Melbourne Performance Centre was out testing at Phillip Island on Tuesday. The Audi R8 LMS ultra of Fitzgerald Racing Services, run by MPC, was among the cars testing.
This Audi R8 LMS ultra arrived in Australia a few months ago and was used as an Audi driving experience vehicle and raced at one round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships before its acquisition to contest the Australian GT Championship. It is the same car that was used by äpr racing in the Japanese Super GT during 2012 and half of 2013.
The Fitzgerald Racing Services Audi R8 LMS ultra was seen testing still in its white Audi driving experience livery. The car will soon be receiving its new blue and white livery designed by ssMEDIA. Both Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond were behind the wheel of the Audi during the testing at Phillip Island.
The Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars have been very successful in Australia in recent years and another new entrant was announced on Monday.
Fitzgerald Racing Services has acquired an Audi R8 LMS ultra and will be competing in the Australian GT Championship.
This Audi R8 LMS ultra arrived in Australia a few months ago and was used as an Audi driving experience vehicle and raced at one round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships before its acquisition to contest the Australian GT Championship. It is the same car that was used by äpr racing in the Japanese Super GT during 2012 and half of 2013.
The team will be debuting the car with Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond at the finale of the 2014 Australian GT Championship, which will be taking place at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand from 8-9 November.
2015 will see Fitzgerald Racing Services kicking off the season at the Bathurst 12 Hour, followed by contesting the Australian GT Championship. Peter Fitzgerald and Michael Almond will be piloting the blue liveried Audi R8 LMS ultra at Bathurst, along with a third yet to be confirmed driver, who could possibly be an Audi factory driver.
The Audi teams performed very well in the first of the two Australian GT Championship races today at Sydney Motorsport Park. Top 5 results overall and domination in GT Trophy class with a fine 1-2 victory.
The #6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS shared by Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes finished in a very solid fourth overall and took a great GT Trophy class win.
The #71 Audi R8 LMS from Equity-One Motorsport ended right behind in fifth place and second in GT Trophy class. The car was driven by Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow.
The #75 JAMEC PEM Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Steve McLaughlan and Warren Luff finished the 1-hour race in eighth place overall.
Outright victory went to the #7 Aston Martin V12 Vantage from VIP Petfoods. The #1 McLaren MP4-12C from Darrell Lea was second. The #48 Lamborghini Gallardo FL2 GT3 from Interlloy was third.
After the disappointment of Phillip Island, the Equity-One Motorsport team of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow have put their Trophy Class championship assault back on track after three strong results on the streets of Townsville, the first time either driver had seen the popular V8 Supercar venue.
It had been a busy six weeks since the frustrations of Phillip Island where team-boss Koutsoumidis was unceremoniously dumped off the circuit mid-race and hard into an earth embankment necessitating a fairly major front-end rebuild.
“The Melbourne Performance Centre [MPC] team though did a sterling job and had the car ready to go inside a month,” Koutsoumidis explained. “We weren’t able to shake the car down before Townsville, but it was faultless in opening practice.”
Just two weeks after the Phillip Island round, Koutsoumidis joined Winslow at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for his team-mate’s prototype debut in the LMP2 class. Despite a string of challenges including technical and mechanical issues and a crash by his team-mate which limited qualifying time, Winslow drove brilliantly to be one of the fastest LMP2 cars on track during his opening session in the car, but sadly another crash in changeable conditions eliminated the car just after the two hour mark.
Winslow though had done enough to attract the eye of rival teams and the two-time Australian Formula 3 champion was quickly on the radar for a number of top teams as planning begins ahead of the 2015 event.
Whilst clearly pumped to have shown just how quick he is on a big international stage, Winslow’s focus soon returned to Australian GT and on gaining some more valuable points on the teams Trophy class rivals.
“Le Mans was exceptional, and I’m already planning next year, but right now, Dean and I have a championship to win,” he admitted matter-of-factly.
The opening round winners were quick through practice, but the opening session was held on a slippery ‘green’ surface which gave no real indication of their true pace, however by session two they were sixth and leading Trophy class car.
Qualifying saw Koutsoumidis kick off the session on new rubber, before Winslow jumped back behind the wheel at the end of the session, the Englishman shaving almost a full second off his practice best to claim a fourth row start, two spots back from team-mate Nathan Antunes in the Rod Salmon Audi.. it was game on!
“I didn’t get a perfect run in the end,” Winslow admitted afterwards. “There’s a lot of traffic out there - I was up four tenths on Antunes through the first couple of sectors, but then hit traffic. We’re in a good position strategically though having to stop five seconds less than Rod and Nathan during our compulsory pit stop [CPS], so as along as we keep them in sight, we’ll be right there.”
Koutsoumidis started the opening race on Saturday morning, the 2012 Trophy class champion hanging on to Salmon early despite dropping a position to Phillip Island round winner Theo Koundouris.
