2017 Australian GT Championship

The 2017 Australian GT Championship was the 21st running of the Australian GT Championship, a CAMS-sanctioned Australian motor racing championship open to FIA GT3 cars and similar cars as approved for the championship. The championship commenced on 2 March 2017 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and concluded on 19 November at Wakefield Park, with two rounds held in New Zealand.

2017 Australian GT Championship

Previous

2016

Next

2018

Geoff Emery won the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving an Audi R8 LMS

Tony Walls placed 12th in the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving a McLaren 650S GT3

Steven Richards and James Burgmuller shared 14th place in the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving a BMW M6 GT3

Mark Griffith placed 15th in the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3

Ash Samadi placed 16th in the 2017 Australian GT Championship driving an Audi R8 LMS

Michael Hovey placed 33rd driving a Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX

Brenton Griguol & Tim Macrow placed 35th driving a Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX

Following the success of the previous year, a second series for GT3 cars, the Australian Endurance Championship was also contested. A third series for older-specification GT3 and GT4 class cars, the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series, was also held.^[1]

The Australian GT Championship events were held in support of five V8 Supercar events. The Australian Endurance Championship shared an event with the Shannons Nationals, another with V8 Supercars, and its final two rounds were staged at Hampton Downs and Highlands Motorsport Park, both owned by series owner Tony Quinn. The Australian GT Trophy Series^[2] was contested exclusively at Shannons Nationals events.^[1]

The Australian GT Championship was won by Geoff Emery^[3] driving an Audi R8 LMS.

Series

The 2017 season included three separate series:

• CAMS Australian GT Championship, shorter races for current-specification GT3 cars.
• CAMS Australian Endurance Championship, longer endurance races featuring multiple drivers and current-specification GT3 cars.
• CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series, shorter races for older-specification GT3 and GT4 cars.

All competitors are able to enter the Australian GT Championship and the Australian Endurance Championship, and all were eligible to win the championships outright, however only older-specification cars could enter the Australian GT Trophy Series.

Race calendar

The Australian GT Championship is contested over five rounds, the Australian Endurance Championship over four rounds and the Australian GT Trophy Series over five rounds. Each race, with the exception of the Australian Grand Prix round of the Australian GT Championship, includes at least one compulsory timed pit stop.^[1]

Australian GT Championship

Round	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date
1	Adelaide Street Circuit	Adelaide, South Australia	3 x 40 min	2–5 March
2	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit	Melbourne, Victoria	4 x 25 min	23–26 March
3	Barbagallo Raceway	Perth, Western Australia	2 x 60 min	5–7 May
4	Townsville Street Circuit	Townsville, Queensland	3 x 40 min	8–10 July
5	Sandown Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria		15–17 September

Australian Endurance Championship

Round	Name	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date
1	AEC Philip Island 500	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	500 km	26–28 May
2	AEC Sydney 501	Sydney Motorsport Park	Eastern Creek, New South Wales		18–20 August
3	Hampton Downs 500	Hampton Downs Motorsport Park	Waikato, New Zealand		27–29 October
4	Highlands 501	Highlands Motorsport Park	Cromwell, New Zealand		10–12 November

Australian GT Trophy Series

Round	Circuit	Location	Race format	Date
1	Sandown Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	2 x 50 min	8–9 April
2	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria		10–11 June
3	Queensland Raceway	Ipswich, Queensland		5–6 August
4	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria		9–10 September
5	Wakefield Park	Goulburn, New South Wales		18–19 November

