Half a dozen drivers took to the track over the weekend in overseas territory, with each one of them put their best foot forward. Some of our Australian representatives concluded their 2025 campaigns and begin their preparations for 2026.

Intercontinental GT Challenge – Suzuka

The fourth and penultimate round of the International GT Challenge pitched up at Suzuka Circuit with Aussie representatives Andrew MacPherson, Ben Porter and season debutant Grant Denyer racing 1,000 kilometres around the famous circuit.

The round started according to plan for the trio in qualifying, obtaining pole position in the Am class with an impressive time of 2:08.765 in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, the 31st fastest time outright.

The AMAC Motorsport team carried that form into first main race, slipping just one position in the class to secure the second-highest step on the podium, also finishing 27th outright and leading the class early in the session.

The car was not without problems, eventually succumbing to a gearbox failure on the 145th lap, but given the team had completed more than 75 per cent of the race, they received classification and maintained the podium finish.

One round remains in the Intercontinental GT Challenge for 2025, with the final stop taking place in the United States from 16-18 October at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

E4 Championship – Mugello

E4 Championship rookie Dante Vinci looked to continue on his Championship campaign with the second round of the E4 season in Mugello.

Vinci got off to a fabulous start, leading the second row after race one qualifying. The New South Welsh driver fell out of the outright podium by a couple positions, but maintained composure to secure a rookie runner-up podium finish behind Colombian Salim Hanna.

Vinci’s good qualifying efforts became a staple of his racing all weekend, finishing inside the top six of race two qualifying with a lap time of 1:49.033 before ultimately securing back-to-back rookie podiums in the subsequent feature race, crossing the finish line in seventh outright.

It was a similar story in race three qualifying, rounding out the third row behind Hanna again by four hundredths of a second. Vinci’s race three efforts were also admirable, attaining a top 10 finish outright and the fourth-fastest rookie of the session.

Vinci’s weekend performances accumulated to 17 Championship points and pushed him up the standings into 10th with one more round still to go. Vinci now sets his sights on Monza for round three on 26 October.

Le Mans Cup – Silverstone

One round now remains in the Le Mans Cup for Griffin Peebles and he will head to Portugal with a class podium under his belt after a great performance at Silverstone Circuit.

Alongside Rinaldi Racing teammate and first driver Steve Parrow, Peebles’ Ligier JS P325 – Toyota lined up in the sixth row following a middle of the pack finish in qualifying.

The pair had climbed a total of 10 spots outright in the first 40 minutes of the session, setting up Peebles for a big opportunity to build off Parrow’s efforts.

Peebles had worked the #66 car into fourth with a quarter of an hour still remaining in race, before eventually overpassing Rinaldi teammates Stefan Aust and Felipe Fernandez-Laser.

In an audacious move by Peebles on the final lap of the session, the Australian moved past the other team car to take home provisional third.

In a dramatic turn of events, Peebles and Parrow were ultimately awarded second after the provisional winners’ car was unable to proceed under its own power while in the pit entry on the way into Parc Ferme, resulting in a disqualification.

Peebles’ points total for the season increased to 63 points and put him in a tie for fourth in the Drivers Standings, with Eric De Doncker with the final round in Portimao, Portugal still to come on 18 October.

European Le Mans Series – Silverstone

Three Aussies on three different teams in three different classes; James Allen, Garnet Patterson and Griffin Peebleswent to work at Silverstone Circuit in the fifth round of the European Le Mans Series.

Qualifying was largely a positive affair for all three drivers, with Allen helping his team to the fourth-quickest time in the LMP2 class for Nielson Racing, Patterson doing the same with United Autosports for a fifth-place time, and Peebles earning pole position for Rinaldi Racing in LMP3 with a lap time 1:53.038 – almost three tenths in front of the next fastest car.

In the main race, while having positive moments, the trio will look for better successes in the final round of the season next month.

The Rinaldi #12 car ended up pulling over to the side of the track within the first hour due to mechanical issues following a lock-up at the start of the Hamilton Straight, resulting in a DNF after just 20 laps, before Peebles got a chance to drive the car.

Patterson was unable to put in a full shift as the second driver for United Motorsports, with the team unable to complete the race with the #23 car retiring in the pits on lap 47.

Allen and the Nielsen Racing had superb free practice sessions early in the weekend, but would need to settle for sixth in the Pro/Am class on race day.

Allen is currently in a tie for eighth in the Drivers Standings on 43 points and will look to break the deadlock on 18 October in Portimao, Portugal in the final round of the season. Peebles sits in 11th with 27 points, and Patterson is still searching for his first points of the season.