As the compulsory pit stop window opened, Koutsoumidis pitted to hand over to Winslow, whilst much of the field stayed out, ultimately taking advantage of a Safety Car period for MPC team-mates John Magro and Steve McLaughlan who had made heavy contact with the wall at turn one on lap 18.
By the time the Safety Car had picked up the leader towards the end of the 13-minute interlude, the #71 Equity-One Audi was a lap down on the leader, negating any chance of a battle for position with their Trophy class rivals, Winslow ultimately crossing the line in tenth place.
“That was frustrating, but what can you do,” Koutsoumidis lamented post-race.
Winslow was back behind the wheel in the cool morning air of Sunday morning’s second race, and quickly through onto the tail of Antunes in the Skwirk Audi, pitting from fifth position to hand over to Koutsoumidis who stayed out of trouble to record an eighth placed finish and second in class. Whilst there was no victory, Winslow did set the fastest Trophy class lap, and the sixth fastest lap of the race.
“The pace was good, but Dean got caught up in traffic and played it safe and clean because at the end of the day, the only way to build a championship is to score points regularly, so there was nothing to gain by risking the car and a potential DNF,” Winslow explained.
Koutsoumidis started the final 40-minute race, but he was quickly swamped off the line as some of the outright cars came through the field from the rear after suffering failures during race two. He held on to the tail of the top ten before pitting to hand the car back to Winslow, and whilst he was again one of the fastest cars on the circuit and managed to pull Antunes in ahead of him across the closing laps of the race, the Equity One team was once more forced to settle for second in class and eighth outright.
“We wanted the win, no question,” Koutsoumidis admitted post-event. “But we also needed some solid points to put our championship back on track after the disappointment of Phillip Island, and we achieved just that.
“There’s still a long way to go, and we’re heading to some circuits where we know we’re quick - Eastern Creek and Sandown where we’ve won already - so we’ve just got to keep pushing. James drove brilliantly again, and the car was flawless, so we’ll press on and take the fight to our team-mates and rivals in Sydney!”
The fourth round of the championship will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on 22-24 August, again alongside the V8 Supercars with two 30-minute races, and one 60-minute race.
Philip Island Grand Prix Circuit played host to the second round of the Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli today. Four Audi R8 LMS cars entered the event, all of them were listed within the GT Trophy class.
It all started very well for the Audi and Melbourne Performance Centre squad in the 101 laps endurance event. Audi regular Warren Luff took a sensational very last moment pole position in the qualifying session.
In the race the Audi cars performed well challenging the strong line-ups from the upper GT class. Best ranked R8 LMS was the #6 car driven by Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes. The two drivers finished seventh overall and second within the GT Trophy class
PolemanWarren Luff and team-mate Steve McLaughlan finished ninth overall with their #75 Audi R8 LMS. Ockert Fourie and John Magro sharing the #72 Audi R8 LMS were fifteenth overall.
Unfortunately the #71 Audi R8 LMS driven by Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow did not finish the race. The EquityOneMotorsport Audi entry was performing well before being forced to retire.
Race victory went the #7 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 from VIP Petfoods. Second was the #36 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from Erebus Motorsport. Third was the #88 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Maranello Motorsport.
Equity-One Motorsport were out testing at Phillip Island on Wednesday.
The #71 Equity-One R8 LMS, run by Melbourne Performance Centre, is currently leading the Australian GT Champion GT Trophy class points standings with drivers Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow.
Both drivers were present for the testing with very good pace on Wednesday.
Round two of the Australian GT will be heading to Phillip Island, May 24-25.
Sandown Raceway hosted the opening round of the 2014 Australian GT Championship. Three Audi R8 LMS cars were entered in the GT Trophy class and scored very good results this weekend.
The three Audi R8 LMS cars were entered in the GT Trophy class this weekend, all of them run by Melbourne Performance Centre.
The first Audi was that of reigning GT Trophy champion, Steve McLaughlan, who was driving the #75 JAMEC PEM Audi R8 LMS. Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow were sharing the #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS. The third Audi was the #6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS of Rod Salmon, who was driving this R8 LMS whilst his primary Audi R8 LMS ultra is being repaired, following the qualifying crash at Bathurst. He is leasing the R8 LMS from Peter Conroy. Salmon was sharing the #6 R8 LMS with Liam Talbot.
Equity-One Motorsport took the GT Trophy class pole position with their #71 R8 LMS and backed that up by finishing third in class during race one. Steve McLaughlan finished second in class with his #75 R8 LMS and the #6 R8 LMS was fourth.
The second one-hour race was held on Sunday. Equity-One Motorsport emerged in second position within the GT Trophy class, with Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow in the #71 Audi R8 LMS. The #75 Audi R8 LMS was third in class and the #6 R8 LMS in fourth.
The weekend’s results were enough to ensure that the three MPC run Audi R8 LMS cars are currently occupying the top three positions in the GT Trophy Championship points standings. Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow are jointly leading the championship alongside Steve McLaughlan, all on 77 points. Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot are lying third with 60 points.
