M-Motorsport/Interlloy Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3

Rnd#5, Townsville, Queensland (8-10 July, 2016)

 

After the success M-Motorsport achieved on the streets of Adelaide during the Australian GT season opener back in March, there was a lot of anticipation heading into the Townsville event that the front-running Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini could be battling for a podium result.

 

That anticipation was further heightened after opening practice, when Townsville rookie Glen Wood put the #48 Gallardo R-EX on top of the timesheets ahead of the opening qualifying session, and it was smiles all round in the garage afterwards.

 

“The car is well suited to the circuit, and Glen showed just what we’ve come to expect from him all year, a cool and calculating drive,” team-boss Justin McMillan admitted.

 

Heading into qualifying, McMillan took the first stint, running alongside many of the Pro drivers, the experienced Lamborghini campaigner classified just outside the top ten for much of the session, to finish mid-pack, with the 14th fastest time, and testament to how close the midfield runners were, just eight tenths of a second off a third row start!

 

“I’m a bit disappointed in that, because I made a slight error on my fastest lap coming into the braking zone for the final corner,” McMillan explained. “At that point I was four tenths up, but just couldn’t pull it up.”

 

Wood was back in the car for the second qualifier, and he was quickly at the top of the timesheets, running the third fastest time for much of the session before pitting early to conserve tyres, sadly two of the Pro drivers went faster on new rubber in the dying stages of the session to drop the #48 Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini back to fifth.

 

Off the third row for the start of the opening 60-minute race, Justin McMillan drove a smart opening stint to run just off the pace of the leaders, holding on to a position inside the top ten for much of the opening leg, pitting to hand the car to Wood from position 11, the young Victorian rejoining in position 20.

 

He was soon scything his way through the field, and at the completion of the compulsory pit stops, found himself locked in a four-way battle for tenth with former winners Grant Denyer, Nathan Antunes and Marcus Marshall.

 

The four cars were separated by mere inches as the laps wound down, Wood ultimately crossing the line ninth, less than two seconds away from a sixth placed finish..

 

With the roles reversed for Sunday’s second race, Wood was set for a third row start, and he was quickly through the pack to be battling Tony Bates in the #1 Audi for second. All over the back of the reigning champions, Wood fired through on the run to turn one on lap three, but the two cars made contact in the process, effectively forcing game over for Wood who was looking to move through and make an impression on the leader.

 

Back in the garage, the #48 team were forced to watch in frustration as Wood dropped to the tail of the field and endured almost a lap at crawling speed to bring the car back without further damage for a tyre change.

 

Once back on the circuit, Wood showed just how great a threat he would have been to the leaders, by turning in a string of the fastest laps of the race, but being more than a lap down, the team could enjoy little more than a glorified test session on the Townsville street circuit.

 

Stopping at the very end of the compulsory pit stop window, Wood handed the car back to McMillan who completed his stint to cross the line 18th, two laps down on the race leader.

 

“It’s pretty devastating really to know that you had the pace to be on the podium, and perhaps even win the race,” McMillan said. “That said, we showed all weekend that we were one of the fastest cars on the circuit, and we’ve finished without a mark on the car, so from that aspect it has been a great weekend, and full points to Glen for doing a fantastic job, especially considering it was the first time he’d been here!”

 

For the Interlloy/Wilson Storage team, their focus now returns to endurance mode, with the second round of the CAMS Endurance Championship set for Sydney Motorsport Park on 26-28 August.

 

Keep up to date with the M-Motorsport/Interlloy race team by following; www.facebook.com/MMotorsportGT3 

 

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Townsville, Queensland (8-10 July, 2016)

 

Qualifying#1 (20-minutes) - 8 July

1. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:12.8207

2. Grant Denyer (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:13.1534

3. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:13.1860

4. Elliott Barbour (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:13.4583

5. James Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:13.6109

14. Justin McMillan (M-Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:14.4246

 

Qualifying#2 (20-minutes) - 9 July

1. Christopher Mies (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:11.8611

2. Craig Baird (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 1:12.0792

3. Jonathon Webb (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:12.2586

4. Nathan Antunes (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:12.2774

5. Glen Wood (M-Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:12.3371

 

Race#1 (60-mins) - 9 July

1. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3) - 47-laps

2. Mies/Bates (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

4. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) 

5. Tony Quinn (Aston Martin Vantage GT3) 

9. McMillan/Wood (M-Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

 

Race#2 (60-mins) - 10 July

1. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3) - 46-laps

2. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

3. Baird/Taylor (Mercedes-AMG GT3)

4. Martin/Muston (Porsche 991 GT3-R) 

5. Mies/Bates (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

18. McMillan/Wood (M-Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 44-laps

 

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Rnd#1 - 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA

Rnd#2 - 17-20 March, Albert Park [AGP], Victoria

Rnd#3 - 6-8 May, Barbagallo, WA

Rnd#4 - 27-28 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#5 - 8-10 July, Townsville, Queensland

Rnd#6 - 11-12 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ



 

Rnd#1 - 29 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#2 - 26-28 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Rnd#3 - 28-30 October, Hampton Downs, NZ

Rnd#4 - 13 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ


 

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M-Motorsport is proudly supported by Interlloy Engineering Steels and Alloys, Wilson Storage, Australian Post Tensioning, Australian Steel, Bahco, Sabtools, Wynn's and Castrol.

 

Interlloy Pty Ltd is Australia’s lead supplier of Engineering Steels and Alloys to engineering machine shops both nationally and internationally.

 

Founded in 1987and now employing over one hundred and forty (140) people in five states of Australia, Interlloy has become the major supplier of Special Steels to the General and Heavy Engineering Industries, Toolmaking, Mining, Gas & Oil Fields, Automotive, Manufacturing, Petrochemical, Pump, Power Generation and Transport Industries.

 

For more information, please visit; www.interlloy.com.au

BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship

Rnd#5, Townsville, Queensland (8-10 July, 2016)

 

It’s hard to believe that this weekend the Australian GT Championship will contest it’s penultimate round on the streets of Townsville, after what has been a challenging debut year for BMW Team SRM, but carrying on the confidence of running with the leaders at Phillip Island last time out, team leader Steven Richards is full of confidence.

