Evans and Schutte Strengthen Grip on Pro-Am Title Fight
Published on: Wed Sep 10 2025
Reading time: 3 mins
Jaxon Evans and Elliott Schutte continued their title charge at The Bend Motorsport Park, banking vital points in thepenultimate round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS.
The Arise Racing GT duo now head into the season finale in New Zealand with momentum firmly on their side.
In qualifying, Evans set the tone for the day for Arise Racing in Q1. He had a blistering lap to second on the grid, narrowly ahead of teammate Jordan Love in fifth - after a session where just tenths split the top contenders.
In Q2, Schutte delivered a composed run to secure fourth, while Steve Wyatt impressed with his best performance of the weekend in 11th.
Race 1 saw the #26 machine of Evans and Schutte convert qualifying speed into another podium, finishing second. Evans held his nerve in a mid-race duel with title rival Broc Feeney, ensuring Arise Racing GT stayed ahead in the championship stakes. Love and Wyatt also carved through the pack from 11th, with Love clocking the second-fastest lap before sealing seventh at the flag.
Race 2 delivered drama in spades. Evans and Love launched strongly, running second and sixth respectively in the early laps. After the driver swaps, a safety car reset bunched the order and triggered a frenetic sprint to the finish. Schutte emerged in a three-way battle for the lead with Paul Lucchitti and Brad Schumacher, while Wyatt produced his most inspired drive of the season, climbing to fifth and tailing the frontrunners.
Post-race success penalties briefly dangled the prospect of a maiden podium for #77’s Love and Wyatt, but their hopes were dashed when Wyatt was spun in a late incident beyond his control. He recovered to seventh.
Schutte fought tooth and nail to take the flag in third, but penalties relegated the #26 to fourth. Team Principal Jordan Oon struck a positive note after the weekend:
“This weekend delivered mixed results, but we’re pleased to maintain our championship points buffer and head to New
Zealand in a strong position.
For car #77, they had great pace, and it was exciting to see them right in the fight for their first podium of the season, but
luck just didn’t quite fall their way.
Car #26 delivered another points-rich weekend at The Bend, showcasing speed, and composure, to further cement their championship lead heading into the finale.
The entire team can hold their heads high with another consistent weekend in the books as we look to go back-to-back GT Champions in NZ.
I’m super proud of the season we’ve had so far and can’t wait to roll the cars out of the container at Hampton Downs.”
The 2025 GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS finale at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in New Zealand is scheduled for 31 October to 2 November 2025.
Arise Racing GT extends sincere thanks to its valued partners - Lance East Exotics, Barbagallo, Iveco Australia, Car Expert, VGW, ORAFOL, Anthem Workwear, Lift Off, OMP, Beta Tools Australia, and VCM Coffee - for their continued support throughout the 2025 season.
