CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli opener declared ‘complete success’

The inaugural round of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli has been labelled a “complete success” by Category Manager Ken Collier.

Fans witnessed a competitive grid of 16 cars across all three classes as they descended on Sandown for the opening round of the CAMS Shannons Nationals.

Sunday’s free live stream also proved hugely popular, broadcasting both Races 1 and 2 of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli in full to fans around the globe.

Greg Taylor and Barton Mawer (Adina Apartment Hotels Audi R8) claimed the Trophy Class victory in both races, but not before having to battle with rivals Garth Rainsbury/Ben Porter (Melbourne Performance Centre Dodge Viper) and the impressive Lamborghini of Matthew Turnbull (Fire Rating Solutions).

The addition of the MARC Cars Class provided an exciting new dimension to the racing and gave the Australian-made purpose built racers a warm welcome into their new home in the domestic racing scene.

At the wheel of a MARC V8, Jake Camilleri showed the huge potential the cars possess, remaining in contention at the front of the field throughout the weekend.

The exciting combination of Morgan Haber/Jimmy Vernon proved they’ll be ones to watch in future too while a three-way battle between Tony Alford, Michael Benton/Ryan McLeod and Geoff Taunton/Sam Gerrard kept the fans on their feet.

Making his debut at Sandown, Scott Hookey (Exotic Track Days) showed he’s a strong contender for the Challenge Class title with a near perfect weekend.

Hookey’s performance was one of the highlights of the weekend as the Ferrari 458 Challenge ran door to door with Trophy and MARC Class rivals.

“The first round of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli was a complete success,” commented Ken Collier, Australian GT Category Manager.

“We had 16 competitors join us at Sandown for first round of the CAMS Shannons Nationals and they put on some fantastic racing across the weekend.

“I believe at Round 2 we’ll have more competitors again; the word is already out about how successful the opening round was!”

The second round of the CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series presented by Pirelli will be held at Winton Motor Raceway on June 11-12.