The 2012 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to GT style closed production based sports cars which were either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs.[1]
It was the 16th Australian GT Championship, the twelfth to be contested over a multi-event championship, and the eighth to be contested since the title was revived in 2005.
The series had a new owner for 2012, with seasoned GT racer Tony Quinn taking over the series towards the end of the 2011 season.
The championship was won by Klark Quinn driving a Porsche 911 GT3-R.
Divisions
After consolidation from three divisions to two in 2011, the 2012 series saw an expansion to four divisions, based on vehicle eligibility and specification.[1]
Teams and drivers
The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 Australian GT Championship.
| Driver | Co-driver | Team | No. | Vehicle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | ||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mark Eddy |
Warren Luff |
1 | Audi R8 LMS | |
| Nathan Tinkler |
Hunter Motorsports | 3 | Porsche 997 GT3-R | |
| Kevin Weeks |
Steve Owen |
Supaloc Racing | 5 | Ford GT |
| Rod Salmon |
6 | Audi R8 LMS | ||
| Martin Wagg |
Eggleston Motorsport | 7 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | |
| Peter Edwards |
 Allan Simonsen John Bowe Jonny Reid |
Maranello Motorsport | 8 88 |
Ferrari 458 GT3 |
| Nick O'Halloran |
Allan Simonsen Cameron McConville |
Maranello Motorsport | 8 | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
| Neale Muston |
Excalibur Racing | 9 | Porsche 997 GT3-R | |
 Tony Quinn |
VIP Petfoods Racing | 11 | Ferrari 458 GT3 Mosler MT900 GT3 | |
| Klark Quinn |
VIP Petfoods Racing | 12 | Porsche 997 GT3-R | |
| Peter Conroy |
James Winslow |
Peter Conroy Motorsport | 14 | Audi R8 LMS |
| Ash Samadi |
Dean Grant |
Team ASR | 22 | Lamborghini Gallardo Mosler MT900 GT3 |
| Roger Lago |
David Russell |
JBS | 23 | Lamborghini Gallardo |
| Jim Manolios |
Rod Wilson |
Trofeo Motorsport | 29 | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3R |
| Ben Eggleston |
Eggleston Motorsport | 38 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | |
| Tony Defelice [3]
|
Renato Loberto [3] |
Defelice Homes | 49 | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
James Brock Maro Engel Thomas Jäger Bernd Schneider |
Erebus Racing | 62 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Mosler MT900 GT3 | |
| Peter Hackett |
Erebus Racing | 63 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG | |
| Paul Morris |
Paul Morris Motorsport | 67 | Aston Martin DBRS9 | |
| John Briggs |
Briggs Motor Sport | 70 | Mosler MT900 GT3 Audi R8 LMS | |
| Greg Crick |
75 | Dodge Viper Competition | ||
| Trophy | ||||
| Andrew Taplin |
Supaloc Racing | 2 | Lamborghini Gallardo | |
| Ian Palmer |
Palmer Promotions | 20 | Dodge Viper | |
| Jordan Ormsby |
61 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | ||
| Dean Koutsoumidis |
Andrew McInnes |
71 | Lamborghini Gallardo | |
| Challenge | ||||
| Stephen Grove |
4 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | ||
 Jacky Yeung |
ULX110 Custom Blend Oils | 13 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | |
| Keith Wong |
Kiang-Kuan Wong |
ULX110 Custom Blend Oils | 15 | Porsche 996 GT3-R |
| Peter Boylan |
Boylan Group | 21 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | |
| John Modystach |
26 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | ||
| Brenton Griguol |
Cameron Wearing |
69 | Ferrari 360 Challenge | |
| Jan Jinadasa |
77 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup | ||
| Sports | ||||
| Graham Lusty |
Darrell Dixon |
G & D Wheels | 24 | Nissan GT-R R35 |
| Darren Berry |
Paul Stokell Keith Kassulke |
Williams Race Services | 50 | Ginetta G50 HC |
Race calendar
The championship was contested over a seven round series.[4]
| Rd. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | Trophy | Challenge | Sports | ||||
| 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit[5] | Adelaide, South Australia | 1–4 March | Klark Quinn | Jordan Ormsby | Jan Jinadasa | Darren Berry |
| 2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit[6] | Phillip Island, Victoria | 25–27 May | Greg Crick | Andrew Taplin | Jan Jinadasa | Darren Berry |
| 3 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria[7] | 22–24 June | Peter Hackett | Andrew Taplin | Peter Boylan | no entries |
| 4 | Sydney Motorsport Park | Sydney, New South Wales | 13–15 July | Peter Hackett | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes |
