Defending Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour winner Jamie Whincup has had first taste of Mercedes-AMG GT3 power during a test day today in Queensland. Whincup will drive for Mercedes-AMG Team SunEnergy1 Racing, with Raffaele Marciello joining the line-up.
Originally announced to drive with SunEnergy1’s Kenny Habul and Blancpain GT Series race winner Tristan Vautier in the Pro/Am class, the team has now attracted factory support and the addition of a fourth driver – Raffaele Marciello. The 23-year-old Italian is a former member of the Ferrari driving academy and won the 2013 Formula 3 Euro Series. He has since become a factory Mercedes-AMG driver and contested the Blancpain GT Series last year, claiming a podium finish in the Total 24 Hours of Spa after an astonishing drive.
“I just tried to get my head back around GT racing,” Whincup told Supercars.com. “Everything felt good, everything went smoothly, consistently. Scott Taylor Motorsport does a great job preparing the cars. There’s still plenty of work to be done in getting the ergonomics right, in terms of seat position, driver changes and all of those types of things, but the car feels great. I probably got 40 laps in and that’s 40 laps more than I had in the Ferrari going to Bathurst last year.”
Whincup said he was pleased to add AMG support to the existing program, a move that should enhance his chances of repeating his remarkable Bathurst 12 Hour victory achieved on debut last year when driving for Maranello Motorsport.
“AMG is getting behind us now,” Whincup added. “We’ll be running the factory colours. They’re sending out a few engineers and a factory driver as well, so that’s good.”