The next round of the Australian GT Championship will be held at Phillip Island from 23-25 May.
The 2014 Australian GT Championship is hosting its opening round at Sandown Raceway this weekend. The first race concluded with podium results for the Audi entrants.
Three Audi R8 LMS cars have been entered in the GT Trophy class this weekend, all of them run by Melbourne Performance Centre.
The first Audi is that of reigning GT Trophy champion, Steve McLaughlan, who is driving the #75 JAMEC PEM Audi R8 LMS. Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow are sharing the #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS. The third Audi is the #6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS of Rod Salmon, who is driving this R8 LMS whilst his primary Audi R8 LMS ultra is being repaired, following the qualifying crash at Bathurst. He is leasing the R8 LMS from Peter Conroy. Salmon is sharing the #6 R8 LMS with Liam Talbot.
Qualifying saw the #71 Equity-One Motorsport R8 LMS taking pole position in the GT Trophy class, sixth overall. The #6 R8 LMS qualified second in class and the #75 R8 LMS in fifth.
The first race of the weekend was held on Saturday and two Audi R8 LMS cars made it onto the GT Trophy podium, with the Audis placing in positions two though four. Steve McLaughlan finished second with his #75 R8 LMS, taking seventh overall. He was followed by the #71 R8 LMS of Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow third in class and the #6 R8 LMS of Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot in fourth, eighth and ninth overall respectively.
The second one-hour race will be held tomorrow, we wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.
By Johan Laubscher The Australian GT Championship will be getting underway at Sandown next weekend. Currently three Audi R8 LMS entries have been included on the entry list. All three of the Audi R8 LMS cars are entered within the GT Trophy Class for older GT3 machinery (2011 and older). The first Audi is that of reigning GT Trophy champion, Steve McLaughlan, who is driving the #75 JAMEC PEM Audi R8 LMS. Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow will be sharing the #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS. The third Audi will be the #6 Skwirk.com.au Audi R8 LMS of Rod Salmon, who is driving this R8 LMS whilst his primary Audi R8 LMS ultra is being repaired, following the qualifying crash at Bathurst. He is leasing the R8 LMS from Peter Conroy. The opening round will be held at Sandown Raceway, 28-30 March. GT Trophy Class Audi entries:
#6 Audi R8 LMS - Rod Solman
Skwirk.com.au
#71 Audi R8 LMS - Dean Koutsoumidis and James Winslow Equity-One Motorsport
Rod Salmon will be taking part in the Australian GT Championship season opener at Sandown next weekend.
The Skwirk.com.au squad, run by Melbourne Performance Centre, entered Rod Salmon’s Audi R8 LMS ultra at the Bathurst 12 Hour. Their weekend was cut short though when Jason Bright suffered a hefty crash during qualifying. Fortunately Bright was unharmed, but the car was out for the weekend. The car has subsequently been sent away for repairs and will not be back in time for the Sandown opener.
Speculation as to whether or not Salmon will be missing the beginning of the 2014 Australian GT season has come to an end. It has been revealed that Salmon and Skwirk.com.au will be using one of the older Audi R8 LMS cars in the Australian GT Trophy Class.
He will be using the Peter Conroy Motorsport Audi R8 LMS, the car that was used by Rotek Racing at the Bathurst 12 Hour. The car was tested at Sydney Motorsport Park last week.
Multiple Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries are expected to take part at Sandown next weekend, 28-30 March.
Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 2014 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia
Dual Australian Formula 3 champion James Winslow looks all but set to realise a dream and make his 2014 Le Mans debut this June, the Australian-based British driver in the final stages of a negotiation that will also see him complete the full Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli season and quite possibly select rounds of the emerging Asian Le Mans Series.
Courtesy of his success in Asian Le Mans in 2013, Winslow was in the box seat heading into the final round of the championship at Sepang [Malaysia], but fell two agonising points short of the LMP2 crown with Hong Kong-based KCMG and a guaranteed start in the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. Sadly broken rear suspension in the dying stages of the race meant that reigning Le Mans champions Oak Racing took the victory.
For 2014 KCMG have confirmed entries in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and Le Mans, and whilst not confirming its complete driver lineup, Winslow’s name has been mentioned as part of the program, although the popular Englishman has confirmed he has more than one option.
“It’s hard work keeping your name in front of the people that make the decisions, but obviously what I’ve done here in Australia and coming so close to winning Asian Le Mans last year in my first season in a prototype hasn’t gone without notice, so I’m getting plenty of return phone calls about Le Mans, which is nice,” he admitted.
“I’d say I’m 99% confirmed to be in a seat, it’s just a matter of which one, but I can’t wait to be honest. I’ve been lucky enough to drive at some amazing events over my career including at F1 and the Indy 500, but Le Mans is a dream I’ve had since the start of my career.”
