Kiwi Supercars driver Jaxon Evans and co-driver Elliott Schutte commanded the 34-lap opener from the front but had to dig deep to hang on in the closing stages as Jayden Ojeda launched a storming charge to finish just 0.2593s behind at the line.
Ojeda began the final stint down in sixth place but unleashed a blistering pace to fall just short of snatching a debut victory.
“Obviously, Jayden was coming home pretty fast, but this was down to Elliot’s hard work. He controlled the race from the start and managed the Safety Car restarts, so I just had to bring it home,” said Evans.
“It was pretty intense out there, the car was a bit loose, but this is awesome,” Schutte added.
The battle for the final podium spot also delivered plenty of drama. Kiwi pair Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles showcased their trademark consistency to secure third and finish on the podium after a cruel twist for Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher, who looked set for silverware following a rapid pit stop. A puncture on the final lap dashed their hopes, relegating the #888 entry to ninth.
That opened the door for Dorian Boccolacci and Shane Smollen to claim fourth, while Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser recovered impressively to round out the top five—no small feat after being sent to the rear of the grid from pole for running approximately 300g under the minimum fuel weight.
In the AM class, Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman were in a league of their own, controlling the category from start to finish as Renae Gracie was hit with a pit lane penalty.
Perfect conditions at Phillip Island greeted the field after an action-packed qualifying session. Fifteen cars lined up for the season opener, though the #111 of Grant Donaldson was a non-starter due to gearbox issues.
With Fraser out of contention for pole, the early fight for the lead was wide open. Pires capitalised with a brave move around the outside at Doohan Corner, giving the Mercedes an early advantage into Southern Loop. But the pace of the Ferrari saw Schutte reclaim the lead up the hill to Hayshed.
Behind them, Schumacher held station despite two aggressive lunges from Rosser at Miller Corner. Meanwhile, Talbot—starting from the back—wasted no time, setting the fastest lap while charging from last to ninth in just three laps.
The leaders were locked in a tight scrap, with just two seconds covering the top five before a Safety Car was deployed at the 16-minute mark to retrieve Woodman’s spun car at Miller Corner.
Rosser finally got the better of Schumacher on Lap 14 at his third attempt, executing a clean dive at Miller Corner to move into third as the first stint came to a close.
With no pit stop compensation times applied for the opening race, this would be the most straightforward contest of the year.
The pit lane opened at Lap 13, and Am drivers were first to dive in, led by Gracie and Koundouris. Three laps later, the Pro field followed en masse, causing congestion and a few close calls—most notably Smollen narrowly avoiding contact on pit entry.
However, there was contact in the fast lane when Peroni was released directly into King’s path. The resulting incident earned the #268 a 10-second penalty.
Following the cycle of stops, Evans retained the lead in the #26 Arise Racing Ferrari, with Feeney jumping from fourth to second for #888. Peroni, King, and Leitch rounded out the top five.
Just minutes later, another safety car was needed when Ryan Wood came to a stop, setting up a tense restart.
Once racing resumed, Peroni, Boccolacci, Ojeda, and Leitch fought for third, with the Mercedes driver making up the most ground.
Boccolacci slipped to sixth as Leitch made a move for fourth at Siberia—only for Ojeda to respond almost immediately, reclaiming the position and then dispatching Leitch shortly after.
With Leitch losing momentum, the top four began to break away—separated by just 1.2 seconds heading into the final 12 minutes.
Though Peroni’s penalty would eventually drop him from contention, he further hindered his chances by running wide at Siberia, handing third place to Ojeda, who wasn’t done yet.
The Mercedes driver kept pushing, going toe-to-toe with Feeney through Miller Corner and MG before emerging ahead to take second place.
Ojeda now had one target left: Evans. With seven minutes remaining and a two-second gap to bridge, he slashed the margin to under a second within half that time.
Evans responded in style, delivering his fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour to protect his lead.
With just half a second between them at the start of the final lap, Ojeda threw everything he had at Evans—forcing the Ferrari driver to defend at MG—but the gap remained just out of reach, and Evans held on for a tense win.
New Zealanders Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks came home in 13th place after Brooks lost several laps when their Audi became stranded at the Southern Loop. Meanwhile, both Mercedes-AMGs driven by Theo and James Koundouris, along with the Kiwi pairing of Paul and Ant Pedersen, failed to finish the race.
A great start to the GT World Challenge Australia season for the Kiwis with Brendon Leitch and Tim Miles on the podium alongside race 1 winner Evans/Schutte!
The action continues with Race 2 of the GT World Challenge at 3:45 NZT on Sunday.
GT World Challenge Australia Race 1 Results:
- 1 J.Evans/E.Schutte PA 01:00:08.9034
- 2 J.Ojeda/P.Lucchitti PA 01:00:09.1627
- 3 B.Leitch/T.Miles PA 01:00:14.9859
- 4 D.Boccolacci/S.Smollen PA 01:00:15.3527
- 5 D.Fraser/L.Talbot PA 01:00:21.5888
- 6 J.Love/S.Wyatt PA 01:00:21.9870
- 7 A.Peroni/M.Rosser PA 01:00:29.3807
- 8 G.King/S.Pires PA 01:00:37.7029
- 9 B. Feeney/B.Schumacher PA 01:00:41.0885
- 10 B.Schoots/S.Woodman AM 01:00:50.6379
- 11 T.D’Alberto/A.Deitz PA 01:00:55.1397
- 12 Renee Gracie AM 01:01:32.1206
- 13 Steve Brooks PA 01:01:36.6040
- DNF J.Koundouris/T.Koundouris AM 53:46.5781
- DNF A.Pedersen/P.Pedersen PA 44:21.6335
Header Image: AutoAction
