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Muscat & Mercedes take Australian GT title as big crowd enjoys racing at Highlands
Young Australian racer Richard Muscat took two race wins to secure his first Australian GT Championship title in front of a big crowd enjoying the first day of the two-day Highlands 101 event at Highlands Motorsport Park.
Muscat, who pilots the Erebus Motorsport GT Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, had to fend off a determined challenge from Highlands’ owner Tony Quinn and Australian V8 Supercar star Garth Tander to take the title. Muscat held a slim 32 point advantage over Quinn coming into this final two-race round, then Tander put Quinn’s VIP Petfoods Aston Martin on pole for the first 40-minute race, before Muscat made sure of his debut AGT title by winning both races – the first from Australian racing legend John Bowe in a Ferrari, the second from Quinn and Tander who set a new official race lap record of one minute, 32.357 seconds.
A big crowd of spectators – estimated to be more than last year’s record Saturday crowd – made the most of a stunning Central Otago day. In addition to the Australian GT Championship finale, people enjoyed on-track action from competitors preparing for tomorrow’s Highlands 101 feature race, the 1+01 endurance race and a field of German marques contesting the 10+1 Euromarque 11-lap sprint races. With Kiwi drift star ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett drifting the big 4.1 kilometre Highlands GT circuit for the first time, plus a stunning precision jump from a hovering helicopter by the Wanaka SkyDive team, spectacular aerobatics from local pilot and two-time New Zealand aerobatics champion Ivan Krippner, a new car motor show outside the Highlands museum and the opening of the brand-new Highlands safari park – a Jurassic Park-themed adventure playground – the many thousands of visitors had plenty of entertainment.
Highlands’ event marketing manager Melanie Kees was delighted to see the spectator numbers were up on last year.
“With the new spectator areas we’ve created since last year’s inaugural Highlands 101 event, it’s allowed people to spread out around the circuit and enjoy the racing and entertainment from various vantage points,” says Ms Kees. “The addition of a courtesy bus which circulates around all the spectator areas on a regular basis throughout the day proved hugely popular and allowed families to access and sample the new Highlands safari park which was an absolute hit and will be officially open to the public as a new Highlands attraction later this month.
“I believe we’ve shown that a motorsport event is not just for petrol-heads. It can be a fantastic day out for the whole family who can all enjoy the spectacular motor vehicles on and off the track. Having race stars such as three-time V8 Supercar champion Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander, John Bowe, Craig Baird and Shane van Gisbergen here is another real treat for many fans.”
Today’s action saw Christchurch’s Danny Whiting win the first 10+1 Euromarque race from Auckland’s Sam Fillmore and Queenstown’s Grant Aitken, all three driving Porsches. The second 10+1 Euromarque race win went to Fillmore, with Christchurch’s Paul Kelly taking second place and Whiting completing the podium. Qualifying for the 1+01 enduro, where drivers can elect to have a co-driver or race solo, sees Whiting on pole with Paul Kelly and Guy Stewart beside them on the front row, and Paul Kelly and Daniel Gaunt will start third on the grid.
Sunday’s schedule includes the weekend’s feature race, the Highlands 101, a 101-lap endurance race contested by around 35 Australian GT Championship and eligible Kiwi teams who must tackle a Le Mans-style running start before racing for three-and-a-bit gruelling hours. The 1+01 one-hour-plus-one lap endurance race will be contested by around 28 racers from across the South Island and as far afield as Auckland, and the final of the 11-lap 10+1 sprint races.
A detailed event schedule, entry lists and ticket information is available on the Highlands 101 page under Events on the website www.highlands.co.nz.