And Winslow isn’t the only one that will get to realise a long held dream…
“Dean Koutsoumidis is a fantastic supporter of mine and has been for a while now, and he was almost as devastated as I was when I missed out on the guaranteed Le Mans start this year. He’d said from the start that his goal was to be there right alongside me at Le Mans as part of a team - not to drive, but to be a part of the atmosphere. It’s fantastic having someone like Dean support me. For him - like me - motorsport is a passion, so to have him so heavily involved is fantastic because the association is about so much more than just the result.
“I felt too that without the confirmation of a Le Mans drive earlier in the year that the best thing I could do to thank him for all his support was to offer some assistance with his Australian GT and Carrera Cup commitments this year, and before I knew it, I was drafted into the team to join him for the six round Australian GT season.”
“Two years ago Andrew McInnes and I won the Australian GT Trophy Class in the Equity-One Lamborghini Gallardo,” Koutsoumidis reflected. “We bought the Audi R8 at the end of that season to have an attack on the outright championship last year and we did pretty well - we were holding down third heading into New Zealand’s season final. The option was there to upgrade [the car] for this year, but we thought we’d leave the car as it was in 2011 LMS-spec and go after the Trophy class title again this year, but all of a sudden there’s a group of guys dropping back to try and steal our thunder.
“That prompted me into action and I knew I needed a ‘Pro’ driver, so given James and I have been working together to support his career over the last six months or so, I thought I’d talk to him and hey presto, we’re ready to go.
“In the interim the Le Mans thing has come back on-line too, and I’ve decided to ‘dabble’ in Carrera Cup and James is going to assist me as a driver coach in that too so that I can enjoy that snap last-minute decision I made.”
Koutsoumidis decided at the eleventh hour to purchase one of the new Type 991 Carrera Cup cars, the Victorian making his debut at the recent Clipsal 500.
“That was an initiation of fire I can tell you,” Koutsoumidis laughed.
“It’s a very different car to drive than the Audi, so I got caught a couple of times getting on the gas too early and spinning. It was frustrating because I had the pace to be with some of the other ‘Elite’ drivers, and actually raced in amongst them, but I’m a little frustrated that I couldn’t compete head-to-head with them across the whole race weekend. In reality it’s very different to AGT and it was my first real effort and I wasn’t far off, so I had a pretty good time, but I’ll be looking to step things up for the Grand Prix next week so look out!”
For Winslow his season is starting to take shape and it may even see a return to the Asian Le Mans Series, for which he is keen to make amends for falling just short last year.
“Having spent a large part of the last eight years in Asia, I have a good contact base over there, so not only have I been working on driver training programs in Asia, but I’ve also been talking to a variety of teams about joining the Asian Le Mans Series again, which is really gaining momentum,” he explained.
“In the end it could be a very busy year. I’m itching to get to Le Mans, and I’m really looking forward to helping Dean claim the GT Trophy title again, so whatever happens, I’ll have plenty on my plate!”
2014 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli Rnd#1 - March 28-30, Sandown, Victoria (Nationals) - 2x 60-minute Rnd#2 - May 23-25, Phillip Island, Victoria (Nationals) - 101-laps Rnd#3 - 4-6 July, Townsville, Queensland (V8 Supercars) - 3x 40-minute Rnd#4 - August 22-24, Sydney Motorsport Park (V8 Supercars) - 2x 30-min, 1x 60-min Rnd#5 - September 12-14, Sandown 500, Victoria (V8 Supercars) - 3x 40-minute Rnd#6 - November 7-9, Highlands Motorsport Park (NZ) - 101-laps
James Winslow
Nationality: British DOB: 16 April, 1983
2004 - British Formula 3 Champion (National Class) 2006 - Asian Formula 3 Champion 2007 - Formula V6 Asia Champion 2008 - Australian Formula 3 Champion 2009 - A1 Grand Prix (Team Great Britain) 2010 - Firestone Indy Lights (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) 2011 - Indy Lights (Andretti Autosport) 2012 - Australian Formula 3 Champion 2013 - Asian Le Mans Series (KCMG - LMP2)
The 2013 Australian GT Championship was another great season down under. Once again Melbourne Performance Centre was out in force with multiple Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries during the year. The Bathurst 12 Hour kicked off the season in February and the Australian GT toured through Australia and ended the season at Highlands in New Zealand. The season was highlighted with an Audi R8 LMS ultra victory at Highlands for Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot. The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below:
Bathurst 12 Hour
The Bathurst 12 Hour took place this weekend. It was the third 12 Hour event held at Bathurst since FIA GT3 specification race cars have been allowed to enter. Audi R8 LMS cars have been victorious on both previous occasions, each time with factory support. This year no less than seven Audis were entered by seven private teams. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were joined by two older R8 LMS cars. The weekend got off to a good start as Audis topped two out of the three free practice sessions on Friday. Qualifying saw a very fast pace and getting a clear lap on the crowded track was key. In the end the top placed Audi was the #9 Mark Eddy/Marc Ciny entry with Christopher Mies setting the time. Two Audis were in the top ten, followed by all seven placing in the top sixteen. The race got underway with a hectically fast pace and a number of accidents. The Audi squad were holding their positions near the front until various setbacks dropped the cars down the field. As the race went into the late afternoon the highest placed Audi was the Phoenix Racing entry running in fifth. The race finished under wet conditions with the #1 Phoenix entry in fourth ahead of the recovering #9 Mark Eddy/Marc Cini car in fifth. Four Audis finished within the top ten.