 

“Phillip Island saw us take a significant step forward and show that we were capable of mixing it with the leaders,” Richards admitted. “We always knew we’d get there, but with the way Australian GT is structured with it’s wide range of parity penalties, we were always going to be up against it in the shorter races, and starting the season with an unproven car also gave us some challenges to deal with, but I think Phillip Island was the turning point.

 

“Honestly this weekend will also be a challenge, because our driver gradings and resultant compensation times make it hard for us unless there’s a Safety Car intervention to allow us to close up some of that deficit, but I think importantly we’ve found some speed, and we’ve also uncovered some valuable data, something you only develop with time.”

 

Neither Richards nor team-mate Max Twigg are strangers to the Townsville circuit, in fact 12-months ago both figured prominently at the Series’ most northern venue, Twigg claiming an Australian GT podium finish, whilst Richards did the same in Carrera Cup, a feat he has managed regularly across the last four years on the demanding street circuit.

 

“I like the circuit, and have been going there every year since it first opened in 2009,” Richards added. “It’s a bit of a mix of street circuit and established circuit, with a couple of tricky sections which will challenge the rookies, so hopefully Max and I can exploit that and qualify further forward in the field.

 

“Regardless, we’re expecting a good weekend. The weather looks promising for us, not too hot, but dry, and the car has never been better, so we’re looking to take some big positives from the weekend before we turn our attention back to endurance mode next month with a three hour race in Sydney.”

 

For Twigg he carries the confidence of finishing on the podium 12-months ago on the 13-turn 2.85-kilometre circuit, and admits to being quietly confident..

 

“I love the circuit, so am more than happy to be back there, and I think with the large number of laps we turned at Phillip Island and the data we now have on the car, we’re definitely going to take a forward step this weekend. The big thing will be staying out of trouble across the opening laps, which means that qualifying will be important, but I think we might surprise a few people.”

 

The #100 BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 will turn its first official laps at Townsville in practice on Friday, 8 July with a single 20-minute practice session, ahead of the first of two 20-minute qualifying sessions which will determine the grid for the fifth round of the Australian GT Championship. The team then contests two 60-minute races with compulsory pit stops, one each on Saturday and Sunday.

 

Typically Townsville’s weather is beautiful this time of year with predictions of clear sunny days in the mid 20s, although cloud cover could change conditions slightly comeSunday, but otherwise it looks like being a dry weekend.

 

Every session from opening practice will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 5 (Channel 506), but you can also keep up to date with the BMW Team SRM team across the Townsville weekend by visiting; www.facebook.com/BMW_Team_SRM and get involved with the conversation on Twitter; www.twitter.com/BMW_Team_SRM

 

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Townsville, Queensland (8-10 July)

 

Schedule: [AEST - GMT +9]

9:10am - Practice#1(20-minutes)

11:30am - Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)

 

9:25am - Qualifying#2 (20-minutes)

11:40am - Race#1 (60-minutes)

 

11:25am - Race#2 (60-minutes)

 

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Rnd#1 - 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA

Rnd#2 - 17-20 March, Albert Park [AGP], Victoria

Rnd#3 - 6-8 May, Barbagallo, WA

Rnd#4 - 27-28 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#5 - 8-10 July, Townsville, Queensland

Rnd#6 - 11-12 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ

BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship/Australian Endurance Championship

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-29 May, 2016)

 

BMW Team SRM endured a heavy schedule at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit over the weekend, campaigning back-to-back events with both the fourth round of the Australian GT Championship and the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship contested at the popular Victorian circuit.

 

With the #100 BMW M6 GT3 finally in full 2016 FIA GT3 specification - matching their European and American siblings - reigning Bathurst champion Steven Richards and team-mate Max Twigg contested two 60-minute races for Australian GT, followed by a 101-lap, three-hour enduro on Sunday afternoon.

 

For Richards the results don’t give a true indication of just how competitive the BMW Team SRM M6 was across the weekend, after two poorly placed Safety Car interventions and a string of tyre failures dropped the team down the order in the closing stages of all three races, although the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion admitted he was more than happy with the outcome and the pace of the car.

 

“We took some big forward steps at Phillip Island, but sadly were robbed of what would have been some very good results through a sequence of issues over which we had no control,” Richards explained.

 

“Both Max and I had great pace in practice and we carried that through to qualifying for the Australian GT round, I was especially pleased to be fifth in my session, just four tenths off pole-man Garth Tander who was driving a car that has enjoyed some serious development over the last 12 months.

 

“The first Australian GT race saw us third and well within touch of the leaders ahead of the stop. Max rejoined and was running strongly, bringing the car home sixth for our best result of the season, proving the worth of the development phase we’ve been in over the last few months.

 

“For race two we were again strong, but we had an unusual failure with the power steering pump and were forced to pit, and that was effectively that, but we’d gained some more valuable data ahead of the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship and were all set to go.. Sadly though fate intervened!”

 

Twigg qualified ninth in the opening leg, whilst Richards was comfortably mid-field, the team playing the strategy game on tyres in preparation for the two stop event, but whilst on target for a comfortable top ten result, fate intervened with three separate tyre failures during the race which ultimately affected strategy and dropped them down the order by race end. They weren’t the only ones, 30-separate incidents occurred with tyres during the race, in most cases as a result of the debris on track, although for Richards that was cold comfort.

 

“It was frustrating, no question,” Richards admitted on reflection.

 

“The debris on the circuit was incredible, carbon-fibre shards, rubber, dirt and stones, in fact it was so bad I thought they’d call a Safety Car intervention to clear it up. Sadly there were Safety Cars, but they didn’t work in our favour with our longer pit stops, which was frustrating, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

 

“The car is fantastic, for the first time this year we’re running with the same specification as BMW teams in the Blancpain Series, so we now have the benefit of the development work being done overseas as well, and we proved the value of that knowledge.

 

“Both Max and I were fast, but things like Safety Cars and tyre failures are issues we cannot control, we just have to adapt as best we can around the situation and claim as many points as we could, which is exactly what we did.”

 

BMW Team SRM now shifts its focus to the penultimate round of the Australian GT Championship on the streets of Townsville on 8-10 July, followed by round two of the Endurance Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park on 26-28 August.

