Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia drivers have made their final race preparations ahead of the Porsche series’ second Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race of the season, with points leader Cooper Murray topping the times at Queensland Raceway.
Murray was trailed on the timesheets by fellow young guns Simon Fallon, Luis Leeds, Max Vidau, Chelsea Angelo and Jimmy Vernon across Friday practice.
“I’ve been here in the Formula Ford before, which gives me a bit of an edge, but it is my first time here in a Porsche. Thankfully, it hasn’t taken me too long to adapt,” said Murray.
“The team will no doubt give me a great car to last the 50 minutes in race one, as they did at Tailem Bend. I really enjoy the longer races; it’s not just ‘go out there and race as hard as you can’; there are tactics involved and you have to take a more measured approach throughout the race. I’m really looking forward to the long distance race and Sunday’s two sprint races.”
Brett Boulton was the best-performing Pro-Am driver at his home track as he looks to bridge the mid-season points margin to Pro-Am leader Danny Stutterd. Michael Hovey was the second quickest Pro-Am driver on Friday from Stutterd and Scott Taylor.
Meanwhile, Tom Taplin and Christian Pancione were the best of Class B on Friday, followed by Andrew Goldie and David Grieg.
Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia will start Saturday with the sole qualifying session, which will determine the grid for the endurance-style race one. Race two and race three will then be held on Sunday, both of which are available to view live on the Shannons Nationals live stream at www.thenationals.com.au.
Race Schedule
Saturday July 28
11:45am Qualifying (20 minutes)
2:30pm Race 1 (60 minutes)
Sunday July 29
09:30am Race 2 (20 minutes)
11:45am Race 3 (20 minutes)
Results: Practice times (combined P1 & P2)
1. #36 Cooper Murray (Pro) Lodge Bros Racing 1:11.2728
2. #96 Simon Fallon (Pro) Sonic Motor Racing 1:11.4130 (0:00.1402)
3. #230 Luis Leeds (Pro) OPS Gateway 1:11.4430 (0:00.1702)
4. #77 Max Vidau (Pro) Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts 1:11.4885 (0:00.2157)
5. #38 Chelsea Angelo (Pro) PAYCE/Wilson Security 1:11.8201 (0:00.5473)
6. #7 Jimmy Vernon (Pro) McElrea Racing 1:11.8800 (0:00.6072)
7. #84 Brett Boulton (Pro-Am) Bold Living 1:12.3853 (0:01.1125)
8. #73 Michael Hovey (Pro-Am) Triffid Bar & Venue 1:12.4187 (0:01.1459)
9. #23 Daniel Stutterd (Pro-Am) The Porsche Broker 1:12.4833 (0:01.2105)
10. #2 Dan Day (Pro) Tectaloy UNLMTD Racing 1:12.6471 (0:01.3743)
11. #222 Scott Taylor (Pro-Am) Scott Taylor Motorsport 1:12.6901 (0:01.4173)
12. #26 Tom Taplin (Class B) Taplin Real Estate 1:13.0730 (0:01.8002)
13. #21 Shane Barwood (Pro-Am) Melbourne Orthopaedic Group 1:13.1937 (0:01.9209)
14. #76 Christian Pancione (Class B) VCM Performance 1:13.7609 (0:02.4881)
15. #22 Andrew Goldie (Class B) Woodford Trailers 1:13.7897 (0:02.5169)
16. #99 Ross McGregor (Pro-Am) Southern Star Windows 1:13.8123 (0:02.5395)
17. #27 Sam Fillmore (Pro-Am) 1:13.8375 (0:02.5647)
18. #87 David Greig (Class B) 1:14.0746 (0:02.8018)
19. #88 Phil Morriss (Class B) Morriss Racing Services 1:14.7350 (0:03.4622)
20. #131 Graham Williams (Pro-Am) Sonic / Williams Racing 1:15.1812 (0:03.9084)
21. #20 Tony Martin (Class B) Triffid Bar+Venue 1:16.0418 (0:04.7690)