Australian GT Championship

Teams and drivers

Team Vehicle No. Drivers Class Events Audi Sport Customer Racing Ah Apartments Audi R8 LMS 3 Ash Samadi GT All Audi Sport Customer Racing Hallmarc Constructions 9 Marc Cini GT 1–2, 4 Dean Fiore 2 Audi Sport Customer Racing Supabarn Supermarkets 44 Ash Walsh GT All James Koundouris 1–3 Duvashen Padayachee 4–5 Audi Sport Customer Racing JAMEC PEM Racing 74 Geoff Emery GT All Kelvin van der Linde 1–4 75 Steve McLaughlan GT 1, 5 Tim Miles 2 Audi Sport Customer Racing KFC Racing 124 Daniel Gaunt GT 2–3 Gary Higgon McElrea Racing Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 4 Tim Miles GT 1 McElrea Racing Objective Racing McLaren 650S GT3 11 Tony Walls GT 1–4 GT Motorsport Audi R8 LMS 5 Greg Taylor GT 1, 3 Nathan Antunes 1 Zagame Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 6 Adrian Deitz GT 2 Cameron McConville Darrell Lea/Keltic Racing McLaren 650S GT3 7 Tony Quinn GT All Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 8 Max Twigg GT All 222 Craig Baird GT 1 Scott Taylor 1–4 PM Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 14 Peter Major GT 1–3 Veloce Motorsport - ULX110 Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 15 Keith Wong GT-I 1 Erebus Motorsport Hog's Breath Cafe/Griffith Corporation Mercedes-AMG GT3 19 Mark Griffith GT 1–3, 5 Jake Camilleri 2–3 Rosso Verde Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 21 Hector Lester GT-I 2 Benny Simonsen JBS Australia Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 23 Roger Lago GT 1–4 David Russell 2 Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 24 Tony Bates GT 1–4 Trofeo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 29 Dean Canto GT 1 Ivan Capelli 2 Jim Manolios 1, 5 Ryan Millier 2, 5 M Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 48 Justin McMillan GT 1 Glen Wood 1–2, 4 Yasser Shahin 2 AMAC Motorsport Porsche 997 GT3-R 51 Andrew MacPherson GT 1, 4 Brad Shiels 4 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Andrew MacPherson GT 2–3 Brad Shiels 3 Tekno Autosports McLaren 650S GT3 58 Fraser Ross GT 5 59 Fraser Ross GT 1–4 Côme Ledogar 1 Lewis Williamson 2 Michael O'Donnell Porsche 997 GT3 Cup 68 Michael O'Donnell GT-I 1–2 Koala Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 69 Brenton Griguol GT 1 Tim Macrow Triffid Bar Venue Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 73 Michael Hovey GT 1–2 Daniel Jilesen 1 Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 88 Peter Edwards GT 2 Fire Rating Solutions Lamborghini Gallardo LP-560 GT3 99 Matthew Turnbull GT-I 2 BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3 100 James Bergmuller GT All Steven Richards DJS Racing BMW M6 GT3 101 Danny Stutterd GT 2–3 Mack Roofing Products Ferrari 458 GT3 147 Wayne Mack GT-I 2 Industrie Clothing Audi R8 LMS ultra 199 Nick Kelly GT 2 The Bend Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 777 Yasser Shahin GT 1 Walkinshaw Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R 911 Liam Talbot GT All

Class Meaning GT Australian GT Championship GT-I Australian GT Championship (Invitational Class)

Race results

Round		Circuit	Pole position	Race winner
1	R1	Adelaide	No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing	No. 24 Eggleston Motorsport
			Geoff Emery Kelvin van der Linde	Tony Bates
	R2			No. 14 PM Motorsport
				Peter Major
	R3			No. 24 Eggleston Motorsport
				Tony Bates
2	R1	Albert Park	No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing	No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing
			Geoff Emery Kelvin van der Linde	Geoff Emery Kelvin van der Linde
	R2		No. 8 Scott Taylor Motorsport	No. 23 JBS Australia
			Max Twigg	Roger Lago David Russell
	R3			No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing
				Geoff Emery Kelvin van der Linde
	R4			No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing
				Liam Talbot
3	R1	Barbagallo	No. 44 Supabarn Supermarkets	No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing
			James Koundouris Ash Walsh	Liam Talbot
	R2			No. 14 PM Motorsport
				Peter Major
4	R1	Townsville	No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing	No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing
			Geoff Emery Kelvin van der Linde	Liam Talbot
	R2			No. 48 M Motorsport
				Glen Wood
	R3			No. 8 Scott Taylor Motorsport
				Max Twigg
5	R1	Sandown	No. 44 Supabarn Supermarkets	No. 74 JAMEC PEM Racing
			Duvashen Padayachee Ash Walsh	Geoff Emery
	R2			No. 7 Darrell Lea/Keltic Racing
				Tony Quinn
	R3			No. 58 Tekno Autosports
				Fraser Ross

Points system

Points are awarded as follows:^[4]