Round 1: Bathurst 12 Hour (Aus GT) The opening round of the Australian GT Championship coincided with the Bathurst 12 Hour. The teams had the opportunity to enter both events or only a single event if they so chose. The Australian GT component of the event was held during the first fifty minutes of the Bathurst 12 Hour, after which the cars entered in the 12 Hour would continue racing and the Australian GT only entries would pull off. Three of the Australian based Audi teams were entered for the Australian GT portion of the event, and all three were entered in the full 12 Hour as well. The three teams included the cars from Rod Salmon, Mark Eddy/Marc Cini and Minda Motorsport. At the end of the fifty minutes the top placed Audi was the Minda Motorsport entry in fourth followed by the #6 Rod Salmon entry in sixth.
Round two of the Australian GT Championship took place on the streets of Adelaide. It was the Clipsal 500 weekend and the GT Championship was acting as a support event. Two Audis were entered, the Audi R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon and the Minda Motorsport R8 LMS. The cars placed in the top ten during practice with the Minda Motorsport car achieving a top ten qualifying spot. During race one the Minda Motorsport entry made its way into the top ten to finish eighth. Rod Salmon retired from the race following a crash where he was a passenger in turn eight, causing a late race safety car. The damage to the Salmon R8 LMS ultra unfortunately put it out for the rest of the weekend. The Minda Motorsport team repeated their race one position by finishing eighth again during race two, completing a top ten weekend.
The third round of the Australian GT took place at Phillip Island. Two Audis were entered in the event, an Audi R8 LMS ultra entered by Melbourne Performance Centre and an Audi R8 LMS entered by Minda Motorosport. Rod Salmon was joined by James Winslow in the MPC entry this weekend. Race one saw both Audis finished within the top six, as Minda Motorsport finished fifth ahead of the MPC entry in sixth. The second race saw a reversed Audi order as both finished within the top seven, with MPC leading Minda Motorosport, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
The Australian GT Championship headed to Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend. Two Audi cars were entered, both run by Melbourne Performance Centre. The Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Rod Salmon and Nathan Antunes, and the R8 LMS by Dean Koustoumidis and Andrew McInnes. This was the first Australian GT event where the Koustoumidis R8 LMS was run by MPC, following a switch from Minda Motorsport. Both cars were recently entered by MPC in a regional event in Sydney, as preparation for this weekend. The cars performed very well and the Salmon R8 LMS ultra qualified second and the Koustoumidis car in seventh. Race one saw Salmon and Antunes scoring a podium by finishing in third, followed by the second Audi in sixth place. Race two saw the highest Audi finishing in sixth, again the Audi R8 LMS ultra of Salmon and Antunes. The Equity-One Audi R8 LMS finished in eighth, ensuring that both Audis finished the weekend inside of the top ten for races one and two.
Australian GT headed to Queensland Raceway this weekend for round five, the penultimate round of the 2013 season. The two Audi teams performed consistently this weekend. During qualifying the Audis placed in sixth (Salmon) and eighth (Koustoumidis). The first race saw the Audis finishing together with the #71 R8 LMS leading home the #6 R8 LMS ultra in seventh and eighth. Race two was held in the dark and the highest Audi finished in fourth, the #6 car of Salmon and Talbot. The #71 of Koustoumidis and Macrow finished twelfth. The third and final race of the weekend yielded top five finishes for both Audis. The #71 R8 LMS in fourth ahead of the #6 R8 LMS ultra in fifth.
Round 6: Highlands Motorsport Park The Australian GT Championship hosted its season finale in New Zealand this weekend. The finale was held at the new Highlands Motorsport Park circuit with two Audi cars on the grid. Melbourne Performance Centre fielded the two cars for their customers. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by car-owner, Rod Salmon, and his co-driver, Liam Talbot. The #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS had Dean Koustoumidis and Andrew McInnes behind the wheel. The weekend began with practice, qualifying and race one on Friday, followed by race two on Saturday and the Highlands 101 on Sunday, a special non-championship endurance race. Qualifying for the first race saw the highest Audi placing fifth, the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra, followed by the #71 R8 LMS in seventh. Race one concluded with overall victory for Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot with their #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Dean Koustoumidis and Andrew McInnes finished seventh in the #71 Audi R8 LMS. The second race got underway at midday on Saturday. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra squad of Salmon and Talbot rounded out a great Australian GT weekend by taking third place during the second and final race. The #71 Equity-Motorsport R8 LMS unfortunately retired from race two.
