GT World Challenge Australia returned to The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia this weekend for a double-header event, the penultimate round of the 2025 season before the championship finale at Hampton Downs next month.
For Kiwi driver Jaxon Evans and Australian co-driver Elliot Schutte, the pace was strong from the outset in their Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3.
They opened with second place in Free Practice 1, only 0.156 seconds off the benchmark set by Jayden O’Jeda and Paul Lucchitti in the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3.
The pair went one better in Free Practice 2, setting the fastest lap of the session with a 1:46.7915. Pre-qualifying brought further improvements, with a 1:46.3727 good enough for fifth.
Qualifying saw Evans deliver in the first session, securing a front-row start for Race 2 with the second-fastest lap, just 0.1358 seconds off pole. Schutte took the wheel for the second qualifying session and recorded the fourth-best time, earning a second-row start for Race 1.
They were not the only Kiwi presence on the grid. Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks lined up in the Wolfbrook/Team MPC Audi R8.
The duo were consistent across practice, fifth in FP1, third in FP2, and second in Pre-Qualifying. Wood’s pace in the first qualifying session put them third for Race 2, just 0.1684 seconds off pole, while Brooks secured sixth in the second session, setting them up for a third-row start in Race 1.
Race 1:
Race 1 began under cool, overcast skies, with pole-sitter Liam Talbot getting the best launch into Turn 1 in the Shannons Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin.
Behind him, Mark Rosser moved into second in the Team BRM Audi R8 while Brad Schumacher slipped back to third after a sluggish getaway in the Team MPC Audi R8 . Schutte slotted into fourth in the Arise Racing Ferrari, while Brooks held sixth in the Wolfbrook Audi.
In the Am class, Renee Gracie led early in her Team MPC Audi, holding off Theo Koundouris in the Tigani Motorsport Mercedes.
Within the first ten minutes, Rosser closed in on Talbot, applying constant pressure. Schumacher ran third but struggled to keep pace, with Schutte right on his tail.
Moments later, Talbot ran wide at Turn 13, brushing the barriers and rejoining down in fifth with visible bodywork damage. Rosser inherited the lead, Schumacher advanced to second, and Schutte climbed to third.
Gracie also slipped off-track soon after, losing the Am class lead to Koundouris and falling to eighth. Talbot regrouped in fourth, while Brooks maintained fifth in the Audi.
By the halfway stage, Schumacher had set the fastest lap of the race, but looming large was the mandatory pit stop cycle and success penalties carried over from Sandown.
Talbot faced a 15-second success penalty for his previous win, Schumacher a 10-second hold for finishing second, and Evans/Schutte five seconds for third place. Schutte comes into the pits to complete the team’s driver swap and pit stop, with Evans jumping behind the wheel of the Ferrari 296 GT3.
Once stops were complete, Alex Peroni, taking over from Rosser, emerged in front, leading Evans by 13 seconds. Broc Feeney, taking over from Schumacher, slotted into third, just behind Evans, with Wood taking over from Brooks in fourth.
The final 15 minutes produced a tense battle. Evans came under heavy attack from Feeney but defended strongly, eventually building a small buffer.
Behind them, Wood closed in on Feeney, reducing the gap to just over a second before Feeney responded to hold position.
At the flag, Rosser and Peroni claimed victory for Team BRM, their second win of the season. Evans and Schutte crossed the line in second, extending their championship lead by three points over Feeney and Schumacher, who completed the podium in third.
“Yeah, solid race today. Started P4 with Elliot, and he did a great job. There was some stuff happening on track, cars flying off, but he managed to keep it on the black stuff before handing it over to me, and with the success penalties from last round, we found ourselves in second spot. Had to work pretty hard to keep Broc [Feeney] behind, but it was a good fight, really happy to come home with another podium and second place for the team,” said Evans post-race.
Wood and Brooks finished a strong fourth, with O’Jeda and Lucchitti rounding out the top five.
In the Am class, Theo and James Koundouris took the win, finishing ahead of Gracie and Ben Schoots. Trophy class honours went to Matt Stoupas and Gary Higgon.
The top three Pro class finishers will all carry success penalties into Race 2: 15 seconds for Rosser/Peroni, 10 seconds for Evans/Schutte, and 5 seconds for Feeney/Schumacher.
Race 2 takes place on Sunday at 4:40 pm (NZST), the final contest before teams ship their cars to Hampton Downs for the 2025 GT World Challenge Australia finale.
Header Image: Race Project / GT World Challenge Australia