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th	25th	26th+
Qualifying session	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Rounds 1, 4–5	67	56	47	40	33	27	24	21	19	16	15	13	12	10	8	7	6	5	5	4	3	3	2	2	2	1
Round 2 R1	25	21	18	15	13	10	9	8	7	6	6	5	5	4	3	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1
Round 2 R2	45	38	32	27	23	18	16	14	13	11	10	9	8	7	5	5	4	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1
Round 2 R3	50	42	35	30	25	20	18	16	14	12	11	10	9	8	6	5	4	4	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1
Round 2 R4	80	67	56	48	40	32	29	26	22	19	18	16	14	13	10	8	6	6	5	5	3	3	1	1	1	1
Round 3	100	84	70	60	50	40	36	32	28	24	23	20	18	15	13	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	2	1

Championship standings

Pos Driver ADE ALB BAR TOW SAN Pts R1 R2 R3 QP RP R1 R2 R3 R4 QP RP R1 R2 QP RP R1 R2 R3 QP RP R1 R2 R3 QP RP 1 Geoff Emery 13 12 9 15 59 1 8 1 3 17 162 4 3 14 144 4 2 4 15 151 1 2 5 8 164 680 2 Liam Talbot 4 4 6 4 111 10 4 10 1 4 129 1 6 13 153 1 3 5 4 151 3 10 2 7 126 670 3 Ash Walsh 6 6 16 14 76 3 6 4 6 10 108 6 2 11 135 5 5 2 14 136 4 5 3 10 130 585 4 Kelvin van der Linde 13 12 9 15 59 1 8 1 3 17 162 4 3 14 144 4 2 4 15 151 516 5 Fraser Ross 8 7 11 6 66 7 2 5 15 7 89 2 9 10 122 10 Ret 14 11 37 2 6 1 5 155 469 6 Max Twigg 21 9 5 57 11 3 11 2 10 126 5 5 4 104 12 8 1 7 108 8 8 9 1 62 457 7 Roger Lago 2 2 2 12 180 4 1 3 4 14 157 Ret 11 5 28 13 6 6 10 76 441 8 Tony Bates 1 3 1 8 189 14 23 12 8 6 48 11 4 83 Ret DNS DNS 6 6 326 9 Peter Major 3 1 4 7 161 12 5 Ret Ret 5 33 13 1 8 126 320 10 James Koundouris 6 6 16 14 76 3 6 4 6 10 108 6 2 11 135 319 11 Glen Wood 11 Ret DNS 15 6 12 9 5 2 75 3 1 3 17 178 268 12 Tony Walls 5 13 3 92 26 11 21 7 42 3 Ret 7 77 8 7 13 57 268 13 Duvashen Padayachee 5 5 2 14 136 4 5 3 10 130 266 14= James Bergmuller 16 Ret 19 1 14 8 17 8 12 5 50 10 7 1 61 11 10 12 1 45 9 4 8 6 86 256 14= Steven Richards 16 Ret 19 1 14 8 17 8 12 5 50 10 7 1 61 11 10 12 1 45 9 4 8 6 86 256 15 Mark Griffith 7 8 8 66 18 14 13 11 36 9 8 3 63 7 9 4 83 248 16 Ash Samadi 15 Ret 10 2 26 16 DNS DNS DNS 4 12 13 5 43 6 4 7 1 92 5 Ret 10 2 51 216 17 Tony Quinn Ret DNS DNS 0 20 21 19 17 14 16 12 30 9 9 9 57 10 1 7 107 208 18 Scott Taylor 10 15 18 4 35 23 7 17 21 26 8 Ret 32 2 13 8 89 182 19 David Russell 4 1 3 4 14 157 157 20 Marc Cini 18 Ret 13 17 5 16 6 9 4 64 7 11 10 55 136 21 Andrew MacPherson 17 DSQ 14 16 24 22 24 18 11 7 10 4 64 Ret 12 11 6 34 125 22 Steve McLaughlan 9 DNS DNS 1 20 6 3 6 3 104 124 23 Jake Camilleri 18 14 13 11 36 9 8 3 63 99 24 Brad Shiels 7 10 4 64 Ret 12 11 6 34 98 25= Daniel Gaunt 2 25 2 23 7 75 15 DNS 7 20 95 25= Gary Higgon 2 25 2 23 7 75 15 DNS 7 20 95 26 Lewis Williamson 7 2 5 15 7 89 89 27 Yasser Shahin WD WD WD 0 6 12 9 5 2 75 75 28 Ryan Millier 13 9 14 Ret 26 11 7 Ret 4 43 69 29 Jim Manolios 22 11 Ret 5 24 11 7 Ret 4 43 67 30 Côme Ledogar 8 7 11 6 66 66 31 Dean Fiore 5 16 6 9 4 64 64 32 Tim Miles 23 5 Ret 36 15 27 18 10 27 63 33 Michael Hovey 14 18 7 41 22 18 22 16 15 56 34 Daniel Jilesen 14 18 7 41 41 35= Brenton Griguol 12 14 12 3 39 39 35= Tim Macrow 12 14 12 3 39 39 36 Craig Baird 10 15 18 4 35 35 37 Nick Kelly 17 10 15 14 32 32 38= Adrian Deitz 9 26 7 20 31 31 38= Cameron McConville 9 26 7 20 31 31 39 Daniel Stutterd 19 13 16 Ret 15 14 Ret 15 30 40 Ivan Capelli 13 9 14 Ret 26 26 41 Greg Taylor Ret 10 Ret 10 26 Ret DNS 0 26 42 Nathan Antunes Ret 10 Ret 10 26 26 43 Dean Canto 22 11 Ret 5 24 24 44 Peter Edwards 21 19 20 13 22 22 45 Justin McMillan 11 Ret DNS 15 15 Invitational class cars ineligible for championship points Keith Wong 19 17 15 0 0 Hector Lester DSQ 15 Ret Ret 0 0 Benny Simonsen DSQ 15 Ret Ret 0 0 Michael O'Donnell 20 16 17 0 28 28 26 24 0 0 Wayne Mack 25 20 23 19 0 0 Matthew Turnbull 27 24 25 22 0 0 Pos Driver R1 R2 R3 QP RP R1 R2 R3 R4 QP RP R1 R2 QP RP R1 R2 R3 QP RP R1 R2 R3 QP RP Pts ADE ALB BAR TOW SAN

