Audi wins GT opener

The Audi R8 LMS wins the first round of the Australian GT Endurance Championship.

Reigning GT champion Geoff Emery and Garth Tander have won the opening round of the Australian GT Endurance Championship championship at Phillip Island.

11 June, 2019

For Tander, the result was the third time he had driven the Audi R8 LMS to victory at Phillip Island

In what was a very busy weekend for Garth Tander, but one which saw he and current Australian GT Champion, Geoff Emery, clinch the opening round of the Australian GT Endurance Championship at Phillip Island.

For Tander, the result was the third time he had driven the Audi R8 LMS to victory at Phillip Island, and was perhaps a more pleasing result than the frustration he faced at times in the TCR Australian Championship where he also competed for Audi Sport customer racing, this time in the RS 3 LMS.

In the GT category, the pair of Emery and Tander started the three hour enduro from third on the grid and then went on to win by an impressive 22 seconds over their nearest rivals.

The race was not without drams, although nothing to compare with the incidents in the TCR throughout the weekend.

The race was red flagged after a driver was stuck in his car following a crash, and his retrieval ultimately led to a restart. From the restart it is was close racing for the most part between the Audi and a McLaren, but with the exception of a close call in pit lane towards the end of the race, the Audi remained comfortably in the lead to claim the race by a sizeable margin.

The result puts Emery on top of the standings going to South Australia for round Two of the series in July.

Audi wins GT opener

The Audi R8 LMS wins the first round of the Australian GT Endurance Championship.

The last lap

Audi accelerates F1 acquisition

Pioneers

Podium result in a thriller