 

 

 

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Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-28 May)

 

Qualifying#1 (20-minutes) - 28 May

1. Elliott Barbour (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:28.6694

2. Matt Kingsley (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:28.8549

3. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:28.8968

4. Tony D’Alberto (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 1:29.5367

5. Ricky Capo (BMW Z4 GT3) - 1:29.7137

19. Max Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 1:33.5721

 

Qualifying#2 (20-minutes) - 28 May

1. Garth Tander (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:26.8933

2. Shane Van Gisbergen (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:27.0354

3. Marco Bonanomi (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:27.1049

4. Nathan Antunes (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:27.1931

5. Steve Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 1:27.3346

 

Race#1 (60-mins) - 28 May

1. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 38-laps

2. Yasser Shahin (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3)

3. Klark Quinn/Van Gisbergen (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. D’Alberto/Smythe (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)

5. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3) 

6. Twigg/Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3)

 

Race#2 (60-mins) - 28 May

1. Yasser Shahin (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3) - 34-laps

2. McLaughlan/Tander (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. McMillan/Wood (Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3)

4. Denyer/Kingsley (McLaren 650S GT3)

5. Ricky Capo (BMW Z4 GT3) 

DNF. Richards/Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 26-laps

 

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Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (28-29 May)

 

Qualifying#1 (20-minutes) - 29 May

1. Miguel Molina (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:26.6776

2. Peter Hackett (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 1:27.7935

3. Morgan Haber (BMW M6 GT3) - 1:27.8866

4. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:28.1544

5. Tony D’Alberto (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3) - 1:29.5367

9. Max Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 1:29.0114

 

Qualifying#2 (20-minutes) - 29 May

1. Shane Van Gisbergen (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:26.6372

2. Garth Tander (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:26.6521

3. Daniel Gaunt (Aston Martin Vantage GT3) - 1:26.7010

4. Craig Baird (Mercedes-AMG GT3) - 1:27.0465

5. Marcus Marshall (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:27.0517

14. Steven Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 1:27.8660

 

Race (101-laps) - 29 May

1. Denyer/Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 101-laps

2. Klark Quinn/Van Gisbergen (McLaren 650S GT3)

3. Hackett/Storey (Mercedes-AMG GT3)

4. D’Alberto/Smythe (Ferrari 458 Italia GT3)

5. Tony Quinn/Gaunt (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

18. Twigg/Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 97-laps

 

Rnd#1 - 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA

Rnd#2 - 17-20 March, Albert Park [AGP], Victoria

Rnd#3 - 6-8 May, Barbagallo, WA

Rnd#4 - 27-28 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#5 - 8-10 July, Townsville, Queensland

Rnd#6 - 11-12 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ



 

Rnd#1 - 29 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#2 - 26-28 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Rnd#3 - 28-30 October, Hampton Downs, NZ

Rnd#4 - 13 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ


 

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BMW Team SRM are proudly supported by BMW Australia, BMW Financial Services Australia and President Limo Australia.

BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship/Australian Endurance Championship

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-29 May, 2016)

 

After a hectic start to their 2016 Australian GT campaign, BMW Team SRM will have a chance this weekend to put the stunning white BMW M6 GT3 through its paces in the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship in a 101-lap journey around the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

 

The event will keep the Australian GT regulars on their toes, with the Phillip Island venue hosting both the fourth round of Australian GT ‘sprint’ series, and the opening round of the endurance season.

 

“We can’t wait,” BMW Team SRM’s team leader Steven Richards admitted. “It’s been a busy start to the year, getting the car just days ahead of the opening round in Adelaide, then running back-to-back with the Australian Grand Prix before the long haul across the country to Barbagallo in Western Australia. That was a lot of work for the whole BMW Team SRM operation at the start of the season, but over that period we also collected a lot of valuable data on the car.

 

“We’ve also received some of the ‘upgrades’ for the car too that put us inline with what the M6 GT3s in Europe and the USA are campaigning. We weren’t able to run those till after the Barbagallo round because they weren’t available before then, but we found some good forward progress during our recent test at Phillip Island with the new brake and suspension component upgrades.

 

“We also had some fantastic support from BMW Motorsport in Germany at our most recent test day at Phillip Island. BMW place great emphasis on their customer racing programs around the world, so to have them out to 'fast track' our learning with the BMW M6 GT3 was fantastic."

 

BMW Team SRM have a busy weekend on their hands, with Australian GT on Friday and Saturday - which will feature two 60-minute races - then the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship on Sunday, with 101-laps, or around three hours of racing scheduled for the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.

 

“This is the event we’ve been waiting for since the arrival of the car,” Richards explained. "The Australian Endurance Championship is better suited to our driving combination, and both Max [Twigg] and I were very comfortable in the car during the recent test. This weekend will present plenty of challenges, not the least being five hours of racing, so there’s a lot we need to consider, especially with the endurance event, where strategy plays an important role with things like planning pit stops and taking advantage of the almost inevitable Safety Car interventions.

 

“Max and I both love the circuit, so we’re pretty confident, but at the same time, a lot of our success this weekend will rely on us staying on the lead lap throughout the early stages of the race so that we can attack across the final hour.

 

“I think the car has the pace - especially in the cooler conditions we’ll expect this weekend, the Twin power Turbo technology BMW M6 V8 will be in it’s element - I think the team has the experience now with the car, and I think as a driving combination we’re as good as any team entered, so it really all just comes down to strategy and luck!”

 

The #100 BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 will turn its first official laps in practice on Friday, 27 May with two 30-minute practice sessions, ahead of the two 20-minute qualifying sessions which will determine the grid for the fourth round of the Australian GT Championship. 

