Title defence for Emery

It came right down to the wire, but at the end of the Laser Plumbing & Electrical Hampton Down 500 in New Zealand, Audi R8 LMS driver, Geoff Emery was once again able to hold the Australian GT Championship trophy aloft.

A charging drive from co-driver, three-time Bathurst winner Garth Tander, saw the Valvoline Jamec Pem R8 LMS take hit lead with 13 laps of the 95 lap race to go, and was never bettered to clinch the 2018 championship for Emery.

The weekend didn’t start well for Emery and Tander, with driveshaft issues keeping the team off the pace. But by late in the lap count, any technical issues were a distant memory and Tander was on the pace, battling with the Porsche GT3 of Liam Talbot and Martin to get the lead.

In the end, an aggressive ‘do or die’ move from Tander saw him slip down the inside of the Porsche on Turn 1, and the rest as they say, is history.

The title win marks the fourth for Audi Sport customer racing Down Under, with Mark Eddy taking the title in 2011, followed by Christopher Mies in 2015, and then Emery’s first title last year. “Coming back to the start of the race I thought we might be on for a podium at best,” Emery told Speedcafe after the race. “But Garth had good pace at the end of the race and all of a sudden we were in with a good chance,” said Emery.

Although more accustomed to V8 Supercars, Garth Tander has spent plenty of time behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS, including several stints in the Bathurst 12 Hour race.

Audi driving experience instructor, Daniel Gaunt, capped off a big year behind the wheel, to finish fourth with co-driver Tony Bates in the race. After himself, threatening for the lead, the fourth place at Hampton Downs was enough to give the pair a second in the Australian Endurance Championship behind Max Twigg and Tony D’Alberto.

Congratulations to all of the drivers for their respective performances throughout both championships.