# 2012 Australian GT Championship

The 2012 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing championship open to GT style closed production based sports cars which were either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs.
It was the 16th Australian GT Championship, the twelfth to be contested over a multi-event championship, and the eighth to be contested since the title was revived in 2005.
The series had a new owner for 2012, with seasoned GT racer Tony Quinn taking over the series towards the end of the 2011 season.
The championship was won by Klark Quinn driving a Porsche 911 GT3-R.

## Divisions

After consolidation from three divisions to two in 2011, the 2012 series saw an expansion to four divisions, based on vehicle eligibility and specification.
* GT Championship – for FIA GT3 specification vehicles
* GT Trophy – for older specification FIA GT3 vehicles
* GT Challenge – for cars that no longer fit within the GT Championship and Trophy divisions
* GT Sports – for GT4 specification cars

## Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers contested the 2012 Australian GT Championship.
| Driver | Co-driver | Team | No. | Vehicle |
| GT Championship |||||
| Mark Eddy | Warren Luff | | 1 | Audi R8 LMS |
| Nathan Tinkler | | Hunter Motorsports | 3 | Porsche 997 GT3-R |
| Kevin Weeks | Steve Owen | Supaloc Racing | 5 | Ford GT |
| Rod Salmon | | | 6 | Audi R8 LMS |
| Martin Wagg | | Eggleston Motorsport | 7 | Aston Martin DBRS9 |
| Peter Edwards | Allan Simonsen John Bowe Jonny Reid | Maranello Motorsport | 8 88 | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
| Nick O'Halloran | Allan Simonsen Cameron McConville | Maranello Motorsport | 8 | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
| Neale Muston | | Excalibur Racing | 9 | Porsche 997 GT3-R |
| Tony Quinn | | VIP Petfoods Racing | 11 | Ferrari 458 GT3 Mosler MT900 GT3 |
| Klark Quinn | | VIP Petfoods Racing | 12 | Porsche 997 GT3-R |
| Peter Conroy | James Winslow | Peter Conroy Motorsport | 14 | Audi R8 LMS |
| Ash Samadi | Dean Grant | Team ASR | 22 | Lamborghini Gallardo Mosler MT900 GT3 |
| Roger Lago | David Russell | JBS | 23 | Lamborghini Gallardo |
| Jim Manolios | Rod Wilson | Trofeo Motorsport | 29 | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3R |
| Ben Eggleston | | Eggleston Motorsport | 38 | Aston Martin DBRS9 |
| Tony Defelice | Renato Loberto | Defelice Homes | 49 | Ferrari 458 GT3 |
| James Brock Maro Engel Thomas Jäger Bernd Schneider | | Erebus Racing | 62 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Mosler MT900 GT3 |
| Peter Hackett | | Erebus Racing | 63 | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG |
| Paul Morris | | Paul Morris Motorsport | 67 | Aston Martin DBRS9 |
| John Briggs | | Briggs Motor Sport | 70 | Mosler MT900 GT3 Audi R8 LMS |
| Greg Crick | | | 75 | Dodge Viper Competition |
| GT Trophy |||||
| Andrew Taplin | | Supaloc Racing | 2 | Lamborghini Gallardo |
| Ian Palmer | | Palmer Promotions | 20 | Dodge Viper |
| Jordan Ormsby | | | 61 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| Dean Koutsoumidis | Andrew McInnes | | 71 | Lamborghini Gallardo |
| GT Challenge |||||
| Stephen Grove | | | 4 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| Jacky Yeung | | ULX110 Custom Blend Oils | 13 | Ferrari 360 Challenge |
| Keith Wong | Kiang-Kuan Wong | ULX110 Custom Blend Oils | 15 | Porsche 996 GT3-R |
| Peter Boylan | | Boylan Group | 21 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| Brendon Cook | Matt Kingsley | McElrea Racing | 25 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| John Modystach | | | 26 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| Brenton Griguol | Cameron Wearing | | 69 | Ferrari 360 Challenge |
| Jan Jinadasa | | | 77 | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup |
| GT Sports |||||
| Graham Lusty | Darrell Dixon | G & D Wheels | 24 | Nissan GT-R R35 |
| Darren Berry | Paul Stokell Keith Kassulke | Williams Race Services | 50 | Ginetta G50 HC |
| Michael Hovey | | ES Australia | 73 | Ginetta G50 |

