22 March 2017
Melbourne, 22 March 2017 – A first-class backdrop this weekend for the Australian GT Championship, which moves to Melbourne after the opening in Adelaide. With four races, the Australian Grand Prix Formula 1 support race is set to be held in the Australian capital, on the Albert Park track. Three Ferraris are in the running, in two different categories.
GT3 class. Two Ferrari cars have been entered into the main GT3 category of the race. The Maranello Motorsport team, which recently won the 12 Hours of Bathurst, is putting the 488 GT3 back on the track, in the hands of Peter Edwards. Having demonstrated its remarkable potential, this car will now have to compete against models from five other manufacturers. The other car entered in this class is the 458 Italia GT3, owned by the Rosso Verde racing team, entrusted to Hector Lester and Benny Simonsen, a pair of expert drivers who have both won in Albert Park previously, in 2008 and in 2016 respectively.
Invitational Class. Another 458 Italia GT3 is enrolled in the Invitational Class, owned in this instance by the Mark Roofing Products team, with Wayne Mack behind the wheel. Over the years, this Ferrari has won seven times in Melbourne, with the first victory back in 2008, thanks to the Coopers team F430 GT3 driven by John Bowe. The latest victory was celebrated by this 458 Italia GT3 just last year, courtesy of Benny Simonsen at the wheel of the 488 GT3 owned by the DeFelice Homes team.
Programme. The qualifying and the first of the four races are scheduled to take place on Thursday at 3:40 pm local time (5:40 CET). We then continue with race two on Friday (10:45 am local, 00:45 CET), race three on Saturday (12:05 pm local, 2:05 CET) and race four on Sunday (11:30 am local, 1:30 CET). The races will be live streamed on the championship website.