National motorsport competition will return to Mallala this weekend when the Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS) stages its second round, with the brand-new GT-1 Australia category to be the main drawcard.
GT-1, which was launched last month, has attracted a mix of manufacturers including Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Ginetta, along with several locally-developed MARC cars.
Flying the flag for Audi will be Steve McLaughlin, Rod Salmon, Gary Higgon, Matt Stoupas and Rio Nugara, while Jamie Arraton, John Nikolovski and Scott Hookey will be in Ferraris.
Rick Mensa and John Morriss will race Porsche Cup cars, while Brenton Griguol has entered his Lamborghini and Mark Griffith will run a Ginetta.
Keith Kassulke and Jake Camilleri will be behind the wheel of the latest MARC II cars, with local driver John Goodacre entered in a first-generation MARC car along with Adam Hargreaves.
The inaugural GT-1 round will consist of a pair of 50-minute races and in a new initiative, the category will utilise a “Code 60” protocol for dealing with recoveries as an alterative to Safety Car conditions.
GT-1 will be joined on the program by a selection of national and local categories.
Following on from a successful opening round at Winton, the Legend Cars Australia category makes the trek to South Australia, with James Burge firmly establishing himself as the driver to beat.
Burge clean-swept the Winton races and heads to Mallala with the points lead in the “Race to the US” competition, which presents the series winner with a fully-funded trip to America to compete in the Legend Car Nationals.
The Miniature Race Cars also head south-west after a feisty display at Winton. Future Racer driver Chad Cotton leads the standings from Aussie Racing Car pilots Craig McWhite and Peter Klein, while defending Champion Jase Collins will be aiming to bounce back after a tough weekend at Winton.
In the IROC Challenge/Classic Porsche category, Sven Burchartz and Greg Keene will resume hostilities after a tight battle at Winton. Burchartz holds a slender points lead but South Aussie racer Keene has the benefit of local knowledge.
Following an entertaining display at Winton involving a huge variety of cars, the Combined Sedans category appears on the program at Mallala with a mix of vehicles including Aussie Racing Utes, Group 4/Super 6 Touring Cars and other invited vehicles.
Former V8 Utes competitor Charlie Kovacs has entered, while speedway competitor Clint Henderson makes his debut in the category.
The AMRS also welcomes a couple of local South Australian categories – Formula Vee and Excels – to be a part of the program.
Spectator admission for the weekend is free, while Sunday’s action will be live-streamed via Blend Line TV.
