Queensland Raceway Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Round 5

Published on the 8th of August 2017 by McElrea Racing

After a successful round with both Anthony and Brett on the podium last time out at Sydney Motorsport Park, we were very keen to back that up at our home circuit, Queensland Raceway.

We had tested the week before and confident the boys could fulfil their respective goals. That was for Anthony to get to the lead of the 'Elite' drivers championship, and Brett back on the podium.

Anthony Gilbertson

GT3 Cup Challenge 'Elite Class' 1st, 5th, 1st

Anthony did a great job in qualifying to be on Elite class pole and 3rd outright. In the 40 lap Jim Richards Endurance opening race he drove an impeccable race to pull clear of Karytinos and championship rival Shahin.

We suspect the team-mates from Adelaide hatched a cunning plan to jointly wear Gilbo down to benefit Shahin’s campaign. Unfortunately, he was simply too fast and they couldn’t keep up! The race win gave him the lead in the ‘elite’ drivers championship.

Race 2 wasn’t as kind to Anthony with a spin at turn 6 putting him down the order. The silver lining was he was only one place behind Shahin and only lost 3 points off his lead.

In the final race of the weekend, he drove a blinder first lap then caught and passed Karytinos, then crucially, Shahin to win his second race and take the round win.

Brett Boulton

GT3 Cup Challenge 'Elite Class' DNF, 3rd, 4th

Brett's impressive form continued from Sydney Motorsport Park, with him qualifying in a very strong 3rd in Elite class and 5th outright. 'Blisters' got a ripper start and had a great first half of the first lap. Had he not been backwards on the grass doing 200 kph when he momentarily passed Anthony for third place, he was likely to be on form for another good result!

Once in the rather urgent predicament, he used his lightning reactions and abundant skill to keep #84 off the wall. Unfortunately there was damage to the right rear wheel which required a tilt-tray trip back to the pits.

After having the mickey taken out of him by his (less than sympathetic) team mate, in race 2 Brett drove a great race and was able to turn the tables on Gilbo by finishing 3rd in Elite class ahead of Shahin and Gilbo.

He had a slightly less exciting run in race three but another great result with 4th in elite ahead of some very experienced GT3CC drivers.

Summary

Obviously we are rapt for Anthony to take another round win and finally get to the lead of the Elite Drivers Championship. It was especially rewarding for him to have such a great result at his home track with his friends and family in attendance. He now has a narrow 7 point lead over Sam Shahin leading in to the final round at Phillip Island in 5 weeks, so it’s going to be a nail-biter till the last lap of the last season!

Despite an absolute stand-out rookie season in GT3CC, Brett has made the unusual decision to miss the final round at Phillip Island to attend his own wedding... Obviously the team are very disappointed after offering many solutions including a race track wedding or penguin inspired shindig!

Nevertheless, we will miss his sense of humour at PI but look forward to giving him a red hot crack at a Championship in 2018 and we wish 'the big maan' and the lovely Arlia all the best.

We hope to see you for the GT3CC final at Phillip Island. In the meantime we will go and do round 2 of the Australian Endurance Championship at Sydney Motorsport Park with Fraser and Luffy.