The Highlands 101 concluded the race weekend at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand. Two Audis were entered for the three hour endurance race on Sunday. The 2013 Australian GT Championship concluded with its finale at Highlands, hosting races one and two on Friday and Saturday. A special non-championship race was scheduled for Sunday, the Highlands 101, and many of the Australian GT competitors took part in this hundred and one lap endurance race. Both Audis that were entered for the Australian GT races were also entered for the Highlands 101. Melbourne Performance Centre fielded the two cars for their customers. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by car-owner, Rod Salmon, and his co-drivers, Liam Talbot and Jason Bright. The #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS had Dean Koustoumidis and Andrew McInnes behind the wheel. Qualifying was held early on Sunday morning and the highest placed Audi was the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra in fifth place. The #71 R8 LMS qualified ninth. After the eventful starting procedure the race got underway. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra crew had progressed well during the race and were inside of the top three during the closing stages. They tried to close the gap to the leaders, but ultimately they finished second behind the race winning #7 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of Fabian Coulthard and Tony Quinn. This rounded out an excellent weekend for the #6 MPC Audi, as Rod Salmon and Liam Talbot won the first Australian GT race and finished third in the second - and then the pair was joined by Jason Bright to finish second in the Highlands 101 on Sunday. The #71 Equity-One Motorsport Audi R8 LMS of Dean Koustoumidis and Andrew McInnes finished ninth in the Highlands 101.
Success for MPC in New Zealand Rnd#6 2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ 8-10 November, 2013
Heading into the final round of the 2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli at the impressive new Highlands Motorsport Park circuit in New Zealand, the Melbourne Performance Centre team had a dilemma on their hands. Both of their Audi teams were in a position to claim the final step of the championship podium, although despite proving to be the stronger outfit during the early rounds of the season, Rod Salmon had lost his points lead to Dean Koutsoumidis last time out in Queensland and both teams had arrived ready for action.
For Salmon, he was once again joined by rising star Liam Talbot, whilst for Koutsoumidis he was back with long-time co-driver Andrew McInnes, and both teams were hungry for a result.
After struggling to find consistency during the year, Salmon surprised everyone with his practice pace to be quicker than his ‘rookie’ team-mate, although he did give Talbot the keys for qualifying. Over in the Equity-One camp, Dean Koutsoumidis who had initially entered to drive a production car in the South Island Endurance Series season final, withdrew from the co-driver’s seat in that event admitting that the cars were just too different.
“I thought that extra miles on the circuit would be an advantage,” he admitted. “But with the big speed differential it wasn’t helping so I’ve elected to just concentrate on the Audi.”
That paid off handsomely in the end, the two Equity-One drivers separated by mere tenths during practice and qualifying, with McInness setting a time that was good enough for row four, right behind Talbot and right beside fellow MPC stable-mate Steve McLaughlan.
Koutsoumidis was scheduled to start the #71 Audi, whilst Talbot charged off the line in race one to trail Baird, Quinn, Bowe and Greg Murphy, the young Audi recruit never more than a car length from the established stars all the way to the scheduled stop.
Despite an 18 second lead as he hits the pits, Baird handed the reigns to the #1 Porsche to Klark Quinn and emerged from the pits just metres ahead of Salmon.
With a target to follow over the closing stages of the race, Salmon locked into a comfortable pace and kept Quinn within sight before the field was grouped once more behind the Safety Car. On the restart Salmon continued to attack, and amazingly, stole the lead from Quinn whose pace had dropped significantly.
Behind him V8 Supercar star Fabian Coulthard closed in in Tony Quinn’s Aston Martin, but despite throwing everything he could at Salmon, he was unable to close the gap before the flag, Salmon crossing the line to take an historic first victory in the Highlands venue’s very first race, and with it, his maiden victory in Australian GT against one of the most competitive fields in GT history.
“That’s fantastic,” Rod Salmon beamed afterwards. “That has to be one of the best wins of my career. I could see Coulthard coming, but I just focused on getting every apex right and making the most out of the Audi’s speed through the tight section of the circuit.
“Liam had really set the foundations for that win, it couldn’t have played out any better.”
For team-mate Liam Talbot, he admitted that the enormity of the result still hadn’t hit him.
“Afterwards they told me it was the former Bathurst 1000 winner Greg Murphy behind the wheel of the McLaren, but I didn’t believe it,” Talbot admitted. “He was holding me up, and as we came towards the compulsory pit stop, I thought about making a move, but in the end just followed the pack down pit lane to hand over to Rod.”
Whilst there was jubilation in the #6 camp, there was frustration down in the #75 camp of Steve McLaughlan and Greg Crick after the mighty Viper rolled to a stop on lap eight.
