Reigning Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS winner Liam Talbot has welcomed an early opportunity to sample Queensland Raceway prior to Round 3 at the circuit in a fortnight.
Joined by teammate Elliott Schutte in the second Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3, Talbot found the day productive as he aims to defend the seven-point lead he holds in the standings alongside Chaz Mostert.
“It was really good,” said Talbot.
“It’s good to have no pressure with time constraints and small practice windows to tune the car, play around with settings or understanding about the set-up, what does what and what can be improved or what is a backward step. In that respect the test day has been great.
“The negative is there are no other cars here, so we can’t draw a comparison. The track conditions vary to compare it to historical data, so we’re unsure where we are.
“It’s never a bad day at a test day as we understand the car further and continue to explore what the car is capable of.”
Talbot is vastly experienced in GT3 machinery and rates the 296 as the ultimate.
“I’ve previously driven the 458 and 488 Ferraris, so I have the understanding there,” Talbot explained.
“It feels like the mechanical grip of the 458 and it’s got even better aero than the 488, so the 296 has the best of both worlds.
“It’s a mega car. It’s very, very special in GT land compared to what I’ve driven before.”
A new operation this season, Arise Racing GT got off to the perfect start at Phillip Island and Talbot is eager to reward the team at season’s end.
“It’s interesting, there are a lot of unknowns entering with a new team and wondering how the dynamic plays out,” he reflected.
“Being involved from day one working with the team and watching it grow is really cool.
“We hit the ground running and we probably did this better than we should have.
“The team is mega.”
Arise Racing GT’s two Ferrari 296 GT3s are on display at the Shannons Supercar Showcase beginning at 10am on July 20 (today).
The event will be hosted at the Shannons Showroom in Brisbane, 107 Fison Avenue Eagle Farm where the two Ferraris will be on display alongside the Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT3.