 

Keep up to date with BMW Team SRM team across the Phillip Island weekend by visiting; www.facebook.com/BMW_Team_SRM and get involved with the conversation on Twitter;www.twitter.com/BMW_Team_SRM

 

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Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Victoria (27-29 May)

 

Schedule: [AEST - GMT +9]

10:25am - Australian GT; Practice#1(30-minutes)

12:15pm - Australian Endurance Championship; Practice#1(30-minutes)

2:05pm - Australian GT; Qualifying#1 (20-minutes)

2:35pm - Australian GT; Qualifying#2 (20-minutes)

 

9:35am - Australian GT; Race#1 (60-minutes)

11:50am - Australian GT; Race#2 (60-minutes)

 

10:35am - Australian Endurance Championship; Qualifying#1(20-minutes)

11:05am - Australian Endurance Championship; Qualifying#2(20-minutes)

11:05am - Australian Endurance Championship; Race (101-laps)

 

Rnd#1 - 3-6 March, Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA

Rnd#2 - 17-20 March, Albert Park [AGP], Victoria

Rnd#3 - 6-8 May, Barbagallo, WA

Rnd#4 - 27-28 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#5 - 8-10 July, Townsville, Queensland

Rnd#6 - 11-12 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ



 

Rnd#1 - 29 May, Phillip Island, Victoria

Rnd#2 - 26-28 August, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW

Rnd#3 - 28-30 October, Hampton Downs, NZ

Rnd#4 - 13 November, Highlands Motorsport Park, NZ


 

Weather predictions for this time of year in Phillip Island always include warnings for rain and cold snaps, and this year is no different. Maximum temperatures aren’t expected to climb above 14 degrees, with showers scheduled for Friday and Saturday.

 

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BMW Team SRM are proudly supported by BMW Australia, BMW Financial Services Australia and President Limo Australia.

M-Motorsport/Interlloy Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3

Rnd#2 - Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (17-20 March, 2016)

 

Justin McMillan’s M-Motorsport came into the Australian Grand Prix weekend as the Australian GT Championship series points leaders, the Interlloy/Wilson Storage supported Gallardo R-EX having claimed top points at the opening round in Adelaide just two weeks prior.

 

With the series returning to the Grand Prix for the first time in six years, neither McMillan - who made his series debut in 2013 - nor Wood, had competed on the popular 5.303-kilometre street circuit previously, and with just two 20-minute sessions to share ahead of the first of four 25-minute races, it was always going to be a tough weekend..

 

Ultimately the M-Motorsport team left Albert Park with a string of top ten finishes, one failure to finish after an accident which claimed four Lamborghinis, and a place inside the top four in the championship, so the momentum continued despite the challenges.

 

“It was a tough weekend in many respects,” Glen Wood admitted on reflection. “Thursday’s two 20-minute sessions gave us very little time to really get a handle on the car, although we were quick. My session was plagued by traffic and - on my one clear lap - a spinning Ferrari, so 12th was the best we could do in qualifying, although I felt we had a top six car.

 

“We had improved the car since Adelaide, as we really suffered there under brakes and in the slower corners, so that gave us plenty of hope, but starting mid-pack was always going to be a challenge, so too the addition of the compulsory pit stop [CPS] times to the total race time, as opposed to the pit stops.”

 

Australian GT [AGT] runs a parity system to even out the field. That system sees each team given a CPS time during their mid-race stop as part of a normal AGT round, a penalty which factors in driver experience and their qualifying position. Due to time restraints with the Grand Prix, the series was only allowed a 25-minute window for each race, which didn’t allow for a CPS, therefore organisers had no choice but to add the team parity penalty to the race time, which made for a very confusing weekend for the fans as often the race winner, wasn’t the winner of the race..!

 

Wood started the first hectic race and swapped positions at the tail of the top ten, before crossing the line tenth, the M-Motorsport Lamborghini credited with position seven after CPS times were applied.

 

In race two Justin McMillan was scheduled to start on the third row, but like much of the field in the damp conditions, he elected to pit early for slick tyres as the track began to dry, dropping him down the order, a steady run through the pack seeing him credited with 19th position.

 

Frustratingly for the team, race three was a short lived affair.. Wood takes up the story.

 

“Tony Quinn and Roger Lago had an incident up front coming out of turn two causing a car park in front of me. I felt I had a little room to get through and was trying to avoid our team-mate John Magro who was bouncing off the wall, as was Tony D’Alberto beside me avoiding Dean Canto bouncing off the other wall, resulting in D’Alberto and I meeting in the middle.

 

“Sadly the Ferrari, and three of the Lamborghinis came off second best, but luckily we came away with relatively light damage, but enough to force us out of the race.”

 

Team-owner McMillan was back behind the wheel for the final race, running a careful race from the rear of the field to be ultimately classified eighth to maintain the team’s championship position inside the top four.

 

“There wasn’t much to gain in the final race from the rear, and the last thing we wanted to do was damage the car, so I picked my moments and just focused on working with the car,” he admitted. “We’ve made some good solid steps forward this weekend, and I’m happy with my performance on my debut at Albert Park.”

 

“Our focus now in on the next round of the championship at Barbagallo in Perth,” Wood added. “The car improved a lot over the weekend, but we didn’t get much chance to show it in all the Safety Car affected races, and our race three drama. I’ve driven Barbagallo before, and I think it will really suit the R-EX with its mix of medium-high speed corners. We’ll go away and do a bit more development on brakes and I think we’ll see some improvement there too, although there’s less stop-start in WA than either Adelaide or the Grand Prix, so that won’t be as vital.”

 

Round three of the championship is scheduled for Perth’s Barbagallo circuit in Western Australia, the series first ever visit to the West in early May (6-8) ahead of round four and the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit three weeks later (27-29 May). 

 

Keep up to date with the M-Motorsport/Interlloy race team by visiting; www.facebook.com/MMotorsportGT3





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Rnd#2 - Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (17-20 March)

 

Qualifying (Combined, 2x 20-minutes) - 17 March

1. Mies/Emery (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:54.9059

2. Webb/Denyer (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:55.6953

3. Baird/Taylor (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 1:56.0252

4. Canto/Taplin (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:56.0750

5. Marshall/Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:56.1138

12. McMillan/Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:57.1890

 

Race#1 (25-mins) - 17 March

1. Craig Baird (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 11-laps

2. Christopher Mies (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Marcus Marshall (Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

4. George Miedecke (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

5. Andrea Montermini (Ferrari 488 GT3)

7. Glen Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

Race#2 (25-mins) - 18 March

1. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 11-laps

2. Benny Simonsen (Ferrari 488 GT3)

3. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Elliot Barbour (McLaren 650S GT3)

5. Grant Denyer (McLaren 650S GT3) 

19. Justin McMillan (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

Race#3 (25-mins) - 19 March

1. Matt Solomon (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 6-laps

2. Steve McLaughlan (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Greg Taylor (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

