Arise Racing’s Jaxon Evans and Elliot Schutte proved untouchable in Race 2 of the GT World Challenge Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park, backing up their Race 1 victory with another commanding performance.
From a record-breaking opening stint to a late-race charge through traffic, the Kiwi-Aussie pairing were in a league of their own, bringing the Ferrari 296 GT3 home with a 19-second margin at one stage and sealing the win with the fastest lap of the weekend.
As the lights went out, Evans launched hard off the line and immediately took control of the race. Behind him, Ryan Wood in the #100 Team Porsche entry went wheel to wheel with Tony D’Alberto’s Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan, trading paint in a fierce scrap for second.
Wood wasn’t here to play – just a few laps in, he dove down the inside of D’Alberto and made the move stick, cementing himself as a serious threat for the top step.
Further back, Brendon Leitch made a strong start for Team MPC, muscling the Audi R8 into sixth on the opening lap. Evans was already disappearing up the road, and by Lap 2, he stamped his authority on the field with a blistering new lap record – a 1:26.393.
Broc Feeney settled into fourth, defending staunchly from Jordan Love in the second Arise Racing Ferrari. Love’s pressure was relentless, but Feeney stood firm.
While Evans enjoyed the clean air, strategy loomed large. Unlike Evans, D’Alberto and Wood had no additional pit stop penalties, who carried an extra 15 seconds for his Race 1 win. The challenge was clear: Evans needed to build a 15-second buffer to retain the lead post-pit stops. After just four laps, he was already four seconds ahead.
In the AM class, Renee Gracie continued her red-hot form. Fresh off a class win in Race 1, she again led the AM field with Ben Schoots just seven-tenths behind. Gracie stuck with the early pit strategy that worked for her the night before, ducking into the lane and rejoining ahead of Koundouris to maintain her class lead.
Jayden Ojeda, who was hampered by a red flag in qualifying and started 15th, made a stunning charge up the field, slicing his way into sixth by Lap 6 – even leapfrogging Leitch. Despite a five-second pit penalty for his Race 1 podium, Ojeda was a man on a mission.
The drama unfolded at Turn 1 when Jordan Love ran wide at over 200km/h during his battle with Ojeda, launching the Ferrari across the grass and briefly airborne. He recovered to rejoin in eighth, but not without losing vital track position.
A flurry of activity hit the pit lane as the pit window opened. Declan Fraser handed the car to Liam Talbot while D’Alberto brought the Lamborghini in for Adrian Deitz to take over. With a 5-second lead over Wood and 19 seconds covering the top three, Evans came in as part of a seven-car swarm that caused chaos at pit entry.
The Arise Racing crew nailed the stop, bolting on fresh tyres – a reversal of their strategy from Race 1 – and Schutte rejoined with a massive lead. Peroni handed over to Mark Rosser, who slotted into ninth, while Adrian Deitz looped the Lamborghini in a heart-stopping 360 on cold tyres but miraculously kept it on track.
Steve Brooks took over from Ryan Wood and rejoined in the race lead, seven seconds clear of Schutte. But the Arise Ferrari was on a charge. Schutte closed the gap relentlessly as the clock ticked down, carving into Brooks’s lead lap by lap.
Meanwhile, Brad Schumacher went off at Turn 2, dropping from third to sixth, but quickly regrouped to begin a fightback, passing Wyatt and later moving into fifth.
Gracie was also on the move again, passing Shane Woodman to regain the AM class lead, sitting 12th outright.
Schumacher continued to claw back places, dispatching Lucchitti in the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG, and Schutte had now caught Brooks’s rear bumper with just nine minutes left. Navigating traffic like a veteran, Schutte bided his time before pouncing with six minutes to go, reclaiming the race lead and gapping Brooks almost immediately.
Behind them, Schumacher’s recovery was complete as he passed Tim Miles – who had taken over from Leitch – to snatch third place. Lucchitti, having taken over from a fast-charging Ojeda, also got past Miles on the final lap to claim a sensational fourth, completing an incredible comeback drive for the Tigani Motorsport squad, who had started dead last.
It’s a back-to-back win for Arise Racing and the Kiwi/Aussie duo of Evans and Schutte. They’re an unstoppable team this weekend, converting double podiums into double wins! They also finished the race with the fastest lap, a scorching 1:26.393.
Brooks and Wood joined them on the podium in second, completing a spectacular Kiwi 1–2 finish, while Feeney and Schumacher rounded out the top three after a gritty recovery drive.
Gracie brought it home for a second AM class win, converting back-to-back poles into back-to-back victories – a massive statement in her full-time return to racing.
In the Trophy class, Matt Stoupas and Gary Higgon defied the odds to win in the Team MPC Audi R8, recovering from a fire in Qualifying 1 that left their weekend in doubt. Starting 13th out of 15, their triumph was hard-earned.
For Schutte, it was the perfect way to cap off a dominant weekend.
“I think we just used our tyres the right way this weekend, so credit to the team. The car was driving really nicely. Jaxon gave me a good lead so that it couldn’t have gone better,” said Schutte post-race.
He also praised his teammate:
“He’s incredible, not just in the car, but he has brought me to another level of understanding these types of cars, so incredibly grateful to him.”
Gracie, too, was upbeat after her second win:
“It’s been a really good weekend; I’m very happy. Obviously, critiquing like race car drivers do, I wasn’t overly happy with the car in the end there, but I won my class, so I can’t complain too much.”
“Yeah, hopefully, there is more to come. I don’t think this is it for me, but it’s the confidence boost I needed early in the season. Now the pressure is on to keep it going.”
TOP 10 RESULTS – GT World Challenge Australia, Round 2: Race 2, Sydney Motorsport Park:
- Elliot Schutte / Jaxon Evans – Arise Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
- Steve Brooks / Ryan Wood – Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO 11
- Broc Feeney / Brad Schumacher – Team MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3
- Jayden Ojeda / Paul Lucchitti – Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3
- Tim Miles / Brendon Leitch – Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO 11
- George King / Sergio Pires – Geyer Walmont Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
- Liam Talbot / Declan Fraser – Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin AMR GT3
- Mark Rosser / Alex Peroni – Team BRM Audi R8 LMS EVO 11
- Thomas Randle / Marcel Zalloua – Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO
- Jordan Love/ Stephen Wyatt – Arise Racing Ferrari 296 GT3
AM Class Winner: Renee Gracie (11th overall) – Team MPC Audi R8 LMS Evo 11
Trophy Class Winner: Matt Stoupas/Garry Higgon (15th overall) – Team MPC AUDI R8 LMS
Fastest Lap: Jaxon Evans – 1:26.393
Header Image: GT World Challenge Australia
