Lucchitti and Ojeda give Mercedes GT win

Mercedes-Benz is on the board in the 2025 GT World Challenge Australia season after Paul Lucchitti and Jayden Ojeda delivered.

In a thrilling run home, Lucchitti held off Brad Schumacher and Elliott Schutte as just 1.4s covered the top three.

It is a big moment for Lucchitti and Ojeda as they have threatened all year, but have had to wait until the final race of the penultimate round.

Schumacher made a late pass on Schutte for second on the road, which could be big moment in the title race.

Ojeda led the way off the start after a side-by-side battle with Jaxon Evans to ensure the Mercedes controlled it from start to finish.

Meanwhile, Alex Peroni enjoyed a great launch, rising three spots to third, but he lost the podium place due to mechanical issues.

The race was now brought alive by a caution, setting up a 13-minute sprint to the flag.

Lucchitti led Schutte and Schumacher when the restart marked a 13-minute sprint to the finish.

The Mercedes was able to pull away from the Ferrari, which had more to think about behind.

Schumacher made his first lunge on Lap 21 and went deep at Turn 1, but Schutte covered and held firm.

Two laps later it was an instant replay with the Ferrari keeping the Audi at bay.

Further back Wyatt and Talbot were fighting hard to be in the top five

Talbot made a late lunge, but was not up far enough with contact, sending Wyatt, who was on the racing line, spinning into the weeds.

The Aston Martin driver swiftly received a 15s penalty after the optimistic move and was ruled out of contention.

Donaldson also suffered late drama, losing it on the exit of Turn 15, which saw him spear into the outside wall.

However, fans were still thrilled by a thrilling fight for victory, with the top three running nose to tail across the final three minutes.

On the penultimate lap Schumacher had a few looks at Schutte, but also could not get by.

It all came down to the final tour when it was third time lucky for Schumacher at Turn 1.

He braked as late as he could to dive down the inside of the Ferrari and snare second.

It is a timely and potentially defining manoeuvre as just one round awaits in the race for the title.

All the action saw Lucchitti could keep it clean and confirm a 0.7s win.

GT World Challenge Australia now heads to New Zealand for the first time at the end of October.

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