Sydney Motorsport Park delivered an interesting pair of qualifying sessions for the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series, as reigning Toyota 86 Champion Hugo Allan made an impressive category debut while Max Geoghegan stormed to pole position in Qualifying 2.
QUALIFYING 1: ALLAN STRONG ON DEBUT IN THE SUPRA EVO 2
Following a strong showing in wet conditions during practice, young Kiwi Hugo Allan stepped into Tony Quinn’s Toyota Supra GT4 Evo 2 for his maiden GT4 Australia qualifying session. Despite the dry conditions presenting a new challenge with tyres, Allan wasted no time in getting up to speed, setting an early benchmark of 1:35.5430 to go sixth fastest in the opening stages.
As the session progressed and the times dropped, Jarrod Hughes emerged as the driver to beat. Hughes laid down a blistering 1:33.0513 in his Mercedes-AMG with only minutes left on the clock, a time that would prove unbeatable.
Allan responded with an improved 1:34.5353, qualifying 12th overall for Race 1 and an encouraging 5th in the Silver-Am class—just 1.484 seconds off the pace in his first qualifying outing on slick tyres.
At the top of the timesheets, Hughes led the Silver class, edging out Tom Hayman’s McLaren and securing pole position for Race 1.
In the AM class, Marcus Ladelle made a strong impression on debut by topping the class and obtaining pole for Race 1 in his Ford Mustang ahead of reigning AM champion Shane Smollen.
Aaron Seton secured pole position for the Silver-AM class, finishing the session third overall in his Ford Mustang with a 1:33.7069 lap time.
Speaking to Greg Rust after the session, Allan was thrilled with his performance and opportunity:
“I’m super stoked. I’m really grateful that I’ve been given this opportunity because guys like me can’t afford to go off and do this by ourselves. It’s really cool, off the back of winning the Toyota GR86 championship in New Zealand, that we actually have the opportunity, and there’s a pathway for us to move forward. I’m super grateful, and honestly, I’m just having a lot of fun.”
“Yeah, it’s my first time here [at Sydney Motorsport Park]. I spent a day in the Supra back in New Zealand. I’m really enjoying it; I struggled a little bit with firing the green tyre up; it’s my first time racing on a slick, so hopefully, that will be forgiven.
“We have a little bit of work to do, but the pace is there. The Supra is pretty strong, especially in the wet from yesterday.”
QUALIFYING 2: GEOGHEGAN STRIKES FOR POLE, QUINN FALLS SHORT
In the second 15-minute session, Tony Quinn took the wheel of the #101 Keltic Racing Toyota Supra.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t replicate Allan’s pace, clocking 1:39.3328—5.6 seconds off the front-running time—which qualified him and Allan 22nd overall for Race 2 and 5th in class.
Method Motorsport driver Max Geoghegan delivered the standout performance in Q2, stopping the clocks at 1:33.6546 to secure the overall pole position and top honours in the Silver class. His lap came after a challenging practice day, making the result even sweeter.
“That was good; I had a good go after getting the tyre up. That’s my second-ever pole, so doing it in a McLaren is pretty cool. I can’t thank the team enough; we had some dramas yesterday, and to get bang straight on it, I’m really proud of the team for putting that together,” Geoghegan told Isabella Leembruggen post-session.
When asked about the key to converting his pole into a win, Geoghegan was direct:
“I think the biggest thing is looking after the tyres.”
Meanwhile, Shane Smollen bounced back in Q2 to top the AM class and score the AM pole position with a solid 1:35.1522 lap, finishing 5th outright and just ahead of fellow AM competitor Jacob Lawrence.
Jason Gomersall led the Silver-Am runners to score pole position with a 1:36.0297. He finished 11th overall, ahead of Glenn Nirwan, who secured second in class and 15th outright.
With the field now set, all eyes turn to the races where tyre strategy, consistency, and car management will be key to the high-speed Sydney Motorsport Park layout.
Race 1 is set to go green at 6:40 PM NZT and will be streamed live on YouTube for international fans to tune in.
Header Image: Australian Motorsport Images