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Australian Endurance Championship

Teams and drivers

Team Vehicle No. Drivers Class Events Ah Apartments Audi R8 LMS 3 Chris Pither GT 1 Ash Samadi GT Motorsport Audi R8 LMS 5 Grant Denyer GT 2 Greg Taylor Zagame Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 6 Adrian Deitz GT All Cameron McConville Darrell Lea/Keltic Racing McLaren 650S GT3 7 Tony Quinn GT All Mike Whiddett 1 Jonny Reid 2 Andrew Waite 3–4 77 Shane van Gisbergen GT 4 Mike Whiddett Scott Taylor Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 8 Tony D'Alberto GT All Max Twigg Porsche 911 GT3-R 22 Craig Baird GT 1 Scott Taylor Mercedes-AMG GT3 222 Craig Baird GT 2 Scott Taylor Hog's Breath Cafe/Griffith Corporation Mercedes-AMG GT3 19 Mark Griffith GT All Jake Camilleri 1 Dominik Baumann 2 Scott Hookey 3–4 International Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Ultra 22 Neil Foster GT 3 Jonny Reid 36 John Udy GT 3 Matt Whittaker Audi R8 LMS 82 Andrew Bagnall GT 3–4 Matt Halliday JBS Australia Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 23 Roger Lago GT All David Russell Trass Family Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 27 Andrew Fawcett GT 3 Gene Rollinson Trofeo Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 29 Jim Manolios GT 1–2 Ryan Millier M Motorsport Lamborghini Gallardo R-EX 48 Glen Wood GT 1, 4 Peter Major 1 Justin McMillan 4 AMAC Motorsport Lamborghini Huracán GT3 51 Andrew MacPherson GT All Brad Shiels Tekno Autosports McLaren 650S GT3 58 Fraser Ross GT 2–4 Warren Luff 2 Álvaro Parente 3–4 59 Warren Luff GT 1 Fraser Ross Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 63 Peter Hackett GT All Dominic Storey JAMEC PEM Racing Audi R8 LMS 74 Geoff Emery GT 1–2 Garth Tander 1 Kelvin van der Linde 2 75 Jaxon Evans GT All Tim Miles Maranello Motorsport Ferrari 488 GT3 88 Peter Edwards GT 1–2 Graeme Smyth BMW Team SRM BMW M6 GT3 100 Steven Richards GT All James Bergmuller 1–2 Dylan O'Keeffe 3–4 DJS Racing BMW M6 GT3 101 Sam Fillmore GT 1 Danny Stutterd KFC Racing Audi R8 LMS 124 Daniel Gaunt GT 1–2 Matt Stoupas 1 Dylan O’Keeffe 2 Walkinshaw Racing Porsche 911 GT3-R 911 John Martin GT All Liam Talbot

