Championship Heating up at Last Stop Before Bathurst: Round 5 Preview

It’s been just shy of two months since the series’ last meeting at Le Mans, a defining round that saw heartbreak for crucial title contenders as teams began to set their eyes on the prize with only a handful of rounds to go.

Before we hit the road at The Bend, let’s get ourselves up to speed as we approach the bleeding edge of the Gamesmen GTPro Invitational 2025 Season!

Topsy Turvy Runner-up Title Fight Set to Kick Off

This season’s championship has been defined by a brutal display of dominance from the Eclipse Simsports #56, piloted by the dynamic duo of Damon Woods and Kody Deith. They have topped the podium in each of the last three rounds since the shock victory from the Evolution Racing Team #31 at Daytona in the series opener. 

While that run of form sits the #56 atop the championship ladder by an – all things considered – comfortable 88 points, an exhilarating battle will rear its head at The Bend on Friday night between the Vermillion Esports #228 and the Eclipse #17. 

The #228 and the #17 could not have had more different seasons. The Vermillion pairing of Jacob O’Reilly and Josh Purwien has not finished outside of the top 10 this season with a 5th, 3rd, 7th and 4th most recently at Le Mans. On the Eclipse side of the fence, they were a no-show in Round 1, finished 2nd in Round 2, 18th in Round 3, and 2nd again at Le Mans – talk about hot and cold!

Will the outright firepower of the #17 allow an Eclipse 1-2 in the championship? Or will the steady hands in the #228 enable Vermillion to triumph over the titans?

Just 178 points separate the remainder of the Top 10, with only 112 points from 10th to 20th. With The Bend still being a fairly new toy on the service, and Mount Panorama being the stage for the finale, this championship is so far from done; It cannot be overstated.

‘Pick Your Poison’ for Majority of Field on Car Choice

Throw everything out the window for Le Mans, we are back to a traditional circuit where setup variability is more of an open book. A mix of prolonged compression corners, elevation change and tricky braking areas makes comfortability paramount between driver pairings. Not to mention, a lack of passing opportunity at this technical venue means any edge on top speed will be sought after.

It’s become common knowledge that front-engined cars are monstrously fast after the first season of the GT rework, and not much has changed this time around despite a few balance changes and the death of the short gear stack. The two fastest cars at The Bend have been the Mustang and the Ferrari in recent past – funny that – given the Ferrari drives like a front-engine anyway.

The bulk of the front runners have an Acura NSX and McLaren 720S in their arsenal, with a handful of Mustangs that will surely be looking to capitalise on the pace opportunity while they can. If you look at any other league with a third-party Balance of Performance, the Ford is getting thumped with weight and power reduction, but that’s not a factor here. 

Regardless, teams will be looking to maximise what they have, and it should be a spectacle to see what they come up with when put under technical pressure.

We’re looking good on the forecast too. Ambient temps look to be hovering around the low 20’s with minimal cloud and no chance of rain. It’s gloves off in South Australia!

Once again, the race format is as follows (AEDT):

7:00 PM — 1-Hour Open Practice
8:00 PM — 20-Minute Open Qualifying
8:22 PM — 8-Minute Gridding (including Grid Walk)
8:30 PM — Green Flag for 3-Hour Race

The Gamesmen GTPro Invitational Series kicks off for Round 5 on October 17. Don’t miss the action, catch Australasia’s toughest GT3 competition live on SimSpeed on Friday night!