Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia will this weekend hold its penultimate round of the 2018 season at Winton Motor Raceway, where the winner of the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy will be decided.
The three-race endurance mini-series featured a long-distance race at both The Bend Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway, with young gun Cooper Murray taking victory in both races. Murray is therefore best placed to capture the Endurance Trophy in his maiden GT3 Cup Challenge season.
Murray’s closest Endurance Trophy rival is Michelin Junior Max Vidau, who has placed second in both endurance races thus far, while fifth and third place results has Jimmy Vernon third in the endurance standings.
After race one – the third and final race of the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy – attention will shift to the 2018 title chase, which sees Murray narrowly leading Simon Fallon in both the Outright and Pro standings. Murray held a significant advantage in both pointscores until a DNF in the final race at Queensland Raceway brought Simon Fallon back into title contention.
Fallon now enters the crucial Winton round having never raced at the Victorian circuit.
“I like the track; I’ve had a few laps there though I’ve never raced there before,†said Fallon. “I’m not sure how we’ll go there. It has a bit of everything so we’ll rock up and see where everyone sits after practice one. It will be a fun weekend and an interesting event on track.â€
Brett Boulton hopes to continue his Pro-Am form after taking a Queensland Raceway clean sweep at the last event. The Queenslander sits 74 points behind Danny Stutterd in the Pro-Am standings with six races remaining for the season.
The Pro-Am class will feature nine entries this weekend, expanded with the inclusion of newcomer Jonathan Gliksten.
Christian Pancione enters the penultimate round with a stronghold on the Class B title, sitting 167 points ahead of his closest rival Phil Morriss with 180 points on offer this weekend.
Movements in Class B include the return on Richard Bloomfield and Sergio Pires at Winton, while former Class B contender Tom Taplin will shift to the Pro classifications after transitioning to a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Type 991.I) car.
Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia will hold two practice session on Friday, qualifying and the final Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race of the season on Saturday and two sprint races on Sunday. Both of Sunday’s GT3 Cup Challenge races, and the entire Shannons Nationals on track program, can be viewed via the event’s live stream, available at www.thenationals.com.au.
Race Schedule
Friday August 31
12:10pm Practice 1 (30 minutes)
3:05pm Practice 2 (30 minutes)
Saturday September 01
10:10am Qualifying (20 minutes)
1:15pm Race 1 (35 laps)
Sunday September 02
9:00am Race 2 (12 laps)
11:55am Race 3 (12 laps)
Entry List
1. #2 Dan Day (Pro) Tectaloy UNLMTD Racing
2. #7 Jimmy Vernon (Pro) Platinum Night Club Broadbeach
3. #9 Tony Martin (Class B) Triffid Bar+Venue
4. #10 Michael Loccisano (Pro-Am) Hallmarc
5. #13 Jonathan Gliksten (Pro-Am) Cure FA
6. #21 Shane Barwood (Pro-Am) Melbourne Orthopaedic Group
7. #17 Marcel Zalloua (Pro-Am) 360 Motorsport/Valmont
8. #22 Andrew Goldie (Class B) Woodford Trailers
9. #23 Daniel Stutterd (Pro-Am) The Porsche Broker
10. #26 Tom Taplin (Pro) Taplin Real Estate
11. #27 Sam Fillmore (Pro-Am)
12. #36 Cooper Murray (Pro) Lodge Bros Racing
13. #38 Chelsea Angelo (Pro) PAYCE/Wilson Security
14. #57 Richard Bloomfield (Class B) Okey Dokey
15. #73 Michael Hovey (Pro-Am) Triffid Bar & Venue
16. #76 Christian Pancione (Class B) VCM Performance
17. #77 Max Vidau (Pro) Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts
18. #84 Brett Boulton (Pro-Am) Bold Living
19. #87 David Greig (Class B)
20. #88 Phil Morriss (Class B) Morriss Racing Services
21. #96 Simon Fallon (Pro) Sonic Motor Racing
22. #99 Ross McGregor (Pro-Am) Southern Star Windows
23. #117 Sergio Pires (Class B) 360 Motorsport
24. #230 Luis Leeds (Pro) OPS Gateway
