AUSTRALIAN GT ENDURANCE TITLE DECIDED IN DRAMATIC HIGHLANDS 501
Dominic Storey and Peter Hackett win Australian Endurance Championship – Photo: Rhys Vandersyde
The Australian GT Endurance Championship was taken out by Dominic Storey and Peter Hackett after a dramatic Highlands 501.
The Eggleston Motorsport duo lead the majority of the race, but still required a lot of luck to win the title, with Jaxon Evans and Tim Miles only having to finish to take home the trophy.
Unfortunately for the Audi pair, a small mistake at Southern Loop by Evans while he was in second, damaged the car with just 25 laps left in the race. The right rear wheel on the R8 GT3 cracked and broke clean off, leaving the car stranded in the middle of the track.
The Audi team working to repair Tim Miles and Jaxon Evans’s car – Photo: Rhys Vandersyde
The car was towed back the the pits where the car was repaired, however as much as the team tried, they couldn’t get the car to re-fire to complete the race even the last lap of the race. Handing the title to Storey and Hackett.
Storey and Hackett race wasn’t without issue though. With just six laps left in the race a camber bolt broke in the Mercedes Benz AMG GT-S GT3 while he was leading the race. He would make it back to the pits and to get the car repaired, resuming the race two laps behind the leaders. The sixth place finish enough to secure the Australian Endurance Championship title.
Tony D’Alberto and Max Twigg won the Highlands 501 – Photo: Rhys Vandersyde
Out in front Tony D’Alberto would benefit the issues with the other Mercedes to claim the lead of the race taking out the win with Max Twigg. Tony Quinn and Andrew Waite would finish second, while Adrian Deitz and Cameron McConville completed the podium.
Australian GT – Highlands 501 – Result
| 1. Tony D’Alberto/Max Twigg (Mercedes-AMG) | 121 laps |
| 2. Andrew Waite/Tony Quinn (McLaren) | +13.246 |
| 3. Cameron McConville/Adrian Deitz (Lamborghini) | +1 lap |
| 4. Justin McMillan/Glenn Wood (Lamborghini) | +1 lap |
| 5. Roger Lago/David Russell (Lamgorghini) | +1 lap |
| 6. Peter Hackett/Dominic Storey (Mercedes-AMG) | +2 laps |
| 7. Andrew MacPherson/Brad Shiels (Porsche) | +3 laps |
| 8. Mark Griffith/Scott Hookey (Mercedes-AMG) | +5 laps |
| 9. Matt Halliday/Andrew Bagnall (Audi) | +6 laps |
| *10. Jaxon Evans/Tim Miles (Audi — not classified) |
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