Ahead of the second round of the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend, reigning champ Liam Talbot says that there's more untapped speed in his Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin.
Talbot, alongside his Aston team-mate Declan Fraser, sits second in the driver's standings after sterling drive by Talbot in wet conditions in the second race at Phillip Island last month.
It marked Volante Rosso's first podium result in GT World Challenge since Sydney Motorsport Park's round in 2023.
The wet race certainly assisted the car's cause after a qualifying indiscretion meant that the #1 Shannons Insurance Vantage GT3 was forced to start both races from the tail of the competitive field.
Talbot says that the drive through the field has given the team a strong belief that they can achieve big things in 2025.
“It was a real positive the way we moved our way through the field,” said Talbot.
“As much as you don’t want to start the races from last place, it’s really galvanised the team and I think it’s united us all. We definitely believe that we’ve got a lot of potential in this championship and it’s exciting for each round to see what we can do in maximising the weekend.
“The car has rolled out really well. Full credit to Chris Papadopoulos and Josh Hunt, who have worked in the background on set-up. I feel like we can still fine tune and I’m still learning, but there’s definitely a lot more potential in the car, so we’re looking forward to applying what we learnt at Phillip Island last round. We’ve definitely got some ideas before we even roll out in Sydney to improve the car, so it’s exciting."
With a podium result already in the bank, Talbot says that it's now time to aim for the top step of the podium.
“The team has plenty of experience at Sydney Motorsport Park and we have three one-hour practice sessions, which provide plenty of time to tune the drivers and the car up," he said.
"It’d be nice to get another pole position and we’re going for race wins now.”
The 15-car GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS field hits Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.
The GT3 cars will be on track Friday for practice followed by a one-hour race on both Saturday and Sunday.
The weekend track action can be seen live and free on 7plus and 7mate for Australian viewers, while internationals can watch via the GT World YouTube channel.