The entry list for Round 5 of the 2025 GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS has been confirmed, featuring a largely unchanged line-up from Sandown Raceway as the Championship heads to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park.
In its final appearance on Australian soil this year, a 14-car field will headline the Shannons SpeedSeries’ GT Festival at The Bend.
Although the entry list remains unchanged, the spotlight will be on Wall Racing’s return with its Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO II, featuring Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz pairing up for the first time since GT Festival Sydney.
Tigani Motorsport will also welcome back a familiar face for the first time since that Sydney round, with Marcel Zalloua returning to the driver’s seat - albeit this time it will be in the team’s #55 Geyer Valmont Racing Mercedes AMG-GT3 EVO alongside George King as replaces the injured Sergio Pires.
Outside of those two entries, the Pro-Am field remains unchanged from Sandown as Arise Racing’s Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte will be hoping to extend their lead at the top of the Pro-Am standings in their Ferrari 296 GT3.
The pair’s biggest threat in the title fight comes in the form of Melbourne Performance Centre’s (MPC) Brad Schumacher and Broc Feeney in the Audi R8 LMS EVO II, with 30 points separating the two crews.
Schumacher and Feeney lead the Audi R8 LMS EVO II contingent in the Pro-Am class, with Team MPC stablemates Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks searching for their maiden win of the season, while Team BRM’s Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser will be looking to replicate their Queensland form and pick up another victory.
The second Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, driven by Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti, remains in the title fight but will require a strong showing at The Bend to stay in contention. Meanwhile, Jamie Day and Liam Talbot will look to carry the momentum from their maiden victory at Sandown as they aim to guide the Volante Rosso Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 to back-to-back wins.
Rounding out the Pro-Am class will be the second Arise Racing GT Ferrari 296 GT3 of Jordan Love and Steve Wyatt.
While there are plenty of talking points in the Pro-Am class ahead of the penultimate round of the season, all eyes will likely be on the Am Class as Renee Gracie looks to seal the title.
Behind the wheel of the Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II, Gracie currently has a healthy 74-point lead ahead of the final two rounds and can secure the title as early as Saturday afternoon if she increases that buffer up to 79 points or above.
The Mercedes AMG-GT3 EVO entries of Benjamin Schoots and Shane Woodman for Black Wolf Motorsport and Tigani Motorsport’s James and Theo Koundouris are the only ones truly standing in Gracie’s way of winning the title as early as Saturday, with both effectively needing to finish ahead of her.
Completing the Am class line-up is the 111 Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, where Grant Donaldson is set to pilot the Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO solo, with regular co-driver Darren Currie unavailable for the round.
Rounding out the entry list is Team MPC’s Trophy Class Audi R8 LMS EVO I, driven by Matthew Stoupas and Gary Higgon. Higgon steps back into the seat in place of Paul Stokell, having sat out the Sandown round.
Making up the series’ visit to Shell V-Power Motorsport Park will be two practice sessions and pre-qualifying on Friday before its two-part Qualifying session on Saturday morning sets up hour-long races on both Saturday and Sunday.
All four of the series’ sessions on Saturday and Sunday will be shown live and free on 7plus, while tickets for the event are still available for purchase via speedseries.com.au/tickets
GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS continues its 2025 season as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries’ GT Festival The Bend at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park on September 5-7.
