Hayman/Geoghegan take GT4 opener
Tom Hayman and Max Geoghegan have won the GT4 Australia opener from pole, but they had to work hard for it at Phillip Island.
The #25 Method Motorsport McLaren Artura was as low as third in the early stages, but Hayman’s good use of the overcut and Geoghegan’s run home proved decisive.
They overcame impressive debutants Blake Purdie and Daniel Price, while Andrew Miedecke and Rylan Gray ensured the #100 Ford Mustang was on the podium.
Despite not going back to back following last year’s historic win, Miedecke would have been thrilled with third after luckily surviving a wild moment at the final corner.
Zoe Woods and Nash Morris worked hard for fourth, while Jarrod Hughes and Summer Rintoule made a stunning charge from last to the top five.
Penalties were a talking point with Jake Camilleri falling from third to 11th due to a pit stop infringement.
Sunny skies greeted a strong field of 29 cars and seven manufacturers for the opening race of the second season of GT4 Australia and a new era of Speed Series.
Purdie got a great jump from the rolling start and swooped in front of the field to create some history for Audi, giving the brand its laps led in the category.
Gray also got the jump on Hayman to ensure the Method Motorsport driver dropped from pole to third in the early stages.
But they were forced to scrap for second with the Purdie #48 Audi immediately skipping more than a second up the road.
Little split the Ford Mustang and McLaren Artura as they ran nose to tail across the opening minutes, while Nash Morris and Aaron Seton completed the top five.
It was not until Lap 6 when Hayman made his first move at MG and the duo ran side by side for three corners before Gray used the Mustang’s legs to defend the position.
Further back there were plenty of battles Hughes made up 14 spots in two laps having been forced to start from the back due to radiator damage after being “brake checked” in qualifying.
The Triple Eight driver completed his remarkable rise to the top 10 in just 12 laps, rising up to fifth.
The only car that suffered dramas was Courtney Prince, who had to head into the garage after five laps with dramas in the Ginetta.
It was a clean first stint with the only drama Lib Palermo off at Southern Loop.
The first driver to blink and pit was Gray, who handed over to Miedecke in the #100 Mustang after 13 laps from second.
This released Hayman into clean air and the McLaren driver made the most of it, cutting Purdie’s lead from 5s to 3s with personal best laps.
Meanwhile, Miedecke got caught in traffic and struggled to get around Morcom.
This ended in disaster as the Ford driver lost it coming out of the final corner, skating across the gravel before kissing the outside wall.
He lost over 10 spots and ended up down in 19th and out of victory contention, but was simply glad to survive with effectively no damage.
Purdie had built a 3s advantage before pitting, while Hayman stayed out a further two laps.
The overcut saw the leaders nose to tail at the start of the second stint with Price flying past in the Audi when Geoghegan left the pits.
This set up a 22 minute battle for the lead, but it was slightly ruined due to Price receiving a 10s penalty for speeding in the lane.
However, this did not stop them from going at it for track position.
On Lap 22 they made contact for the first time coming out of Siberia, while two laps later the battle reignited again.
Despite being in the middle of a gaggle of lapped cars the pair ran side by side through Southern Loop and it was not until Miller Corner where Geoghegan finally forced his way past and snatched the lead.
Even though they were busy battling, the top two still pulled away from the rest of the pack, which was critical as it allowed Price to retain second.
Camilleri was settled in third, but his race was also ruined by a stop-go penalty for pit stop infringement.
The #36 ended up serving the penalty with four minutes left and impressively it was Miedecke, who was in position to reap the rewards 15s back.
The #100 Ford had picked off the rivals one by one and soared ahead of Rintoule and Woods to be in position to stand on the podium.
Miedecke could not quite get close enough to snare second from Price, being 3s short.
Rintoule and Woods carried on their battle to secure fourth on the road all the way until the end.
The two female drivers ran bumper to bumper across the last five minutes with Woods holding on by half a second.
The top six were Silver class runners with the leading Silver Am entry Jason Gomersall and Aaron Seton, while James Lawrence comfortably claimed Am honours.
The second GT4 Australia race is at 10.30 AEST Sunday morning.
GT4 Australia Race 1 results
1: M. Geoghegan/T. Hayman 34 laps
2: D. Price.B. Purdie +11.8035
3: G. Miedecke/R. Gray +14.3230
4: Z. Woods/N. Morris +24.0967
5: S. Rintoule/J. Hughes +24.5208
Image: GT4
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