By Tarek Ramchani
A day to remember for Audi driver Nathan Antunes and the whole Audi Sport customer racing squad in Adelaide. Double victory for the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the opening two Australian GT Championship races at the Cliplsal 500. All of the other Audi teams were fast and performed well in a demanding field with strong rivals representing various brands.
In Race 1 a total of four Audi cars made it into the Top 6. Nathan Antunes took a great victory with his Melbourne Performance-run Skwirk/Beechwood Homes Audi R8 LMS ultra. Nathan Antunes crossed the checkered flag victorious ahead of the second placed Porsche 997 GT3 R.
Another Audi entry also did very well, the R8 LMS from Greg Taylor Racing. The car in the hands of Greg Taylor and Barton Mawer took a sensational third place and the Trophy class win.
Fourth place overall went to the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Eva Racing/Evolve Technik. Peter Fitzgerald took a third place within the Championship class.
The best of the two JAMEC-PEM Racing Audis was sixth overall. The #74 R8 LMS ultra shared by Audi works driver Christopher Mies and Greg Crick.
The #19 Audi R8 LMS of team Griffith Corporation Motorsport narrowly missed the Top 10. Mark Griffith finished the 30-minute sprint race in eleventh place overall and in a strong second within the Trophy class.
The second JAMEC-PEM Racing Audi entry was sixteenth. The #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Steven McLaughlan and Steven Johnson.
Nathan Antunes was victorious in Race 2 as well. The #6 Skwirk/Beechwood Homes Audi R8 LMS ultra looked unstoppable in Adelaide today.
The #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Eva Racing/Evolve Technik took strong fifth place overall with driver Peter Fitzgerald.
The #75 Audi from JAMEC-PEM Racing led the 60-minute race, but had a spin in the closing stages with Steven Johnson behind the wheel. He recovered and ended in seventh place overall sharing the car with Steven McLaughlan.
Their team-mates at JAMEC-PEM Racing, Christopher Mies and Greg Crick, were eighth with the #74 Audi R8 LMS ultra
Mark Griffith took third place within the Trophy class driving the #19 Griffith Corporation Motorsport Audi R8 LMS. As was the case in Race 1, Mark Griffith finished Race 2 in eleventh overall.
Greg Taylor Racing drivers Greg Taylor and Barton Mawer were sixteenth overall with their #38 Audi R8 LMS.
The third and final race of the weekend is set for Sunday in Adelaide. We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi teams and drivers.
Photo credit: Australian GT
