Sandown produces SpeedSeries stunners

It has been a super Saturday at Sandown with the SpeedSeries producing some special scenes.

The best was saved for last, as just seven tenths covered the entire podium after an hour of racing in GT World Challenge Australia.

Leading the pack in a thrilling finish were championship leaders Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte, holding on to take a classic win in Arise Racing #26 Ferrari 296.

Evans had his elbows out and prevailed in a tense final stint with a pair of Melbourne Performance Centre Audis breathing down his neck.

Ryan Wood and Steven Brooks (#88 Audi) had to settle for second best, just three tenths away, while Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher (#888 Audi) completed the podium that went by in a flash as all three cars took the chequered flag nose to tail.

There was drama as soon as the lights went out, with Schumacher snaring the lead despite going too deep through the first corner.

He still emerged in the lead and controlled the entire first stint, while it was on for second.

Behind the #888 Audi Liam Talbot and Schutte were banging doors to be the best of the rest.

After banging their way through turns 2-4 and disposing of some mirrors, Talbot put the Aston Martin into second.

Schutte ended up losing third to Brooks on Lap 2 before the field settled down until the pit stop cycle shook things up on Lap 19.

The winners of the stops appeared to be the #1 Volante Rosso Aston Martin as it emerged in front.

However, their race slipped away as young Brit Jamie Day lost track position and eventually a spin bouncing off the Turn 1 exit kerb consigned him to seventh.

This set up a five lap showdown with Evans holding off fellow Supercars stars Wood and Feeney for victory and the “Prancing Horse” had just enough legs to hold on.

George Miedecke and Rylan Gray celebrated another GT4 win. Image: SpeedSeries

There was also high drama in GT4 Australia as some spotfires helped Rylan Gray and George Miedecke return to victory lane.

Gray and Miedecke secured back-to-back triumphs by 10s, having controlled the majority of the 37-lapper held in changable conditions.

From pole, Gray took charge ahead of Cody Burcher, while Nash Morris was in the thick of the action, involved in separate incidents with Ryder Quinn and Aaron Cameron.

By the end of the first stint, Jarrod Hughes charged from fourth to second by passing Cameron and pouncing on a slide from Burcher.

But this still did not stop Burcher from handing over to Tim Leahy with the lead after the stops.

Just after the changes were made, the yellows were waved after Rob Love, Glenn Walker and Shane Smollen tripped over each other at Dandenong Road.

To add an extra complication, rain started to arrive during the charge to the chequered flag.

Leahey led, but Miedecke did not take long to snare the lead, and he then charged to glory.

Also on the move was his Silver Cup title rival Max Geoghegan, sharing the Method Motorsport McLaren with Tom Hayman, charge up to second on the road.

However, he snared the position by spinning Leahey at the first corner and a 15s penalty pushed the McLaren down to fourth.

This promoted Jarrod Hughes and Summer Rintoule to a hard-fought third straight podium with second.

Silver Am runners Dan Frougas and Tim Berryman secured an impressive third in their Toyota.

James Golding leads as James Moffat spears off. Image: Supplied

Having secured pole for Trans Am debut, but fell short of converting it last year, James Golding was thrilled to complete the job in 2025 and he did it in style.

Golding converted his blistering qualifying pace into a lights-to-flag victory by eight tenths in the Sandown opener.

Right behind him was Aaron Love, who carried on his impressive racing comeback by securing a close second, while another Trans Am newbie, Jordan Cox, rounded out the podium.

This pushed championship lead Todd Hazelwood to fourth, while Ben Grice completed the top five as Elliott Barbour made it two Camaros in the top 11.

The big loser of the race was James Moffat, who crawled to a halt after suffering radiator damage from spearing off on the exit of Turn 1.

This sparked a short Safety Car period and presented Golding with a challenge and despite a wide run through Turn 1 he was victorious.

“It was a pretty hectic race out there today. We weren’t really sure if the rain was going to come, but luckily it held off,” he said.

“After the safety car, we had a restart and I got a little carried away into Turn 1, just managed to hang onto it! In the end, I came away with the win, so I’m really stoked for the team.”

Also on show were Radical Cup Australia and Aussie (Ozzy) Racing Cars.

Some drivers may be forgiven for being a touch paranoid overnight as a thrilling fight for Aussie Racing Cars glory shapes up.

No less than three drivers are all tied at the top of the leaderboard for round honours.

After getting a win and a third each, Joel Heinrich and Kody Garland are leading the countback.

Meanwhile, a pair of runner-up finishes has also seen Caleb Paterson join them on 100 points.

It is also close to call in the Radicals as Cooper Cutts has edged five points clear of Peter Paddon.

Sandown SpeedSeries schedule

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