5. George Miedecke (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

DNF. Glen Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

Race#4 (25-mins) - 20 March

1. James Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

2. Geoff Emery (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Tim Miles (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

5. Aaron Tebb (Porsche 997 GT3-R) 

8. Justin McMillan (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

2016 Australian GT Championship (points after two rounds of six)

1. James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall (225-points),  2. Klark Quinn (206), 

3. Nathan Morcom (197), 4. Justin McMillan/Glen Wood (184), 

5. Chris Mies/Geoff Emery (182), 6. Roger Lago (177), 7. Matt Solomon (169), 

8. Tony Walls (163), 9. Antunes/Barbour (133), 10. Jonathon Webb/Grant Denyer (131),

 

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M-Motorsport is proudly supported by Interlloy Engineering Steels and Alloys, Wilson Storage, Australian Post Tensioning, Australian Steel, Liqui-Moly, Meguiars and Castrol.

BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship

Rnd#2 - Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (17-20 March, 2016)

 

After making their debut in the Australian GT Championship just two weeks ago on the streets of Adelaide, BMW Team SRM team-mates Steven Richards and Max Twigg backed up in their BMW M6 GT3 at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne for the second round of the championship, mixing it with some of the leading teams across four demanding - and often Safety Car affected - 25-minute races.

 

Frustratingly for the Melbourne-based pair, and for that matter, the bulk of the Australian GT field, the shorter race format meant that all four races would incur an additional penalty to the post race finishing times.

 

Under Australian GT rules, qualifying positions and driver experience usually incur an additional ‘parity’ time penalty during the compulsory pit stop [CPS] as drivers make the changeover. With less than 25-minutes on the clock for each of the four races at the Grand Prix, there wasn’t time to conduct a CPS, so the penalty was applied to their finishing times.

 

Almost predictably, a number of the races saw Safety Car interventions which negated any advantage the experienced drivers established, ultimately forcing them well down the order once the final race positions had been established, something which the BMW Team SRM operation suffered more than most.

 

“It was a challenge from that perspective,” reigning Bathurst 1000 champion Steve Richards admitted. “It was the same for everyone, but the teams with ‘Pro’ drivers like us really felt it, but we knew going it we’d be in a tough position.

 

“That said both Max and I are very happy with the way the BMW M6 GT3 ran on the weekend. Certainly the cooler weather on Saturday and Sunday suited the car perfectly and we were really able to stretch its legs, and it performed brilliantly.

 

“I had a great run on Saturday, but the Safety Car saw the race finish early and despite making up nine places in effectively a lap and a half - avoiding a spinning Lamborghini in the process - our overall classification wasn’t high. Sadly the finishing results don’t show the pace we had, nor that Max was circulating almost as fast as the leaders in the final race before a half spin late in the race cost him some time, but the fact was the car was fast.”

 

After qualifying just outside the top ten, race one was a short-lived affair for Richards with contact on the run to turn one forcing the rear bumper of the BMW M6 GT3 onto the tyres and ultimately the end of the race.

 

Starting at the back of the pack in race two in the changeable conditions on Friday, Twigg drove a sensational race to work his way from 32nd to fifth within a handful of laps, aided by a decision to stick with wet weather tyres whilst around him others changed to slicks.

 

He held on too, and as predicted the rain returned, but it came a lap or two too late, his rivals catching him a couple of laps from home.

 

“It might sound a bit like a broken record, but we’ve learnt an awful lot this weekend,” Richards admitted. “With the car arriving just a few days ahead of Clipsal, three tough races in oppressive heat in Adelaide followed by four short races at the Grand Prix less than two weeks later, it’s been what I would expect to be the most challenging part of our season from a number of perspectives, not the least of which has been resources.

 

“Realistically these two races are the first time we’ve had a chance to see the BMW M6 GT3 and discover what it can do, then relay that news to Germany and work with their engineers.

 

“We know the car is good, and they’ve just proven that in the US with a podium in both LMGTE and GTD categories for the M6 at the Sebring 12-Hour, so we have a car that will be a front-runner, it’s just so new against cars that have in some cases a couple of seasons under their belts, that we have some homework to do.

 

“The crew have been exceptional the last few weeks under immense pressure, and I’m overjoyed that we’ve put the car back into the transporter effectively without a scratch, so now it’s back to pull the car down, dissect the data and determine where we stand and that will give us a good idea on what we need to be looking at heading to Barbagallao in early May.

 

“I also have to thank the big selection of BMW Australia corporate members and customers from fleet, sales and BMW dealerships for making their way to the AGP to enjoy the event with us, it was a great honour to have them there and for Max and I to spend time with them across the weekend, they certainly gave us plenty of support and motivation across all four days.”

 

The third round of the CAMS Australian GT Championship will be held at Barbagallo Raceway in Western Australia on 6-8 May alongside the V8 Supercars, with the fourth round of the championship just three weeks later at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in Victoria, the scene of the opening round of the Australian Endurance Championship on the very same weekend.

 

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Rnd#2 - Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne (17-20 March)

 

Qualifying (Combined, 2x 20-minutes) - 17 March

1. Mies/Emery (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:54.9059

2. Webb/Denyer (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:55.6953

3. Baird/Taylor (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 1:56.0252

4. Canto/Taplin (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 1:56.0750

5. Marshall/Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:56.1138

11. Richards/Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 1:57.1153

 

Race#1 (25-mins) - 17 March

1. Craig Baird (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 11-laps

2. Christopher Mies (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Marcus Marshall (Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

4. George Miedecke (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

5. Andrea Montermini (Ferrari 488 GT3)

DNF. Steve Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) - 0-laps

 

Race#2 (25-mins) - 18 March

1. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 11-laps

2. Benny Simonsen (Ferrari 488 GT3)

3. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Elliot Barbour (McLaren 650S GT3)

5. Grant Denyer (McLaren 650S GT3) 

20. Max Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) 

 

Race#3 (25-mins) - 19 March

1. Matt Solomon (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 6-laps

2. Steve McLaughlan (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Klark Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Greg Taylor (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

5. George Miedecke (Aston Martin Vantage GT3)

17. Steven Richards (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) 

 

Race#4 (25-mins) - 20 March

1. James Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) 

2. Geoff Emery (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

3. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Tim Miles (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

5. Aaron Tebb (Porsche 997 GT3-R) 

13. Max Twigg (BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3) 


BMW Team SRM - Australian GT Championship


Rnd#2 - Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Melbourne

17-20 March, 2016

 



After a solid debut for the new BMW Team SRM operation at the opening round of the 2016 CAMS Australian GT Championship on the streets of Adelaide just two weeks ago, Steven Richards and Max Twigg continue their campaign at home this weekend, joining the Formula 1 circus on the streets of Albert Park for four 25-minute sprint races.

