Astuti hoping to bring Bentley back

Young gun Valentino Astuti is far from certain of bringing the fan-favourite Bentley back to GT World Challenge Australia this weekend despite being named on the entry list.

The SRO era of the Speed Series where the GTs take centre stage will kick off this weekend and an 18-car field featuring seven manufacturers will go racing.

One of them named has been Bentley, which has not been on the grid since Adelaide 2022.

Astuti turned heads by driving a Bentley Continental GT3 at last week’s SRO Motorsport test day in a #38 Bentley and got as high as seventh.

Despite the appearance, Mike Bailey’s Bentley is no certainty of racing

racing at this weekend’s Speed Series opener at Phillip Island.

Just days out Astuti and his KMR Motorsport team are on the entry list, but still looking for a co-driver and the funding required to front up at the opening round.

Astuti is a young talent to watching having won the 2022 Australian Formula Ford title, plus gained experience in GT World Challenge and Super3.

He hopes to one day build a GT international career with manufacturer support.

On the same day as being named on the entry list, Astuti is hopeful of his chances of racing at Phillip Island improving.

However, he confirmed that even if the Bentley does not appear this weekend, it should be seen at some stage in 2025.

“It is very last minute and the chances are 50-50 at this stage,” Astuti told Auto Action.

“There have been a lot of headaches trying to sort out how we are going to get the car to the round.

“My hopes are high and we wont stop pushing to make it happen, but you never know with funding and a still co-driver needed.

“We picked up the car the day before the media day, so it was all very, very last minute.

“The aim is that if we don’t make the first round we will make the second.”

The #1 has changed hands with Liam Talbot making the jump from Ferrari and Arise Racing to a new challenge at Aston Martin and Volante Rosso Motorsport.

Joining him is one of five Supercars drivers in Declan Fraser, who is keen to carry on his GT development after showing strong progress in a Triple Eight Mercedes last year.

Talbot is hoping to chase a third title in row with a different team and manufacturer.

Replacing the champion combination of Talbot and Chaz Mostert in the Arise Racing Ferrari are Aussie international Jordan Love and Steve Wyatt, whilst Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte suit up for a second season together.

Another driver looking to make history and be the first to win all three classes in GT World Challenge Australia is Brad Schumacher and he has some handy co-drivers by his side.

Schumacher will again be in a Melbourne Performance Centre Audi, but next to him will be a Triple Eight Supercars star.

Will Brown and Broc Feeney will split the co-driving duties doing three rounds each with the latter having the first crack.

Lamborghini is back with Tony D’Alberto added the assault.

Mercedes backed driver Jayden Ojeda threw down the gauntlet by topping the testing times in resounding fashion.

Ojeda in the Tigani Motorsport machine was the only driver to record 1m25s lap all day being six tenths clear of Evans.

His WAU teammate Ryan Wood will get a first taste of GT racing steering the Steve Brooks R8, while MPC’s fleet is completed by Kiwis Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles, who showed supreme pace at stages last year.

Leitch is not the only international star to look out for with Frenchman Dorian Boccolacci linking up with Shane Smollen in an EMA Porsche 992 GT3R, while Harry King is coming from England.

Am is set to be a battle between MPC’s Renee Gracie, Tigani Motorsport’s James and Theo Koundouris, 111 Racing’s Darren Currie and Grant Donaldson and more.

GT World Challenge Australia Round 1 entry list

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