GT World Challenge Australia Phillip Island: Feeney and Schumacher survive early chaos to take flag-to-flag win

Kelso Electrical MPC claimed victory in Race 1 of the GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at Phillip Island, with Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher taking a hard-fought win after a chaotic one-hour race.

Feeney and Schumacher control the chaos

The race was hectic from start to finish, but Broc Feeney, driving the #1 Kelso Electrical MPC Audi R8 LMS GT3 alongside Brad Schumacher, kept things under control when it mattered most. In the final laps, he had Oscar Targett right on his tail in the #56 Kollosche AMG by Tigani Mercedes-AMG GT3, shared with Shane Smollen, and had to defend hard to stay ahead. In the end, Feeney held on to win by just 0.765 seconds.

Thomas Randle brought the #268 Castrol Team BRM Audi R8 LMS GT3 home in third, securing a strong result after earlier drama in the race. Co-driver Mark Rosser had spun following contact with Elliott Schutte in the #26 ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3. Schutte was later handed a 15-second penalty for the incident, while teammate Jaxon Evans still managed to bring the car home in fourth.

Early drama sets the tone

It was already messy from the opening lap. The first safety car was deployed immediately after Steve Brooks in the #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 was caught in a three-way fight over space into turn 1 with Paul Lucchitti in the #66 Move My Wheels by Tigani Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Renee Gracie in the #181 OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3. Lucchitti ended up in the gravel, while Gracie continued with minor damage.

The chaos continued even before the restart. As the rain picked up, Geoff Emery lost control of the #15 Volante Rosso Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 and spun into the inside wall at the final corner, triggering further disruption.

Shortly after, Sergio Pires in the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Mercedes-AMG GT3 — who had been running second — also spun and dropped out of the top ten as yellow flags were shown again due to the stranded McLaren.

Final stint decides the win

In the closing stages, Feeney initially built a gap of nearly three seconds to Targett before managing the pace to the finish. Despite late pressure, he remained composed to secure victory, with Targett and Randle completing the top three.

Behind them, Brendon Leitch produced a strong recovery drive in the #44 Geyer Valmont Racing by Tigani Mercedes-AMG GT3 to finish fifth, just behind Jaxon Evans in the #26 ARGT Ferrari 296 GT3.

Ryan Wood and William Davison also bounced back well from their teammates’ earlier Turn 1 incident, bringing the #88 Wolfbrook Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 and #181 OnlyFans Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 home in sixth and seventh respectively.

Overall, it was a chaotic and incident-filled race, with action across the field from start to finish.

Full Race 1 results