A SEVENTEEN car grid has been locked in for the opening round of the 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia at Phillip Island this weekend.
This season marks the first for the class under the control of global GT racing kingmakers the SRO Motorsports Group.
A pair of Ferrari 296 GT3s lead the entry, with the Arise Racing-run machines to be fielded by Pro-Am line-ups headlined by Supercars drivers Chaz Mostert and Jaxon Evans.
The remainder of the field consists of seven Audi R8 LMS Evo 2s, seven Mercedes-AMGs and a single Trophy Class Aston Martin V12 Vantage.
Triple Eight is running a single Mercedes entry this year, dovetailing its Australian program with an attack on rounds of the Intercontinental GT Challenge including the 24 Hours of Spa and Indianapolis 8 Hour.
SRO Australia CEO Ben McMellan declared it the Phillip Island field most competitive GT grid ever assembled in Australia.
“There’s been great support from the teams and drivers for SRO Australia’s first season at the helm of Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS,” he said.
“It’s the most competitive field that we have seen, with the most outright contenders that have entered a Fanatec GT season. It’s a very exciting line-up of cars and stars.
“We have a batch of new cars that have arrived, and the Ferraris are a big addition to the field. The Ferrari brand is highly prestigious all around the world, so that makes it a real positive for our local fans.
“It’s going to be very hard to pick a winner. There’s several entries in both Pro-Am and Am that have the ability to win their class. It’s by far the most competitive field we’ve ever seen in Australia.”
Track action will begin with an open test day on Thursday.
Each qualifying and race session will be featured live on 7plus, while both races will be simulcast on 7plus and 7mate (check your local guides).
Entry List: Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, Round 1, Phillip Island
| No | Class | Driver 1 | Driver 2 | Team | Model |
| 1 | Pro-Am | Liam Talbot | Chaz Mostert | Arise Racing GT | Ferrari 296 GT3 |
| 4 | Pro-Am | Stephen Grove | Brenton Grove | Grove Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 7 | Pro-Am | Tim Miles | Brendon Leitch | Dayle ITM/Team MPC | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 |
| 8 | Pro-Am | Elliott Schutte | Jaxon Evans | Arise Racing GT | Ferrari 296 GT3 |
| 9 | Am | Marc Cini | Hallmarc Team MPC | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 | |
| 16 | Am | Shane Woodman | Ben Schoots | Black Wolf Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 22 | Am | Ash Samadi | Team MPC | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 | |
| 24 | Am | Tony Bates | Tony Bates Racing | Mercedes-AMG GT3 | |
| 38 | GT Trophy | Michael Bailey | Trading Garage | Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 | |
| 44 | Am | Marcel Zalloua | Sergio Pires | Valmont Racing | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 |
| 45 | Am | Michael Sheargold | Garth Walden | RAM Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 47 | Am | James Koundouris | Theo Koundouris | Supabarn Supermarkets/Tigani Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 66 | Pro-Am | Paul Lucchitti | Jayden Ojeda | Realta/Tigani Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
| 81 | Pro-Am | Mark Rosser | Alex Peroni | Team BRM/ACM Finance | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 |
| 87 | Pro-Am | Brad Schumacher | Will Brown | Shaw & Partners/Kelso Electrical/Team MPC | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 |
| 181 | Pro-Am | Renee Gracie | Paul Stokell | Only Fans/Team MPC | Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2 |
| 888 | Pro-Am | Peter Hackett | Declan Fraser | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Mercedes-AMG GT3 |
