Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte win emotional Race 1 at GT Festival Sandown

Jaxon Evans and Elliot Schutte have claimed an emotional victory in Race 1 of GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, with the Arise Racing GT pair taking a thrilling three-tenths-of-a-second victory.

Although Schutte started the race from pole position following a strong Qualifying performance, the victory required an inspiring run from Evans to seal the duo’s fourth win of 2025, which put them further ahead of the Pro-Am standings.

Taking out second place for their second podium of the year were Ryan Wood and Steve Brooks in Wolfbrook’s Audi R8 LMS EVO II after a strong charge, while fellow Team MPC stablemates, Kelso Electrical’s Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher rounded out the top five.

In the Am class, Ben Schoots and Shane Woodman ended Renee Gracie’s dominant run in the class to secure their first win since the opening round of the 2025 season, while Paul Stokell and Matt Stoupas sealed the Trophy Cup win.

The race began in thrilling fashion as Schutte started from pole, but found himself in third place behind the Audi R8 LMS EVO II of Schumacher and the Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 driven by Volante Rosso’s Liam Talbot, by the end of the first lap after the pair muscled their way past.

Not long into the race, the safety car was deployed after Team BRM’s Mark Rosser went off at Turn 9, continuing a challenging day for the team and echoing teammate Alex Peroni’s incident at the same corner during Qualifying 1.

When the race restarted, Talbot immediately resumed his charge, applying pressure to Schumacher at the front, while Schutte slipped to fourth after a decisive move from Steve Brooks.

As Schumacher began to build a gap, Talbot had his hands full with the fast-charging Brooks, who was unable to make the pass before the compulsory pit stops began.

Rejoining the race at the front of the field, Jamie Day took over from Talbot in the Aston Martin, while George King emerged in second behind the wheel of the Geyer Valmont Racing/Tigani Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 shared with Sergio Pires.

The pit stops also saw Evans come out in third ahead of Wood and Feeney, with both drivers utilising their vast experience of the track to eventually chase down the two frontrunners.

A mistake from Day gave Evans the lead when the series leader eventually reached him, while Wood and Feeney ultimately got past the two Englishmen and began to hunt down the leader.

As Wood and Feeney tussled for the remaining podium places, Evans seized the opportunity to pull clear and cross the line for the win, a heartfelt victory he dedicated to the late Tim Miles.

In the Am Cup, a spin from Darren Currie at Turn 9 opened the door for Schoots and Woodman to take control in the Black Wolf Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, ultimately holding on for the class win.

Despite having gained the lead early on in the race, Renee Gracie settled for second place in her OnlyFans/Team MPC Audi R8 LMS EVO II, while Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport’s Theo and James Koundouris rounded out the podium.

Results are HERE