Peroni to finally race in Australia
Oscar Piastri’s former FIA Formula 3 Aussie rival, Alex Peroni will make a long awaited circuit racing debut on home soil in the GT World Challenge Australia.
Peroni will race for a Team BRM-run Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 at the season opener in Phillip Island next weekend on April 12-14.
The Tasmanian chased the Formula 1 dream and made it to Formula 3 in 2019 and stood on the podium three times before going to America.
In 2022 he made the switch from open-wheel racing to GT and he is excited to finally race back in Australia.
“It’s crazy, I’ve been circuit racing since 2015 and I’ve never raced in Australia or any tracks, so it’s a whole new challenge for me,” Peroni said.
“It’s good because I get to be home with my family in Tasmania, which is a big plus for me after being on my own on the other side of the world for the last nine years.
The Audi Alex Peroni will race at Phillip Island. Image: Supplied
“This opportunity kind of came out of the blue. Everyone in Europe needs big money for multiple years and it’s so hard to get into, so we tried our luck in Australia and spoke to a few people. We got onto Team BRM and Mark Rosser, but it’s really come out of nowhere.
“We met at the Grand Prix to finalise things very briefly and now we’re racing next week!
Peroni’s maiden F3 season ended early after a horrifying crash in Monza where he innocuously ran over a sausage kerb which shot him skywards and somersaulting at footbridge height before landing upside down on a tyre barrier and finally coming to rest in the catch fence.
He suffered a broken vertebra from the incident but returned for the following season in 2020 where he was joined by compatriots Oscar Piastri, Jack Doohan and Calan Williams, plus Kiwi Liam Lawson in 2020.
Peroni shared the podium with winner Piastri on F3 debut at Spielberg before also receiving the trophy two more times at Silverstone and Catalunya with a best result of second at the latter.
He eventually finished 10th in the championship before moving to America to take on Indy Lights.
Runner up Alexander Peroni and winner Oscar Piastri representing Australia with pride on the F3 podium at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images
Peroni was a regular top 10 finisher and broke through for a one and only top three result at Indianapolis, but aborted his campaign with three rounds to go to return to Europe.
In 2022 he jumped to GT racing and collected three top 10s in the European Le Mans Series driving an Oreca 07.
Last year he steered a Mercedes in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and had a best result of 32nd.
With this GT experience under his belt, BRM team owner Mark Rosser said Peroni impressed during a recent test.
“It’s very exciting to have Alex with me,” said Rosser.
“We did a test recently and now I’m looking forward to getting on track with him.
“The test went well. Our pace was good. We were both giving similar feedback and happy with where the car is at and confident that we’ll put on a good show.”
Main Photo by Colin McMaster
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