It’s hard to believe that this weekend the Australian GT Championship will contest it’s penultimate round on the streets of Townsville, after what has been a challenging debut year for BMW Team SRM, but carrying on the confidence of running with the leaders at Phillip Island last time out, team leader Steven Richards is full of confidence.
Neither Richards nor team-mate Max Twigg are strangers to the Townsville circuit, in fact 12-months ago both figured prominently at the Series’ most northern venue, Twigg claiming an Australian GT podium finish, whilst Richards did the same in Carrera Cup, a feat he has managed regularly across the last four years on the demanding street circuit.
For Twigg he carries the confidence of finishing on the podium 12-months ago on the 13-turn 2.85-kilometre circuit, and admits to being quietly confident.
The #100 BMW Team SRM M6 GT3 will turn its first official laps at Townsville in practice on Friday, 8 July with a single 20-minute practice session, ahead of the first of two 20-minute qualifying sessions which will determine the grid for the fifth round of the Australian GT Championship. The team then contests two 60-minute races with compulsory pit stops, one each on Saturday and Sunday.
Typically Townsville’s weather is beautiful this time of year with predictions of clear sunny days in the mid 20s, although cloud cover could change conditions slightly come Sunday, but otherwise it looks like being a dry weekend.