The 2010 Australian GT Championship was a CAMS sanctioned Australian motor racing championship open to closed production based sports cars which were either approved by the FIA for GT3 competition or approved by CAMS as Australian GTs.[1] The championship, which was the 14th Australian GT Championship, incorporated drivers titles in three divisions, GT Championship, GT Challenge and GT Production.[1] The Australian GT Sportscar Group Pty Ltd was appointed as the Category Manager by CAMS for the championship,[1] which was promoted as the "Vodka O Australian GT Championship".[2]
Defending champion David Wall became the first multiple championship winner in the history of the title with a 30-point victory over fellow Porsche driver, James Koundouris. Wall, driving the family team's Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S, won five races and claimed round wins at Adelaide and Eastern Creek. Third places at Albert Park and at Bathurst were enough to hold off Phillip Island round winner Koundouris, even after being excluded from the first race at Sandown. Dean Grant (Lamborghini Gallardo and Mosler MT900) was third in the championship. Other round winners were Porsche driver Max Twigg, at Albert Park, and Tony Quinn. Quinn drove an Aston Martin DBRS9 and a Mosler MT900, winning the Bathurst round in the former and the Sandown round in the latter, allowing him to climb into fourth in the championship.
In the GT Challenge division, Shane Smollen took a 120-point win over fellow Porsche 911 GT3 drivers, Michael Loccisano and Ray Angus.
Chevrolet Corvette driver Paul Freestone came from behind at the final round of the series to defeat Tony Alford (Nissan GT-R) and take victory in the GT Production division. Mark O'Connor (Lotus Exige) was third.
Controversy erupted after two major accidents at the second round of the series, which supported the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. A multi-car accident caused heavy damage to several vehicles at the start of one race and resulted in changes to regulations for rolling restarts, which have had consequences beyond GT racing. Additionally a multi-car accident that occurred under yellow flag conditions saw penalties levied against Porsche drivers Ray Angus and Andrew Taplin after they tangled with a slow moving damaged car and the parked Ascari KZ1-R of John Bowe.[3]
The following teams and drivers contested the 2010 Australian GT Championship.
| Team | Car | Division | No | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall Racing | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997 | Championship | 1 |  David Wall |
| Jocaro Motorsport | Lamborghini Gallardo Mosler MT900R | Championship | 2 | Dean Grant |
| Dodge Viper GT3 | 3 | Ross Lilley | ||
| Audi R8 GT3 | 8 | Mark Eddy | ||
| Consolidated Chemical | Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | 4 | Peter Hackett |
| Taplin Real Estate | Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | 5 | Andrew Taplin Kevin Weeks |
| Golf Car Solutions | Porsche 911 GT3 RS Type 996 | Challenge | 6 | Jordan Ormsby |
| VIP Petfoods Racing | Mosler MT900 Aston Martin DBRS9[4] | Championship | 7 | Tony Quinn |
| Championship | 12 | Klark Quinn | ||
| Hallmarc Developments | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997 | Championship | 9 | Marc Cini |
| Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 19 | Michael Loccisano Marc Cini | |
| Dutton Insurance | Lotus Exige S | Production | 10 | Mark O'Connor |
| MJR Airconditioning | Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | 11 | Mark Seamons |
| Jim Richards Racing | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Championship | 15 |  Jim Richards |
| Weeks Building Group | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 16 | Gary Dann |
| Inca Motorsports | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 17 | Ray Angus |
| Twigg Motorsport | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997 | Championship | 18 | Max Twigg |
| Magnapool | Dodge Viper GT3 | Championship | 20 | Ian Palmer Greg Crick |
| Interauto Motorsport | Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | 21 | Ross Zampatti |
| Beta Tools | Mosler MT900R | Championship | 22 | Ash Samadi |
| Freestones Transport | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | Production | 25 | Paul Freestone |
| Excen Corporate Centre | Chevrolet Corvette Z06 | Production | 26 | Barrie Nesbitt |