 

“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be able to campaign the new M6 GT3 on the streets of Melbourne this weekend,” Richards admitted. “Albert Park is one of my all-time favourite circuits, and a layout I think will suit the traits of the BMW TwinPower Turbo technology V8 and the dynamics of the M6 GT3 perfectly.”


Both Richards and Twigg have enjoyed past success on the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit, Richards as one of the most successful Carrera Cup campaigners over recent years having claimed at least one race win per weekend across the last three years, and four race wins at Albert Park during that period, the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion has only missed the podium once since 2013!

 

Twigg too has enjoyed success at the Grand Prix, and in fact comes into the second round of the 2016 Australian GT Championship at Albert Park as the reigning Grand Prix race winner for the category on the 5.027-kilometre street circuit, having claimed two race wins and the round victory the last time AGT ran at the AGP in 2010..

 

“It’s a circuit I enjoy,” Twigg admitted. “Its my home circuit, but more than that I’ve done a lot of work with driver trainers over the years and really focused on getting the most out of myself and the car there, but I’d definitely say that a fast flowing circuit like Albert Park better suits my driving style, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

 

Whilst confident of a strong showing at the Grand Prix, Richards was quick to point out that despite expecting a big step forward over their debut performance in Adelaide, the team were still very much focused on developing the car for the endurance events.

 

“We’ve got a couple of challenges ahead for the Grand Prix, one of which is the driver parity penalties which adds a ‘weighting’ to the experience of the drivers,” Richards explained. “In a normal AGT event we have a compulsory pit stop [CPS], and based on the success of the drivers and their qualifying results, they are held in pit lane for a set time (which varies from team to team) to effectively equalise the field and give each driver combination a chance to contend for the win.

 

“It’s a good system, however at the Grand Prix, because time is a premium, there will be no CPS, so the time parity penalty will be applied after the race, so added to the overall race time.

 

“Assuming no Safety Cars, it will work out okay as I’ll contest two races and Max will contest two, but in the almost inevitable situation where a Safety Car is brought into play, our extended driver parity times will almost certainly drop us down the order.

 

“It’s not the ideal scenario for us, but it’s the same for everyone, and it will certainly make things interesting for the fans as the first car across the line may not necessarily be the race winner..

 

“Regardless we’ll be fighting hard and working on developing the package, the team have learnt a lot from the German technicians and BMW Motorsport will be there to assist. We’ve already provided valuable information from Clipsal back to BMW in Munich to assist in developing the car for other markets around the world and will be in constant contact with Germany as we work through this weekend.

 

“I don’t think there’s any doubt that the layout of the circuit will suit the performance of the BMW and overall I think the dynamics of the Grand Prix circuit will be a better match to the M6 than perhaps the stop-go nature of Clipsal.”

 

For the BMW Team SRM operation Albert Park will provide another valuable opportunity to prepare for the endurance season which gets underway at Phillip Island at the end of May.

 

“We’re really looking forward to that, especially at Phillip Island, a circuit for which the BMW was almost made, I honestly expect that’s where we’ll be able to challenge for the podium and show what the car is really capable of, and that’s something to really focus on as we continue to develop the car in the sprint series.”

 

Keep up to date with further announcements from BMW Team SRM team across the Australian Grand Prix event by visiting; www.facebook.com/BMW_Team_SRM and get involved with the conversation on Twitter; www.twitter.com/BMW_Team_SRM

 

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Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, Melbourne (17-20 March)

 

Schedule: [AEST - GMT +9]

11:50am - Qualifying #1(20-minutes)

2:45pm - Qualifying#2 (20-minutes)

6:15pm - Race#1 (25-minutes)

 

11:25am - Race#2 (25-minutes)

 

12:05pm - Race#3 (25-minutes)

 

11:35am - Race#4 (25-minutes)

 

Weather predictions suggest a warm and humid Thursday followed by thunderstorms and rain on Friday ahead of clearing conditions on Saturday (19˚C) and mostly fine conditions on Sunday(23˚C).

 

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BMW Team SRM are proudly supported by BMW Australia, BMW Financial Services Australia and President Limo Australia.

Griffith Corporation Motorsport - Australian GT



Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA (3-6 March)

 

Two-time Australian GT Sports champion Mark Griffith came into the opening round of the 2016 Championship with a number of questions marks against his name. Entered for the first time in a current-specification FIA GT3 car, the laconic Queenslander was perhaps not expected to upstage the pre-season favourites, but if there’s one thing you can always expect from Griffith, he loves a challenge..

 

Griffith and Clipsal don’t enjoy the greatest of relationships, and that situation carried through to qualifying, Griffith pushing too hard in the opening session to make contact with the barriers on the exit of the first chicane, fortunately without significant damage.

 

“In the first qualifying session I rattled off a time good enough to be just outside the top ten and only a second off a third row start,” Griffith reflected. “In Q2 unfortunately I got caught out on the kerbs and some fluid on the circuit on the fast run through turn one and got fed into the kitty litter. We made repairs and I carried on, but I wasn’t able to improve my position.”

 

All of that though changed in race one, the Hog’s Breath Café supported driver working his way right through the pack up to the compulsory pit stop [CPS] window where he emerged from the pits in second position. From there the experienced GT campaigner held his ground and continued to punch out competitive laps, keeping some high profile drivers behind him.

 

As the laps wound down the pack bunched up with Griffith swamped by Tony Walls in the McLaren through turns five and six, but Griffith wasn’t giving up, fighting back to take a position back before former champion Klark Quinn fired through the following lap. The attacks kept coming but the Hog’s Breath Café/Griffith Corporation Mercedes held its ground, Griffith crossing the line in fourth position, just two seconds down on what would have been the AMG GT3s maiden race podium.

