Weekly Racing Roundup (11.11.19)

Emery Claims Third Consecutive Australian GT Title

Geoff Emery was crowned CAMS Australian GT Champion for the third time in a row at Sandown Raceway on Saturday.

Driving his Valvoline Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo, Emery claimed victory in the weekend’s third and final 40-minute race at the circuit outside Melbourne.

He claimed the Race 3 win after a quick call to change to wet tires that put him on a different strategy to leaders Liam Talbot and Peter Hackett. He passed Hackett for the lead with three laps remaining and went on to win by 3.5 seconds.

Emery’s championship win was already decided in Race 2, however, with a fifth-place finish enough to put him out of reach in the final round.

The weekend’s first two races were won by Hackett in his Eggleston Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, allowing him to win the round

Emery’s overall Australian GT title comes after winning the Australian Endurance Championship in September, sharing his Audi with Garth Tander.

That success marked both drivers’ and Audi Sport’s first Australian Endurance title.

News & Notes

***Fernando Alonso achieved his first ever rally raid podium last week, finishing third in the Al Ula-Neom Cross-Country Rally in Saudi Arabia as part of the former Toyota LMP1 driver and his navigator Marc Coma’s preparation for the Dakar Rally with a Toyota Hilux.

***BMW launched the M2 CS Racing alongside the launch of its M2 CS road car last week. The M2 CS Racing follows on from the M235i Racing and M240i Racing models as BMW Motorsport’s entry-level model, priced at €95,000 plus VAT. Delivery will begin in mid 2020 and the car will compete in series including VLN and TC America.

***Audi Sport customer racing held its annual Race Night at its base in Neuburg on Friday. Audi Sport’s various programs in GT3, GT4 and TCR were celebrated while its new GT4 car, presented last week, was also showcased.

***Audi has also revealed liveries for its five GT3 cars competing in this weekend’s FIA GT World Cup at Macau.

***The Brabham BT62 made its race debut as planned in Britcar’s Dunlop Endurance Championship ‘Into the Night’ race at Brands Hatch, with David Brabham and Will Powell winning the first race after an opening stint battle with a BMW 1M.

***WRT will enter a pair of Audi GT3s in the Hankook 24 Hours of Dubai, with one again running under the MS7 by WRT banner. It brings the number of Audis on the entry list up to eight, with other entries from Car Collection Motorsport, Attempto Racing and Sainteloc Racing.

***Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland will be on the support bill for the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year, with the Circuit de la Sarthe hosting the third event of the season. Other rounds will be held in support of ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben, Most, Nürburgring, Zandvoort, Hockenheimring, Sachsenring and DTM at Norisring.

***Lamborghini Squadra Corse and Pertamina Lubricants have renewed their partnership for the next two seasons in both the GT3 and Super Trofeo championships. The collaboration between Lamborghini’s motorsport division and one of Pertamina’s subsidiary company dates back to 2015, when the first Huracán GT3 was presented.