GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS will welcome a new entry for season 2025 at this month’s GT Festival Sandown, with Marc Cini and Lee Holdsworth confirmed for the highly anticipated round.
The pair will be behind the wheel of the Hallmarc/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS Evo II and will contest the Pro-Am class for the first time, adding more firepower to the Victorian team’s stable at Sandown International Raceway.
Each driver brings extensive experience in Australian motorsport, both individually and as teammates, with their most recent outing together at this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, part of SRO Motorsports Group’s Intercontinental GT Challenge, where they finished 11th outright and claimed a class podium.
The pair have contested the Bathurst 12 Hour together for many years alongside Dean Fiore, while this month’s Sandown event will be the first time Cini and Holdsworth compete together outside the popular endurance event.
Holdsworth needs no introduction to Australian race fans, with the talented steerer having competed in Supercars for more than a decade, while also standing on the top step of the famous Bathurst 1000 podium in 2021 alongside last year’s GT World Challenge Australia Pro-Am Champion, Chaz Mostert.
Cini has the more recent GT World Challenge Australia experience of the two, having contested most of the 2024 season and several selected rounds each year since 2021, his most successful season being 2021, where he secured multiple Am Cup race wins.
Beyond GT World Challenge Australia, Cini has also competed in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia and Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia over the years, with his most recent outing in the Sprint Challenge earlier this month in Townsville.
The pair will make up a strong field at next week’s GT Festival Sandown, which serves as the fourth round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season.
Tickets for the Shannons SpeedSeries round at Sandown International Raceway on 25-27 July are available for purchase via speedseries.com.au/tickets.
QUOTES
Marc Cini
#9 Audi R8 LMS Evo II
“I am looking forward to it. I'm doing it with Lee Holdsworth, as we always do the 12 Hour together, so it'll be a bit of fun getting together,” said Cini.
“We're good friends and we know each other very well. And we fit in the same seat, which is always good. I am also excited to run in the Audi, as it’s a lovely car to drive.
“Right now, I'm just picking and choosing a few rounds this year and it’s a convenient round for us to do at Sandown.
“We don’t really have any expectations for the weekend because I haven't raced in Pro-Am with that field other than the 12 Hour, which is completely different, so we'll see after the first couple of practice sessions how we’re going.
“GT World Challenge Australia is going very well, so it will be good to be part of that. SRO Motorsports Australia seem to be doing a good job and hopefully they'll build from that. I wish them all the best.”
Lee Holdsworth
#9 Audi R8 LMS Evo II
I’ve done the Bathurst 12 Hour every year since 2016 with Marc Cini and Dean Fiore in the Audi, so I'm familiar with the car, but it’s my first appearance in the GT World Challenge Australia and I’ve never raced a GT car at Sandown, so I am excited,” said Holdsworth.
I really enjoy being with the MPC team and driving with Marc. I love the car – it’s amazing to drive and Sandown is a great track for it.
It's always a bit of a process getting used to the Audi – especially since I haven't been in it since February. It takes a little bit to adapt to the seat being on the opposite side, but hopefully muscle memory kicks in from earlier in the year.
I’m just going out to have a bit of fun and enjoy the weekend being back in a race car. Hopefully we have a clean run and bring home a decent result.
Looking forward to getting on track with Marc and MPC. It will be a great weekend together and we’ll do our best to bring home a trophy and also sharpen up in the lead-up to the Supercars enduros.