 

“I couldn’t be happier,” Griffith beamed post-race. “The car was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. I still have a lot to learn, and it’s certainly different to anything I’ve driven before, but it’s just an exceptional race car.”

 

Off the second row for the start of race two, the two-time GT Sports Champion was again in the mix holding station before an early Safety Car for an incident at turn nine. Off the restart he again ran with the leaders before contact after a big lunge by Elliot Barbour in the McLaren at turn four dropped the mighty ‘Hog’ back into the pack.

 

Sadly an off at turn 11 did little to help his situation. Griffith though regrouped and pressed on but during the course of his battles the water pump belt had become dislodged, the Queenslander spinning on his own fluids at turn 11, fortunately without significant damage, but in one of the most difficult parts of the circuit to rejoin the race, temperatures escalated and he was forced to retire.

 

“After the contact with Barbour I was a little rattled, but regrouped, however as a result of the contact we had a drama and I spun. The officials waved me forward to get into a position to flick-spin the car, but by that stage the conditions inside the cabin were so invasive that I had to get out, I’d sat there too long.”

 

Fortunately the damage was easily repairable and the experienced Erebus GT crew had the car ready to go again for the final race, Griffith charging through the pack from the back to be seventh by the chequered flag.

 

“That was good fun, I really enjoyed the final race and was able to stay out of trouble and just work my way forward. As it turns out, because I didn’t finish race two, I was given an increased CPS penalty as a result of finishing fourth in race one, so had to stop an additional 14-seconds. If you look at my overall race time and took off 14-seconds, I would have been fifth.. from the back of the field, so I’m pretty happy with that.”

 

For the Griffith Corporation Motorsport team, it’s a quick turnaround for the car ahead of the second round of the championship at Albert Park as part of the opening round of the Formula 1 World Championship season with four 25-minute races scheduled across the March 17-20 event.

 

“I’m looking forward to the Grand Prix, it’s going to be a great show, and the way things are set up with the CPS times added to the overall race time to declare the result, we’re right in the mix for another strong weekend. Fortunately damage to the car from Clipsal is only superficial, so the car will go back to the Erebus factory in Melbourne for a tidy up, and we’ll be ready to go next Thursday for the opening session at Albert Park.”

 

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Clipal 500, Adelaide, South Australia (3-6 March)

 

Qualifying - Combined (40-minutes) - 3 March

1. Christopher Mies (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:20.2039

2. Craig Baird (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 1:20.6530

3. Nathan Antunes (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:20.8621

4. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:21.0813

5. Marcus Marshall (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:21.3064

19. Mark Griffith (Hog’s Breath Café/Griffith Corp. Mercedes AMG GT3) - 1:23.6300

 

Race#1 (40-mins) - 4 March

1. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 24-laps

2. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3)

3. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Mark Griffith (Hog’s Breath Café/Griffith Corp. Mercedes AMG GT3)

5. McMillan/Wood (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

Race#2 (40-mins) - 5 March

1. Marshall/Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 21-laps

2. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

3. Wood/McMillan (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

4. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

5. Greg Taylor (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

DNF. Mark Griffith (Hog’s Breath Café/Griffith Corp. Mercedes AMG GT3) - 13-laps

 

Race#3 (40-mins) - 6 March

1. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3)

2. McMillan/Wood (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

3. Matt Solomon (Mercedes AMG GT3)

4. Canto/Taplin (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

5. Martin/Tebb (Porsche 997 GT3-R) 

7. Mark Griffith (Hog’s Breath Café/Griffith Corp. Mercedes AMG GT3)

 

2016 Australian GT Championship (points after one round of six)

1. Justin McMillan/Glen Wood (136-points), 2. Roger Lago (132), 3. Tony Walls (110), 4. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (104), 5. James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall (99), 6. Nathan Morcom (91), 7. Matt Solomon (69), 8. Mark Griffith (64), 9. Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto (58), 10. Scott Taylor/Craig Baird (58)

 

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Griffith Corporation Motorsport is proudly supported by Hog’s Breath Café, Daimler Trucks Newcastle, Vawdrey Trailers, Griffith Corporation, AMG Customer Sports and Erebus Motorsport.

M-Motorsport/Interlloy Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3

Clipsal 500, Adelaide, SA (3-6 March)

 

Heading into the opening round of the 2016 CAMS Australian GT Championship, Melbourne’s M-Motorsport were full of anticipation for what would be their fourth consecutive start on the challenging street circuit, but whilst hopeful of a strong result, few in the team honestly felt they would be holding the #1 trophy at the conclusion of the final race on Sunday morning..

 

“To be honest, I thought we would get there at some point this year, but perhaps not at the first round, and not with a brand new car,” Justin McMillan’s new driving partner Glen Wood admitted with surprise.

 

Just four weeks prior the team were lamenting the loss of their outgoing Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 after it was involved in a big accident during final practice for the Bathurst 12-Hour, the car undergoing a chassis change ahead of the Clipsal round where it would be campaigned by John Magro and fellow Queenslander Hayden Cooper.

 

At the same time the team’s new state-of-the-art Reiter Engineering built Gallardo R-EX (Extenso) arrived with enough time to add a new Interlloy/Wilson Storage livery, conduct a systems check at Winton Motor Raceway, and load the car for the trip across to Adelaide.

 

“From the get-go we had a lot to learn,” team-owner Justin McMillan admitted. “The car was new, it was different to the FL2 we campaigned last year and we had just one solitary 20-minute practice session to dial ourselves in ahead of qualifying.”

 

Taking a cautious approach to the two 20-minute qualifying sessions, the pair completed the two sessions to claim a 13th placed start for the opening race..

 

“That wasn’t ideal, but we agreed pre-race that our strategy would be to stay out of trouble and focus on points,” McMillan explained.

 

McMillan started the gorgeous black and orange Interlloy/Wilson Security Lamborghini and made a strong start to move up two positions, keeping ahead of former co-driver Steven Richards in the new BMW for the opening lap and a half before conceding the position to ensure he followed the pre-race plan. 

 

“There was no point in getting involved in scraps early in the weekend, so I followed the plan and gave the car to Glen as soon as the compulsory-pit-stop [CPS] window opened.”

