A successful test day at Winton has given Tony Bates confidence ahead of his return to the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS at next weekend’s Bosch Power Tools Perth SuperSprint.
Bates’ C-Tech Laser/Makita Mercedes-AMG GT3 is now being prepared by the Melbourne-based Ashley Seward Motorsport squad, rekindling a relationship that yielded a Carrera Cup Pro-Am title in 2016.
“It’s great to be back with Ash, I won the Carrera Cup Championship with his team and at the Winton test day, I felt like I was back at home,” Bates said.
“His attention to detail is second-to-none and the ASM team have made some significant improvements to the car since I last drove it at Bathurst.
“At Winton, I was immediately comfortable behind the wheel and even though we were running on very old tyres, I was punching out times close to my personal best.”
For the Perth round, Bates will be joined by Jordan Love, who was recently signed by Mercedes-AMG factory team as part of its Junior Driver programme.
Love’s official Mercedes-AMG duties include a campaign with the Haupt Racing Team in the Nurburgring Endurance Series, but while he might be currently based in Germany, Love originally hailed from Western Australia and has completed numerous laps of Perth’s Wanneroo circuit.
“Jordan has demonstrated his talents in GT cars and his recruitment by Mercedes-AMG to be one of their factory drivers is testament to his ability,” Bates said.
“He grew up racing at Wanneroo so he’s very familiar with the track; haven’t raced there since 2017, so I will be tapping into his knowledge base to ensure I come up to speed as quickly as possible.
The GT round will consist of a pair of one-hour races.
GT World Challenge Australia Round 2 Schedule
Friday, 28 April
9:10am – Practice 1 (40 min)
12:00pm – Practice 2 (40 min)
Saturday, 29 April
9:10am – Qualifying 1 (10 min)
9:25am – Qualifying 2 (10 min)
12:40pm – Race 1 (60 min)
Sunday, 30 April
10:25am – Race 2 (60 min)