​Gunn’s Aussie joy

Ross Gunn in action at the Mount Panorama track in Australia last weekend (Photo courtesy of IGTC Press Office)Ross Gunn in action at the Mount Panorama track in Australia last weekend (Photo courtesy of IGTC Press Office)
Ross Gunn in action at the Mount Panorama track in Australia last weekend (Photo courtesy of IGTC Press Office)
​Ross Gunn and his Heart of Racing by SPS team-mates, Ian James and Zach Robichon, scored victory in the Bronze Cup class of the Meguiar's Bathurst 12 Hours at the famous Mount Panorama Circuit in New South Wales, Australia on Sunday.

Driving a Mercedes AMG GT3, the trio of drivers raced to a seventh place finish overall in the GT spectacular that formed the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge - finishing just one lap shy of the race-winning Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Augusto Farfus and South African brothers, Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde.

Bathurst's Mount Panorama track is one of the most popular racing venues in the world, and once again provided a thrilling backdrop for GT competitors.

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Starting during the early hours of the morning, the opening 45 minutes of action took place in the dark, with Vale-based racer Gunn taking the controls of the Heart of Racing Mercedes for the opening stint.

The start of the race provided plenty of action, with the leaders running three wide up the Mountain Straight after exiting the first corner on the opening lap. As the sun climbed in the sky, the temperatures both on and off track continued to rise, as the fierce battles between the front-running cars continued.

Gunn said: "The start can be a very wild here at Bathurst, the run to the first corner is tight and GT3 cars are large. It was a case of not doing anything stupid and keeping the car straight and out of trouble, I could see things ahead getting a little busy!"

Ian James, team principal of the Heart of Racing team said, "We ran a conservative strategy early on, as we were careful and thought that fuel saving might become an issue later in the race. We had to keep pushing though, as the level of competition is high and the times between cars very close. It was important not to lose time, as clawing time back in a GT3 around here really is very difficult."

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Gunn and the Heart of Racing by SPS crew completed a total of 305 laps during the 12 hours, reaching the finish first in the Bronze Cup class.

Gunn added, "This was a great result for us, and we have all worked hard to achieve this. It's been a busy few days for everyone coming to Australia on the back of the Daytona 24 Hours, and now the season really is underway!"

Finishing narrowly behind the race winning Team WRT entry was the second BMW team car driven by Moto GP legend, Valentino Rossi with Raffaele Marciello and Charles Weerts. The 75 Express Mercedes of Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon and Luca Stolz was classified third, and the 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge continues at the Nurburgring in Germany during June, to be followed by the Crowdstrike Spa 24 Hours and races at Suzuka in Japan and Indianapolis in the United States.

*The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) starts in Qatar later this month, with the Heart of Racing team set to debut their Aston Martin Valkyrie in the championship's Hypercar class.

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The V12-powered car will also contest races in the US-based IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship, and it is expected Ross Gunn will feature in the car's line-up of drivers.

Named drivers so far include Harry Tincknell and Alex Riberas, but Gunn has been undertaking development work for the Aston Martin brand in the car and the team's full list of drivers is expected to be formally announced during the next ten days.

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