 

From there Wood charged, moving the car from 19th to fifth at the flag, in the process circulating faster than many of his rivals, only a mighty tussle at the front of the field across the final laps slowing his forward progress from a result which may have seen them emerge on the podium.

 

“That’s a great result from where we were in qualifying, and a lot of it is credit to the crew,” Wood admitted. “The car is just a jet in a straight line, but we’re struggling a little under brakes, so we can catch people with ease, but they can hold us out under brakes which is frustrating. After that last Safety Car I was in the perfect position to move further forward, but the front group started to battle between themselves and that meant the moves would be risky, so I opted to stick with the plan and go for the points.”

 

A wise decision, and a decision which paid off handsomely in race two, with Wood moving through to fourth before the CPS, McMillan rejoining in third before a last lap burst by race one winner Roger Lago in the second of the R-EX Gallardo’s dropped him to fourth at the flag, but that was soon to change.

 

“Justin drove the wheels off the car in the closing stages to keep some of the top drivers in the country behind him,” Wood explained. “We were fourth across the line, but post race they penalised the #1 car which finished second, so we’ve been moved onto the podium which is a brilliant result this early in the season..”

 

But more was still to come..

 

A strong opening stint in the final race saw McMillan hold on to a top six position early, circulating faster than he’d ever been around the Adelaide Parklands Circuit in the past.

 

By virtue of their lengthy CPS time-penalty for a third placed finish in race two, the #48 M-Motorsport Lamborghini was stationary in pit lane for 80-seconds, one of the longest stops in the field, Wood rejoining in 18th position ahead of an epic charge through the field over the following laps.

 

Within five laps he was back to position four but a long way back on the leaders. He made short work of the deficit to close on the battle between Tony Walls in the McLaren and the #222 Mercedes AMG of Scott Taylor for second, the two proving difficult to get around, Wood in the end making a big lunge down the inside of the Mercedes at turn four to set off in pursuit of Walls.

 

With a lap to go the battle between the young Victorian and Walls in the McLaren became the battle for the lead after race leader Lago made an error under brakes at turn four and shot down the escape road, damaging his car as he flick-turned it around the right way.

 

Again the M-Motorsport team were in a position to attack for the lead, but with valuable championship points on the line, Wood elected to hold station, crossing the line buried under the rear wing of the McLaren. Post race his decision was rewarded with the news that the team had claimed overall victory for the round, and the championship points lead heading to the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne in two weeks time.

 

“I couldn’t believe it when they told me, it’s a fantastic result,” Wood admitted afterwards. “Justin drove brilliantly and the crew were fantastic, everyone just gelled as  a team. In the end we were amongst the fastest cars in a straight line, I think overall we claimed one of the top four or five lap times for the weekend, and we were smart in what battles we fought and which ones we avoided - that was part of the key. Ultimately three results in the top five suggests we were also fast and consistent, and as a result, we’re leading the championship!”

 

“I’m rapt,” McMillan added. “It’s like a dream come true. Glen drove brilliantly and we followed exactly the plan we set at the start of the weekend - focus on improving the car, and on staying out of trouble.”

 

“We learnt a lot about the new car, but what gives me great hope is the speed it carries in a straight line and through high speed corners, which is what the next few rounds are all about, so it’s up to us now to keep the momentum going and hopefully we’ll be there at the end of the season. I really think it’s the year of the Lamborghini,” Wood said.

 

With hardly a scratch on the Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini, the team’s focus turns to ‘home’ and the forthcoming Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park, just ten minutes drive from the team’s Melbourne base for the second round of the championship - four scheduled 25-minute races across all four days of the event.

 

Keep up to date with the M-Motorsport/Interlloy race team by visiting; www.facebook.com/MMotorsportGT3





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Clipal 500, Adelaide, South Australia (3-6 March)

 

Qualifying - Combined (40-minutes) - 3 March

1. Christopher Mies (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:20.2039

2. Craig Baird (Mercedes AMG GT3) - 1:20.6530

3. Nathan Antunes (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:20.8621

4. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3) - 1:21.0813

5. Marcus Marshall (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 1:21.3064

13. McMillan/Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini R-EX GT3) - 1:22.6065

 

Race#1 (40-mins) - 4 March

1. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) - 24-laps

2. Nathan Morcom (McLaren 650S GT3)

3. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

4. Mark Griffith (Mercedes AMG GT3)

5. McMillan/Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

 

Race#2 (40-mins) - 5 March

1. Marshall/Koundouris (Audi R8 LMS GT3) - 21-laps

2. Roger Lago (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

3. Wood/McMillan (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

4. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (McLaren 650S GT3)

5. Greg Taylor (Audi R8 LMS GT3)

 

Race#3 (40-mins) - 6 March

1. Tony Walls (McLaren 650S GT3)

2. McMillan/Wood (Interlloy/Wilson Storage Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3)

3. Matt Solomon (Mercedes AMG GT3)

4. Canto/Taplin (Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX GT3) 

5. Martin/Tebb (Porsche 997 GT3-R) 

 

2016 Australian GT Championship (points after one round of six)

1. Justin McMillan/Glen Wood (136-points), 2. Roger Lago (132), 3. Tony Walls (110), 4. Klark Quinn/Tony Quinn (104), 5. James Koundouris/Marcus Marshall (99), 6. Nathan Morcom (91), 7. Matt Solomon (69), 8. Mark Griffith (64), 9. Andrew Taplin/Dean Canto (58), 10. Scott Taylor/Craig Baird (58)

 

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M-Motorsport is proudly supported by Interlloy Engineering Steels and Alloys, Wilson Storage, Australian Post Tensioning, Australian Steel, Liqui-Moly, Meguiars and Castrol.

 

Interlloy Pty Ltd is Australia’s lead supplier of Engineering Steels and Alloys to engineering machine shops both nationally and internationally.

 

Founded in 1987and now employing over one hundred and forty (140) people in five states of Australia, Interlloy has become the major supplier of Special Steels to the General and Heavy Engineering Industries, Toolmaking, Mining, Gas & Oil Fields, Automotive, Manufacturing, Petrochemical, Pump, Power Generation and Transport Industries.

 

For more information, please visit; www.interlloy.com.au