“There was a bang, and something let go in the driveline, we’re not sure what it is yet, but hopefully we have the parts with us to fix it,” McLaughlan explained post-race.
The #71 team too were in high spirits after a strong run, McInnes crossing the line seventh to keep them in the race for the championship podium, although after a big points haul for race victor Rod Salmon, Dean Koutsoumidis knew that he’d have his work cut out for him in race two.
“Full credit to Rod and Liam, that’s a fantastic result. Look in all honesty, to be coming into the final round third in points is testament to the teams that have supported us this year and kept the car running consistently. Realistically with a three year old car we’re not outright contenders, but we’re always there, and seventh is a pretty good result for us against such a high quality field.”
Courtesy of his race one win, Salmon led the field away for the final race of the 2013 season, the dual Bathurst 12-Hour champion though was quickly overtaken by Fabian Coulthard in the Aston Martin, but despite falling a lap later to champion-elect Klark Quinn, he held on to third place ahead of a charging Andrew McInnes.
McInnes had monstered the cars in front of him off the start, and after forcing Peter Edwards in the Ferrari into a spin on the exit of the Karussel, he had inherited fourth place, and maintained the gap to Salmon in front of him up until the compulsory mid-race pit stop.
As the leaders dived to the pits McInnes put the #71 Audi in the box seat after punching out a succession of quick laps. With Baird catching him for second, he was pushing hard but 13 laps in he made a passing move on Michael Hovey’s Ginetta on the run into the final corner, and skated off on the exit, bogging the R8 in the kitty litter on the outside of the tight right-hander.
Many expected a Safety Car to be called, but race control elected for double yellow flags, allowing officials to recover the car, in the process losing valuable laps, the team retiring the car shortly after.
“I knew I shouldn’t have been on the slippery part of the circuit, but I thought I could pull it up in time,” a somber McInnes admitted. “It was my fault, I just didn’t have any grip. I’m more disappointed for Dean [Koutsoumidis] and the team because we were well in contention.”
Sadly for McInnes he was right. At the time he came off he was the closing on the race leader, and just a couple of laps from completing his stop, a stop that under CPS rules (adjusted relative to driver grading and starting position) would have seen them gain some 26 seconds in the pits over the leading pack.
“That’s the first time in two years that we’ve had a DNF, and I’m pretty annoyed about it to be honest.”
Whilst the challenge for the final step of the championship podium was over, Liam Talbot still needed to finish the race and hang on to his position inside the top three. He did that with ease, handing the Skwirk.com.au team not just a second podium, but second overall for the round behind race two winners Tony Quinn and Fabian Coulthard.
“That’s brilliant,” an elated Rod Salmon beamed. “It has been such a mixed year, but we’ve come good at the right time, and to finish the season in third place is full credit to the Melbourne Performance Centre team, and all our guys. It’s also great credit to the versatility of the Audi. This is a new circuit that nobody has ever competed on before, and against some of the best GT cars in the world, we’ve come through with a victory and a second podium, I couldn’t be happier. Bring on the 101!!”
After the disappointment of race one, Steve McLaughlan and Greg Crick recovered in race two to take ninth place and third in the GT Trophy class, but the result in the Championship had been all but decided prior to the final round, giving the #75 team the title for 2013.
“We were fortunate that the damage in race one was only the crown wheel (differential) and we had a spare ready to slot in,’ McLaughlan explained.
“The car ran faultlessly all the way to the flag, but starting rear of field gave our opposition a bit of an advantage. Cricky got the car well up the order before the stop, but afterwards the class leaders had the advantage so we just hung on to the end.
“I’m happy to have taken the title this year, and am really looking forward to defending it next year in the Audi because it sounds like we’ll have plenty of competition.”
Whilst that wrapped up the 2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli, the assembled GT regulars still had the ‘Highlands 101’ ahead of them, an invitational race over 101-laps that included all the series regulars against the top qualifying NZ South Island Endurance Series [SIES] regulars.
A field of 33 cars lined up for qualifying, which was scheduled just three hours ahead of the big race with the starting positions set by the fastest times set by each driver in the car combined.
For the #6 team, that meant someone would have to sit out and watch, as for the ‘101’ Salmon and Talbot had been joined by V8 Supercar star and 2014 Bathurst 12-Hour recruit Jason Bright.
Despite just six laps in the car, Bright was back in the pits suggesting modifications to the car to improve its pace. “It’s fantastic to drive, but it’s a little skaty under brakes at the rear end, so we made some adjustments and it’s much better. The track is fantastic, but pretty busy, so we’ll see how it plays out tomorrow. The big trick will be being there at the end.”
By the close of qualifying the #6 Audi was classified in P5, just a tenth off a second row start. The #71 entry qualified ninth behind a number of SIES regulars in their ‘hot-rod’ Porsches (SIES runs unlimited rules, so cars are open to engine and tyre modifcations), whilst the #75 Dodge would start from P13.