Jan Jinadasa | Graham Lusty |
| 5 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 21–23 September | Maro Engel | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes |
Rob Knight Marcus Marshall |
no entries |
| 6 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 19–21 October | Klark Quinn | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes |
Michael Almond | Darren Berry |
| 7 | Homebush Street Circuit | Sydney, New South Wales | 30 November–2 December | Bernd Schneider | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes |
Scott Taylor | no entries |
Season summary (as at the end of Round 3)
After the first three rounds of the series Porsche driver Klark Quinn leads the Championship Division by just one point over Mercedes driver Peter Hackett. Quinn started the series well winning both races at the Adelaide Street Circuit while Hackett won both races at Round 3 at Winton as well as taking Race 1 at Round 2 Phillip Island. Dodge Viper driver Greg Crick took the other win in the wet at Phillip Island where Hackett's team mate James Brock crashed. Brock had been second but now sits fifth having driven a Mosler at Winton while his Mercedes was repaired. Crick is fourth while Ferrari driver Peter Edwards sits third, thanks to the help of co-drivers Allan Simonsen, John Bowe and Jonny Reid.
Lamborghini drivers dominate the Trophy class with Andrew Taplin leading the co-driving pair of Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes by six points with Porsche driver Jordan Ormsby third.
Porsche driver Jan Jinadasa, the only driver to attend all three rounds, leads Challenge over fellow Porsche driver Peter Boylan and Ferrari driver Brenton Griguol.
Darren Berry's Ginetta has been the only entrant in the Sports class.
Points system
Points were awarded in each division for each qualifying session and each race at each round according to the following table. Points were allocated according to positions attained in each division rather than for outright positions.[1]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | All other finishers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualifying | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Races | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Championship results
The 2012 winners were:
- GT Championship – Klark Quinn (Porsche GT3-R)[8]
- GT Trophy – Koutsoumidis & McInnes (Lamborghini Gallardo GT3)[9]
- GT Challenge – Jan Jinadasa (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car)[10]
- GT Sports – Darren Berry (Ginetta G50 GT4)[11]
Results
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2012 Australian Tourist Trophy
The 2012 Australian Tourist Trophy was awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the driver accumulating the highest aggregate points total from the Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park rounds of the Australian GT Championship.[12] The title, which was the 23rd Australian Tourist Trophy,[12] was won by Peter Hackett driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.[12]
References
- 1 2 3 2012 Australian GT Championship Sporting and Technical Regulations, www.camsmanual.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 3 4 About Australian GT, www.australiangt.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 Australian GT Championship (Phillip Island): Saturday Race, September 22nd, 2012, www.ausmotive.com, as archived at web.archive.org
- ↑ Australian GT Events Archived 15 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from www.australiangt.com.au on 4 March 2012
- 1 2 "Adelaide Parklands Circuit 04/03/2012 2012 Clipsal 500 Adelaide". National Software. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
- 1 2 "Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit 27/05/2012 2012 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championship – Round 3". National Software. 27 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ↑ "Winton Motor Raceway 24/06/2012 2012 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championship – Round 4". National Software. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 GT Championship, www.australiangt.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 3 4 GT Trophy, www.australiangt.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 3 4 GT Challenge, www.australiangt.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 3 4 GT Sports, www.australiangt.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
- 1 2 3 Australian Titles, 2015 CAMS Manual of Motor Sport, as archived at web.archive.org