Aussie GT racing on the rise

The GT World Challenge Australia returns at QR this weekend, but it has big plans for the future with the assistance of its global partner, SRO.

GT racing in Australia is curious beast. The cars are drop dead gorgeous, the sort of cars that kids put on walls and salivate about driving. The field are strong but not bursting at the seams, but then what class other than Aussie Racing cars is? 

The racing is good too, and now that GT4 is coming on strong to support GT3, the overall package is improving. We expect more GT4 cars to keep hitting the track, eventually outnumbering the significantly more expensive GT3 cars, and that can only be good for the ‘show’. 

Part of the surge of interest stems from the restructure of the local operations with a greater role from the SRO Group, the international custodians of GT racing, and further alignment with the international series, which already has its 2025 calendar confirmed and announced. 

Ben McMellan is the CEO of SRO Motorsport Australia, and he’s been in that role for nine months after five years with the Australian Racing Group, and he in charge of the show. 

“It’s obviously still very early stages, I guess,” he says of SRO taking charge of GT racing in Australia.

“I know GT3 racing in Australia has been around for a long while, but for what we’re doing and what we’re trying to achieve, it’s not even halfway through the first year for us. 

“I think we’re still very much in the growth phase and I think we will be for the next year or two as well. But there’s a lot of positivity around. I think grids will continue to grow.

“It won’t happen overnight, but we’ll continue to grow throughout the year and into next year, for sure.

“GT4 is in the first year of the Monochrome GT4 championship, and this year I think has probably exceeded everybody’s expectations.

“We started with 18 cars and that will continue to grow for sure. We’ve got some more cars arriving in the country throughout this year and some existing cars that will come online too. 

“So, I’d like to hope we’ll be in the 20s in the next round or two and hold that throughout the rest of the year and hopefully continue to grow into the mid-20s for the start of next year. That is our goal.”

Image: RACE PROJECT

READ THE FULL FEATURE IN THE PIASTRI VICTORY ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION DIGITAL HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.