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Talbot, Ojeda Split Sydney Poles
Shannons Audi driver Liam Talbot and Harrold’s Racing/Volante Rosso Motorsport Mercedes pilot Jayden Ojeda have split the pole positions for this weekend’s two Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS races at Sydney Motorsport Park.
In the first qualifying session for Am drivers, Talbot was on top from the first flying laps, continuing to improve the marker for the rest of the field to chase as the session progressed and tyres came up to pressure.
A 1m 28.1797s gave the Shannons Audi pole by almost a second in a dominant performance from Yasser Shahin in the EMA Motorsport/The Bend Motorsport Park Porsche he’ll share with Garnet Patterson.
Rounding out the top five in the first qualifying session were Geoff Emery for Jamec Racing, and Princes Abu Bakar and Jeffri Ibrahim respectively for Triple Eight Race Engineering/JMR.
Brad Schumacher was the fastest qualifier in GT3 Am, with the Schumacher Motorsport/Kelso Electrical Audi qualifying a strong sixth outright.
The Pro drivers then stepped in for the second qualifying session, with Richie Stanaway setting the early pace in his Triple Eight Race Engineering/JMR Mercedes with a 1m 27.1986s ahead of teammate Jamie Whincup.
It looked set to remain a Triple Eight front-row lockout for the Sunday race, however local hero Jayden Ojeda took pole away from Stanaway’s improved time of 1m 26.8878s with his last flying lap of a 1m 26.7325s, besting the New Zealander by a tenth and a half.
Whincup moved back to the second row following Ojeda’s late lap, and will have Max Hofer alongside in fourth in the Jamec Racing Audi, with Garth Walden an impressive fifth, and top GT3 Am qualifier in the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes he’ll share with Michael Sheargold.
Paul Lucchitti claimed pole in GT3 Trophy for both races in his Realta/Tigani Motorsport Audi R8 LMS Ultra in fifteenth and sixteenth outright respectively after Renee Gracie was unable to set a time in both sessions.
The Invitational KTM GT XBOW of David Crampton/Trent Harrison will start from seventeenth and fourteenth outright respectively in the weekend’s two races, whilst the GT4 Mercedes of Mark Griffith qualified in sixteenth and seventeenth respectively.
Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS next return to the track for Race One at 2:55pm tomorrow, before their second and final race of the weekend at 10:45am on Sunday.
Both races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.