Volante Rosso will have a late change of personnel for this weekend’s LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend, with Ben Porter to replace Lee Stibbs in the team’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO.
The switch in drivers means the experienced GT driver will link back up with young gun Alex Gardner for the first time since 2024, when they drove the Aston Martin for its return to the series.
Porter has a wealth of experience both in Australia and abroad, having raced regularly in GT competitions around Asia - most notably the GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS - with his most recent visit there on the weekend ending in an Am Cup win at Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit alongside Andrew Macpherson.
A former Am Cup champion in the series, Porter has enjoyed lots of success over a career that spans more than two decades, with the Victorian a multiple-time champion in Formula Vee at a national level, as well as the 2019 GT3 Am champion in the highly prestigious GT Series Asia.
“I’m really looking forward to coming back to rejoin Volante Rosso in the Aston Martin at The Bend,” Porter said.
“It was great to be part of the team’s very first event with the Aston back in 2024, and since then, they have brought that package a long way.
“The car is sorted, the team knows it really well, and there’s no reason why we can’t be in a position to fight for a good result.
“The Bend is a track that I know really well, and we all know that Alex is a talented driver, so for me, we have all the ingredients to get some good results together.
“I’ve been keeping myself race fit too. I raced in GT World Challenge Asia over the weekend and took a class win on Sunday, so I’m as ready as I’ve ever been to return to Australia and get back into my home GT championship.”
Porter and Gardner will reunite at Round 2 of the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS season, which will take place at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries’ LIQUI MOLY GT Festival The Bend on May 8-10.
Both qualifying sessions and the two races will be broadcast live and exclusively on FOX SPORTS Australia and Kayo Sports.