The IRC GT has booked its place in Australian endurance racing history, having locked out the 2024 Bathurst 12-Hour Invitational Class podium last weekend.
It was the first year that the IRC GT has contested Australia’s only International Endurance Race, with three entries in the event.
Based upon a locally designed and manufactured space-frame chassis and full composite body, the IRC GT boasts a 550 horsepower LS3 6.2L V8 engine and a state-of-the-art six-speed paddle shift Transaxle produced by Australian company Hollinger.
Due to its modular design, the functional repairability of the IRC GT came into the spotlight when the T2 Racing entry sustained significant rear-end damage following an incident in practice.
The crew were able to easily remove the entire damaged rear section of the car and replace it with a new rear clip that was sourced from a sports sedan variant of the car, which was competing in the Combined Sports Sedans category at the same event.
Remarkably, the Localsearch-sponsored car went on to win the Invitational Class after standout driving performances from car owner Adam Hargreaves, Daniel Jilesen and Monegasque driver Cedric Sbirrazzuoli.
It was a tough introduction to top-level endurance racing for the IRC GT. The event was hit by substantial downpours across the final half of the race, resulting in sometimes inevitable incidents causing damage that required repairs during the race.
Despite this, and due to excellent work by all the crews involved and a healthy supply of IRC spare parts on hand, all three cars saw the chequered flag to take out a sweep of the podium places – without any of them suffering non-contact mechanical failure throughout the 12 hours.
Class leaders at halfway, TekworkX Motorsport raced to second place after successfully replacing the modular front clip on their IRC-backed car following contact with the wall during some torrential conditions. The #702 was raced by an experienced team consisting of Paul Tracy, Geoff Emery, Max Twigg and IRC owner Danny Stutterd.
“It’s a great car and we thought we’d bring it to an endurance race and see how we go, and it’s a really great result,” said Stutterd.
“The other guys were kind enough to join us as well, T2 Racing and Matt Stone Racing; those two cars are owned by Adam Hargreaves and John Hollinger. To finish first, second and third is an awesome result for all of us and a testament to the car.
“There were incidents throughout the day, but we were able to get them back running and finish on the podium at the end of 12 hours. If you have an incident, you can repair them quite quickly and get back out there, as we saw, which is the beauty of the cars, really. As we’ve now shown, they’re reliable and can last 12 hours.”
Matt Stone Racing’s Supaglss entry came home in third after running very strongly in the overall standings in the first part of the race. Their great run was ended when John Holinger was turned around by an overly aggressive GT3 making a passing manoeuvre at the Esses, resulting in heavy contact with the wall.
The MSR team dug in all day, continuing to manage ongoing repairs to the IRC GT to get back out and greet the chequered flag with a place on the podium for Cameron Hill, Nick Percat and car owner John Holinger.
The results mark a significant milestone for the development of the IRC GT, which now boasts a proven pedigree as both a sprint racing and endurance racing option for Pro and Pro-Am competitors alike.
The IRC GT has also experienced success in New Zealand since its introduction to the sport last season, achieving strong results in the North and South Island Endurance series and the Super V8s, as well as winning the one-hour race at Highlands Motorsport Park’s 10th Anniversary meeting in the hands of Stutterd.
