motorsport journey.
The wins were split one-all in Silver Cup between Audi and McLaren after Phillip Island.
The battle between Method Motorsport and Purdie Racing is due to continue in Sydney, but BMW cannot be ruled out either.
Method Motorsport’s dual attack continues led by Tom Hayman and Max Geoghegan in the race winning McLaren Artura GT4. The pair is backed up by Nathan Morcom and Loclan Hennock in the second Artura GT4.
Purdie Racing proved quick on debut at the opening round culminating in Silver Cup victory at the end of Race 2. Blake Purdie and Daniel Price will be targeting more silverware in Sydney.
After not getting in the winner’s list at Phillip Island, Rylan Gray and George Miedecke in the Miedecke Motorsport with Lubrimaxx Ford Mustang GT4 will aim to be on the top step of the podium at Round 2.
Not to be ruled out are Cody Burcher and Tim Leahey in the Central West Prestige BMW M4 GT4 G82 or Jake Camilleri’s Gomersall Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Completing a strong Silver Cup field is the TekworkX Motorsport Porsche for Nash Morris and Zoe Woods and the Triple Eight Race Engineering entry of Summer Rintoule and Jarrod Hughes in the Mercedes-AMG GT4.
Monochrome GT4 Australia action in Sydney begins with practice and pre-qualifying at 40-minutes each. The regular two-segment 15-minute qualifying occurs ahead of two one-hour races to be held on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
Round 2 of the Monochrome GT4 Australia season at Sydney Motorsport Park forms a strong line-up of categories at the Shannons SpeedSeries on May 2-4.
Purchase tickets to GT Festival Sydney via speedseries.com.au/tickets
|
# |
Team |
Driver 1 |
Driver 2 |
Make / Model |
Class |
|
1 |
Method Motorsport |
Shane Smollen |
|
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS CS |
Am |
|
3 |
Thunder Buddies Racing / TekworkX |
Ryder Quinn |
Stevan Jakic |
BMW M4 GT4 G82 |
Silver-Am |
|
4 |
Property Investment Store |
Anthony Soole |
Grant Denyer |
McLaren 570s GT4 |
Am |
|
5 |
McElrea Racing |
Nathan Murray |
– |
BMW M4 GT4 G82 EVO |
Am |
|
9 |
GWR Australia |
Daniel Frougas |
Tim Berryman |
Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO 2 |
Silver-Am |
|
12 |
AR Nineteen Motorsport |
John Nikolovski |
– |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Am |
|
14 |
Gomersall Motorsport |
Glenn Walker |
– |
BMW M4 GT4 F82 |
Am |
|
17 |
Love Racing TSM |
Bailey Love |
Rob Love |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Am |
|
18 |
TFH Hire / TekworkX Motorsport |
Joshua Thomas |
Diesel Thomas |
Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 CS MR |
Silver |
|
19 |
AR Nineteen Motorsport |
Mark Griffith |
– |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Am |
|
20 |
AR Nineteen Motorsport |
Jamie Arratoon |
– |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Am |
|
21 |
99motorsport – Southern Spreaders |
Marcus LaDelle |
Jarrod Keyte |
Ford Mustang GT4 |
Am |
|
22 |
Ashley Seward Motorsport |
Cody Burcher |
Tim Leahey |
BMW M4 GT4 G82 |
Silver |
|
23 |
Buckby Motorsport |
Lachlan Dalton |
Benjamin Newman |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Silver-Am |
|
24 |
Method Motorsport |
Nathan Morcom |
Loclan Hennock |
McLaren Artura GT4 |
Silver |
|
25 |
Method Motorsport |
Tom Hayman |
Max Geoghegan |
McLaren Artura GT4 |
Silver |
|
29 |
Fishermen’s Wharf Seafood, Nelson Bay |
Lachlan Mineeff |
Rob Rubis |
Ginetta G55 GT4 |
Silver-Am |
|
32 |
Randall Racing |
Jacob Lawrence |
– |
BMW M4 GT4 G82 |
Am |
|
33 |
Randall Racing |
Jamie Augustine |
Peter Lawrence |
BMW M4 GT4 G82 |
Am |
|
36 |
Gomersall Motorsport |
Jake Camilleri |
– |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Silver |
|
48 |
Purdie Racing |
Blake Purdie |
Daniel Price |
Audi R8 GT4 |
Silver |
|
56 |
Ginetta Australia |
TBC |
TBC |
Ginetta G56 GT4 |
Silver |
|
66 |
Randall Racing |
Suzanne Palermo |
Lib Palermo |
BMW M4 GT4 F82 |
Am |
|
71 |
Gomersall Motorsport |
Aaron Seton |
Jason Gomersall |
Ford Mustang GT4 |
Silver-Am |
|
75 |
Tufflift Racing TSM |
Zac Soutar |
Glenn Nirwan |
McLaren Artura GT4 |
Silver-Am |
|
87 |
JGI Triple Eight Racing |
Summer Rintoule |
Jarrod Hughes |
Mercedes-AMG GT4 |
Silver |
|
100 |
Miedecke Motorsport with Lubrimaxx |
George Miedecke |
Rylan Gray |
Ford Mustang GT4 |
Silver |
|
101 |
Keltic Racing |
Hugo Allan |
Tony Quinn |
Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO 2 |
Am |
|
118 |
DA Campbell Transport |
Cameron Crick |
Dean Campbell |
Ford Mustang GT4 |
Silver-Am |