| Maranello Motorsport | Ferrari F430 GT3 | Championship | 27 | Nick O'Halloran |
| Trofeo Motorsport | Maserati Trofeo GT3 | Challenge | 29 | Jim Manolios |
| Maserati GranTurismo GT3 | Championship | |||
| Kirrapak Sheetmetal | Lotus Elise HPE | Challenge | 31 | Tim Mackie |
| 32 | David Mackie | |||
| Bayside Church | Ferrari F430 GT3 | Championship | 37 | Hector Lester |
| Pelorus Property Group | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 39 | Paul Tresidder |
| Supabarn Supermarkets | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997 | Championship | 47 | Theo Koundouris |
| 69 | James Koundouris | |||
| DFO | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 | Challenge | 50 | Calvin Pusterla |
| AMAC Motorsport | Mosler MT900R | Championship | 51 | Andrew MacPherson |
| Donut King Racing | Nissan GT-R | Production | 54 | Tony Alford |
| Castrol | Dodge Viper GTS ACR | Championship | 55 | Greg Crick |
| McGrath Estate Agents | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 56 | Shane Smollen |
| Adrenalin.com.au | Dodge Viper GTS ACR | Championship | 58 | Richard Kimber |
| Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 | Challenge | |||
| Austral Racing | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 | Challenge | 63 | Richard Green |
| Globe | Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | 66 | Peter Hill |
| Pick Up Truck Pictures | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 996 | Challenge | 67 | Eric Bana |
| ULX 110 Proven Custom Blend Oil | Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Type 996 | Challenge | 74 | Keith Wong Graeme Cook Kiang Kuan Wong |
| Dodge Viper GT3 | Championship | 75 | Rob Sherrard | |
| One of a Kind | Lotus Exige S | Challenge | 77 | Timothy Poulton |
| Maranello Motorsport | Ferrari 360 Challenge | Challenge | 77 | Peter Edwards |
| Vic Air Supplies | Porsche 911 GT3 RSR Type 996 | Challenge | 88 | |
| Lamborghini Gallardo | Championship | |||
| Clipper Motoryachts | Ascari KZ1-R | Championship | 89 | Darren Berry John Bowe |
| World Link International | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 89 | Ivan Klasen |
| Pariah Motorsport | Lotus Exige GT3 | Championship | 98 | Angelo Lazaris |
| Livi Bathroom Tissue | Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Type 997 | Challenge | 99 | Damien Flack Adrian Flack |
The championship was contested over a six-round series.[1]
| Rd. | Circuit | Location / state | Date | Winner | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | Challenge | Production | |||||
| Rd 1 | Adelaide Street Circuit | Adelaide, South Australia | 11–14 March | David Wall | Jordan Ormsby | Mark O'Connor | |
| Rd 2 | Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit | Melbourne, Victoria | 25–28 March | Max Twigg | Damien Flack | Mark O'Connor | |
| Rd 3 | Eastern Creek Raceway | Sydney, New South Wales | 20–30 May | David Wall | Damien Flack Adrian Flack | Paul Freestone | |
| Rd 4 | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | Phillip Island, Victoria | 10–11 July | James Koundouris | Shane Smollen | Tony Alford | |
| Rd 5 | Mount Panorama Circuit | Bathurst, New South Wales | 7–10 October | Tony Quinn | Shane Smollen | Paul Freestone | |
| Rd 6 | Sandown Raceway | Melbourne, Victoria | 19–21 November | Tony Quinn | Shane Smollen | Paul Freestone | |
Points were awarded in each division at each race according to the following table.[1]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th | 21st | 22nd | 23rd | 24th | 25th | 26th | 27th | 28th | 29th | 30th | 31st | 32nd | 33rd | 34th | 35th | |
| Two race format | 57 | 52.5 | 49.5 | 48 | 46.5 | 45 | 43.5 | 42 | 40.5 | 39 | 37.5 | 36 | 34.5 | 33 | 31.5 | 30 | 28.5 | 27 | 25.5 | 24 | 22.5 | 21 | 19.5 | 18 | 16.5 | 15 | 13.5 | 12 | 10.5 | 9 | 7.5 | 6 | 4.5 | 3 | 1.5 | |
| Three race format | 38 | 35 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Within each division, each driver could count only his/her best five round results.[1]
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The 2010 Australian Tourist Trophy was awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport to the driver accumulating the highest aggregate points total from the Eastern Creek and Phillip island "endurance" rounds of the championship.[13] [14] The title, which was the 21st Australian Tourist Trophy, was won by David Wall, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S Type 997.[13]