Class Meaning GT Australian GT Championship GT-I Australian GT Championship (Invitational Class)

Race results

Round	Circuit	Pole position	Race winner
1	Phillip Island	No. 63 Eggleston Motorsport	No. 75 JAMEC PEM Racing
		Peter Hackett Dominic Storey	Jaxon Evans Tim Miles
2	Sydney	No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing	No. 75 JAMEC PEM Racing
		John Martin Liam Talbot	Jaxon Evans Tim Miles
3	Hampton Downs	No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing	No. 63 Eggleston Motorsport
		John Martin Liam Talbot	Peter Hackett Dominic Storey
4	Highlands	No. 911 Walkinshaw Racing	No. 8 Scott Taylor Motorsport
		Peter Hackett Dominic Storey	Tony D'Alberto Max Twigg

Points system

Points are awarded as follows:^[5]

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th	21st	22nd	23rd	24th+
Qualifying session	10	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Rounds 1, 3	180	159	138	117	114	108	99	90	86	81	77	72	68	63	59	54	50	45	41	36	27	18	9	5
Rounds 2, 4	220	197	174	153	146	132	121	110	105	99	94	88	83	77	72	66	61	55	50	44	33	22	11	6

Championship standings

Pos Driver PHI SMP HAM HIG Pts R QP RP R QP RP R QP RP R QP RP 1 Peter Hackett Dominic Storey 2 16 175 6 13 145 1 10 190 6 18 150 660 2 Jaxon Evans Tim Miles 1 8 188 1 8 228 2 11 170 Ret 12 12 598 3 John Martin Liam Talbot 6 12 120 2 15 212 4 20 137 Ret 11 11 480 4 Tony D'Alberto Max Twigg 10 8 89 Ret 12 12 3 5 143 1 12 232 476 5 Tony Quinn 14 63 12 88 5 1 115 2 1 198 464 6 Adrian Deitz Cameron McConville 8 2 92 8 110 11 2 79 3 0 174 455 7 Fraser Ross 3 138 9 8 113 6 16 124 Ret 11 11 386 8 Andrew MacPherson Brad Shiels 15 59 10 99 8 5 95 7 121 374 9 Mark Griffith 5 114 7 121 Ret 0 8 110 345 10 Geoff Emery 4 12 129 3 14 188 317 11 Andrew Waite 5 1 115 2 1 198 313 12 Roger Lago David Russell 9 13 99 DNS 5 5 DNS 0 5 5 151 255 13 Peter Edwards Graeme Smyth 7 8 107 5 146 253 14 Warren Luff 3 138 9 8 113 251 15 Daniel Gaunt 12 72 4 8 161 233 16 Kelvin van der Linde 3 14 188 188 17 Andrew Bagnall Matt Halliday 10 81 9 1 106 187 18 Dylan O'Keeffe 4 8 161 Ret 10 10 Ret 12 12 183 19 Jonny Reid 12 88 9 9 95 183 20 Jim Manolios Ryan Millier 11 77 11 94 171 21 Steven Richards 17 2 52 13 4 87 Ret 10 10 Ret 12 12 161 22 Glen Wood Ret 6 6 4 153 159 23 Justin McMillan 4 153 153 24 James Bergmuller 17 2 52 13 4 87 139 25 Álvaro Parente 6 16 124 Ret 11 11 135 26 Garth Tander 4 12 129 129 27 Dominik Baumann 7 121 121 28 Jake Camilleri 5 114 114 29 Scott Hookey Ret 0 8 110 110 30 John Udy Matt Whittaker 7 3 102 102 31 Neil Foster 9 9 95 95 32 Matt Stoupas 12 72 72 33 Mike Whiddett 14 63 Ret 9 72 34 Sam Fillmore Dan Stutterd 13 68 68 35 Chris Pither Ash Samadi 16 4 58 58 36 Shane van Gisbergen Ret 9 9 37 Craig Baird Scott Taylor Ret 1 1 Ret 5 5 6 38 Peter Major Ret 6 6 6 39 Grant Denyer Greg Taylor Ret 0 0 Pos Driver R QP RP R QP RP R QP RP R QP RP Pts PHI SMP HAM HIG

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap

Australian GT Trophy Series

The Australian GT Trophy Series was won by Steve McLaughlan^[6] driving an Audi R8 LMS Ultra.