## Race calendar

The championship was contested over a seven round series.
| Rd. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner |
| Rd. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | GT Championship | GT Trophy | GT Challenge | GT Sports |
| 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | 1–4 March | Klark Quinn | Jordan Ormsby | Jan Jinadasa | Darren Berry |
| 2 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 25–27 May | Greg Crick | Andrew Taplin | Jan Jinadasa | Darren Berry |
| 3 | Winton Motor Raceway | Benalla, Victoria | 22–24 June | Peter Hackett | Andrew Taplin | Peter Boylan | no entries |
| 4 | Sydney Motorsport Park | Sydney, New South Wales | 13–15 July | Peter Hackett | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes | Jan Jinadasa | Graham Lusty |
| 5 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 21–23 September | Maro Engel | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes | Rob Knight Marcus Marshall | no entries |
| 6 | Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | Surfers Paradise, Queensland | 19–21 October | Klark Quinn | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes | Michael Almond | Darren Berry |
| 7 | Homebush Street Circuit | Sydney, New South Wales | 30 November–2 December | Bernd Schneider | Dean Koutsoumidis Andrew McInnes | Scott Taylor | no entries |

## Points system

Points were awarded in each division for each qualifying session and each race at each round according to the following table. Points were allocated according to positions attained in each division rather than for outright positions.
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | All other finishers |
| Qualifying | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Races | 16 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

## Championship results

| Pos. | Driver | Car | Points. |
| GT Championship ||||
| 1 | Klark Quinn | Porsche GT3-R | 186 |
| 2 | Peter Hackett | Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 | 173 |
| 3 | Peter Edwards / John Bowe | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | 128 |
| 4 | Nick O'Halloran / Allan Simonsen | Ferrari 458 GT3 | 56 |
| 5 | Greg Crick | Dodge Viper Competition Coupe Series II | 56 |
| 6 | Ben Eggleston | Aston Martin DBRS9 | 54 |
| 7 | Roger Lago | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | 52 |
| 8 | Tony Quinn | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 Mosler | 51 |
| 9 | James Brock | Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 Mosler | 47 |
| 10 | Rod Salmon | Audi R8 LMS | 43 |
| 11 | Bernd Schneider | Mercedes-Benz AMG SLS GT3 | 42 |
| 12 | John Briggs | Mosler MT900 GT3 Audi R8 LMS | 35 |
| 13 | Ash Samadi / Dean Grant | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 Mosler | 34 |
| 14 | Jim Manolios / Rod Wilson | Corvette ZO6 GT3R | 22 |
| 15 | Martin Wagg | Aston Martin DBRS9 | 18 |
| 16 | Peter Conroy | Audi R8 LMS | 17 |
| 17 | Kevin Weeks | Ford GT3 | 15 |
| 18 | Thomas Jäger | Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 | 15 |
| 19 | Mark Eddy / Warren Luff | Audi R8 LMS | 15 |
| 20 | Paul Morris | Aston Martin DBRS9 | 13 |
| 21 | Tony Defelice / Renato Loberto | Ferrari 458 GT3 | 9 |
| 22 | John Bowe / Peter Edwards | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | 0 |
| 23 | David Russell | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | 0 |
| 24 | Dean Grant / Ash Samadi | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | 0 |
| GT Trophy ||||
| 1 | Dean Koutsoumidis / Andrew McInnes | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | 255 |
| 2 | Andrew Taplin | Lamborghini Gallardo GT3 | 99 |
| 3 | Jordan Ormsby | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 40 |
| 4 | Ian Palmer | Dodge Viper Competition Coupe Series II | 31 |
| 5 | Marc Cini | Porsche GT3 997 Cup S | 26 |
| GT Challenge ||||
| 1 | Jan Jinadasa | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 179 |
| 2 | Peter Boylan | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 93 |
| 3 | Rob Knight | Porsche 911 GT3 | 66 |
| 4 | Brenton Griguol | Ferrari 360 Challenge | 45 |
| 5 | John Modystach | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 43 |
| 6 | Michael Almond | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 40 |
| 7 | Brendon Cook | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 31 |
| 8 | Keith Wong / Kiang-Kuan Wong | Porsche GT3 R | 30 |
| 9 | Stephen Grove | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 20 |
| 10 | Nicolas McBride | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 20 |
| 11 | Ben Foessel | Porsche 996 GT3 R | 16 |
| 12 | Jacky Yeung | Ferrari 360 Challenge | 12 |
| 13 | Nathan Tinkler | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 3 |
| 14 | Matthew Kingsley | Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car | 0 |
| GT Sports ||||
| 1 | Darren Berry | Ginetta G50 GT4 | 112 |
| 2 | Michael Hovey | Ginetta G50 GT4 | 29 |
| 3 | Graham Lusty / Darrell Dixon | Nissan GT-R R3 | 0 |

## 2012 Australian Tourist Trophy

The 2012 Australian Tourist Trophy was awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the driver accumulating the highest aggregate points total from the Phillip Island and Sydney Motorsport Park rounds of the Australian GT Championship. The title, which was the 23rd Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by Peter Hackett driving a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.