The start for the ‘101’ was a change from the norm for the GT regulars too, with a Le Mans style foot race to the cars by the co-drivers, but this was no cross circuit stroll, but instead a 250 metre sprint. In many cases that decided the starting order for the field - with Salmon taking the start in the Skwirk Audi, Koutsoumidis in the Equity-One Audi and McLaughlan in the Viper - leaving the second driver with the position of having to gain as much ground as he could off the start.
Talbot proved a handy sprinter, helping Salmon to move up a few spots immediately, whilst further back Koutsoumidis and McLaughlan held down positions mid-field.
The faster GT cars were soon through to the lead, with Salmon holding position as he had done during the two 40-minute GT races to be within striking distance of the leaders should anything go wrong.
The team played the strategy game early to pit Salmon who handed the reigns to Talbot as Koutsoumidis continued to punch out consistent laps and move up the order as the leaders started to pit and play the strategy game themselves.
A series of Safety Car periods to reclaim stranded cars mixed up the order, in the process dropping the #71 car down a lap.
Sadly for the McLaughlan/Crick Viper, it was out early after an electrical issue with the fuel pump robbed it of supply, the big Dodge rolling to a stop within metres of where it had finished the opening GT race.
“Up till then it was going like a train,” McLaughlan shrugged. “It’s one of those things that happens. The car’s fine, I’m sure it’s just a connection or a switch, but that’s it for us. Now it’s on to the Audi for next year - I’m really looking forward to that!”
As the race wore on, Jason Bright jumped behind the wheel of the Skwirk.com.au Audi and immediately gave notice that he’d be the man to watch. He quickly began to work his way through the field, at one stage frightening one of the SIES regulars by over taking him AND Greg Murphy on the Pirelli bridge - a two lane piece of circuit.
In the end he was unable to catch race leader Fabian Coulthard, but second for the Salmon/Talbot/Bright combination was good enough.
“I think I’m going to move here,” Rod Salmon laughed post-race. “How good is this track, how good is this venue. I know I’m biased after our win on Friday, but quite honestly this is one spectacular venue and the racing has been fantastic.
“I can’t thank our Melbourne Performance Centre team enough, and what a great couple of stints by Brighty and Liam to help cement the result. For us it has been a faultless weekend, and a win, a third and a second is more than we could have dreamt for coming in.
“Now it’s on to the Bathurst 12-Hour where we’ll be joined again by Warren Luff. I think we showed this weekend that we can be as competitive as the best of them, and with a few possible modifications to the car to bring it up to 2013 spec, we should be looking pretty good to kick the new year off with a high!”
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2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli Qualifying[8 November] Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ
01. 1. Craig Baird - Porsche GT3-R [CHAMP] - 1:34.214 02. 7. Fabian Coulthard - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:34.471 03. 88. John Bowe - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:36.325 04. 101. Greg Murphy - McLaren MP4-12C GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:37.079 05. 6. Liam Talbot - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra [CHAMP] - 1:37.843 06. 007. Andrew Waite - Aston Martin DBRS9 [TROPHY] - 1:37.942 07. 71. Andrew McInnes - Audi R8 LMS GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:39.885 08. 75. Steve McLaughlan - Dodge Viper Competition Coupé [TROPHY] - 1:41.149 09. Andrew McPherson - Porsche 997 Cup-S [TROPHY] - 1:41.456 10. 2. Andrew Taplin - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP] - 1:41.532
2013 Australian GT Championship presented by Pirelli Race#1 - 40-minutes[8 November] Highlands Motorsport Park, Cromwell, NZ 01. 6. Rod Salmon/Liam Talbot - Audi R8 LMS GT3 ultra [CHAMP] - 22-laps 02. 7. Tony Quinn/Fabian Coulthard - Aston Martin Vantage GT3 [CHAMP] 03. 101. Greg Murphy/Neil Crompton - McLaren MP4-12C GT3 [CHAMP] 04. 1. Klark Quinn/Craig Baird - Porsche GT3-R [CHAMP] 05. 88. Peter Edwards/John Bowe - Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 [CHAMP] 06. 007. Andrew Waite/Simon Evans - Aston Martin DBRS9 [TROPHY] 07. 71. Koutsoumidis/McInnes - Audi R8 LMS GT3 [CHAMP] 08. Andrew McPherson/Ben Porter - Porsche 997 Cup-S [TROPHY] - 21-laps 09. 77. Jan Jinadasa - Lamborghini Gallardo LP520 [TROPHY] 10. 4. Ben Foessel/Michael Almond - Porsche 997 GT3 Cup [CHALLENGE]
Melbourne Performance Centre is proudly supported by Skwirk.com.au, One World Bar, Equity-One, Primus Australia, Companion Brands, The Audi Race Experience, PH Motorsport Trailers - supplier of the new Audi Sports Customer racing transporter, BluFi Wireless Australia, Questek Australia, Top Gun Restorations and Wrap my Ride.
