Volante Rosso confirm a two car GT World Challenge Australia challenge in 2026
Despite our trepidation yesterday regarding this weekend’s racing situation as far as Aston Martin Racing powered teams were concerned, news overnight from down under thankfully see us as being proven wrong (again) as there will be a Vantage GT3 pounding the beat around a racetrack after all.
That news has come from the Australian based Volante Rosso team who last night confirmed a two GT3 car entry within their domestic GT World Challenge Australia Series entry which starts this weekend from Phillip Island.
Gardner did start the team off with their AMR acquisition later on in the 2024 season before Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser/Jamie Day competed togther in 2025.
Photo credits – Team / social media
Tuesday, March 24, 2026 |
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A birthday win for Talbot alongside Day for the first time in GT World Challenge Australia
Only thrust together for the first time this year after a driver re-alignment within the #1 Volante Rosso Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3 powered crew that saw Declan Fraser be replaced with the young Brit for the remainder of the season.
Having jetted into Australia on the back of his own class win within the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup round in Misano in Italy last weekend, Day was welcomed by some very cold and wet conditions for his series debut within a team he has already raced with a the 12hrs of Bathurst earlier in the year.
Earlier qualifying had seen Talbot start Saturday’s race opener from the second row of the grid which saw a very ‘elbows out’ opening lap to the race that saw the #1 move up top second to sit comfortably as the race settled. A Safety Car for a car in the gravel saw those gaps removed as the race went back to green still ten minutes short of the pit stop window.
Talbot would later be issued with a driver standards warning for rear end contact with the #888 Audi as he looked for a way passed.
Eventually handing over to Day, the #1 car would assume the race lead after the #888 had to serve both a success time penalty from the previous race weekend and an additional five seconds for their lap one overtake of then pole setter to gain a position off track, but Day would immediately have multiple cars on his tail.
Unfortunately for the Brit, two separate mistakes on track saw him first loose the lead before then spinning out from fourth having ridden the exit kerb on turn one to eventually finish a disappointing (for them) P8.
Race two on Sunday was something entirely different as rain immediately prior to the start put all the fourteen cars onto full wets and kept them that way during the entirety of the hour-long race.
As usual, Day started this one from his qualifying position of P7 to run through an early Safety Car (for a car stranded on track after contact with the barrier) to pass an error free stint this time around over to Talbot from P6.
As the rainfall again intensified, Talbot quickly gained track position from the start of his stint to assume the overall race lead with just twelve minutes remaining but as the track conditions deteriorated, the #888 Audi was also hunting him down.
Despite side by side contact between the two cars going into the final lap, Talbot was finally able to demonstrate his capabilities within the AMR Vantage GT3 for the #1 crew to claim their first ever race win within the GT World Challenge Australia Series as the team now looks forward to the next round from The Bend at the beginning of September but as Day now flies back to Europe for the next round of the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup from France this weekend coming.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Sunday, July 27, 2025 |
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Dice quickly turns for Volante Rosso at Queensland
Having promised so much at the opening round of the season from Phillip Island only to struggle last time out at Sydney Motorsport Park, the #1 car of Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser looked back at this weekend’s two races that looked to be going back in the right direction after race one only to fall foul with technical issues and driver errors during the second.
Having started the race weekend with torrential rain, both races at least got underway in the dry although the weekend’s opener took a bizarre turn of events as two Audi’s managed to spin out even before the opening corner. Luckily avoiding that, the #1 car of Fraser was able to move up from its P9 Qualifying position to fourth after the Safety Car restart. Looking racey, Talbot was pushing the #26 Ferrari hard as the weather was again looking a little unsettled up towards the pit stop window before giving way to his AMR Drivers Academy team-mate.
Despite no success time penalty to serve, the #1 car unnecessarily earned themselves a drive through penalty for working on the car whilst the engine was running but that only dropped the crew down from third to fourth by the end.
Race two was equally cool and overcast as the first as Fraser this time started the #1 car from Talbot’s qualifying position of P9 where Fraser was quickly up to sixth but again tight behind the #26 Ferrari again.
Another car stranded in the gravel brought out the Safety Car for the first time, that slowing of pace brought about unwelcome gremlins within the #1 car as Fraser suddenly struggled for pace and quickly dropped two or three places. Further time was then lost within their stop as Talbot was unable to fire up the V8 again.
Going down at least a lap with that electrical issue, any hopes of decent championship points were over, but Talbot is not a driver who ordinarily gives up on anything. That ambition may have been the cause of a later spin that left him broadside across the track – exaggerated again by his ability not being able to restart the car in a timely fashion for an eventual finish at the rear of the grid.
The team will be hoping for much more next time out at Sandown at the end of July.
Photo credits – Team / Series
Sunday, June 01, 2025 |
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Volante Rosso aiming to regain their points momentum in Queensland
Fourteen crews return for this weekend’s third round of the GT World Challenge Australia Series as Queensland Raceway this time plays host to the SRO series.
Having had something of a great start to the season, the Volante Rosso Aston Martin Racing team of Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser has something of a reality check last time out as the series raced both a night and day race from Sydney Motorsport Park.
Having scored a near maximum twenty-eight points at the season opener from Phillip Island, SMP only delivered the #1 AMR Vantage GT3 crew with just seven points over the two, hour long races which has dropped them down to fourth in their Pro-Am class.
Since then, Fraser has just been named within this year’s Aston Martin Racing Drivers Academy process which will see him get both remote and personal driver coaching assistance which will hopefully see the #1 car elevate itself within the championship by the end of the weekend and at the halfway stage to the season.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Tuesday, May 27, 2025 |
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No joy this time around for the Volante Rosso AMR at Sydney Motorsport Park
Eager to continue their early visits to the podium, the Liam Talbot/Declan Fraser driven 16A variant of the Vantage GT3 had, like the thirteen other crews, a night race to contend with on Saturday before normal GTWC service resumed for the second race on Sunday.
With Fraser blaming missed performance opportunities during Qualifying for their respective starting positions, opening lap contact for Talbot with the #7 Audi saw his Aston Martin spin out onto the extended run off. Although both cars recovered, Talbot was down to P11 with still the whole race in front of him.
Recovery around the circuit at night proved more difficult for the #1 car than it was at Phillip Island at round one with Talbot handing over to Fraser only in P10 at the halfway mark. Fraser could do no more either as he and his Aston continued to circuit only around the cusp of the top ten for the remaining half hour of the race for a disappointing P10 in class finish.
Race two was back to a Sunday afternoon wave off with the #1 car of Fraser starting off that hour long race in ninth but two places were quickly made by him on the opening lap although they would eventually be ‘handed back’ by the end of his opening stint.
A delay with the rear left tyre at the stop further delayed the #1 car saw Talbot come out in tenth but at least his first position change was an easy with an Audi going off track at turn 2 before finally moving up to P7 overall at the end.
The series now moves onto Queensland Raceway in four weeks’ time.
Photo credit – Team / Series / social media
Monday, May 05, 2025 |
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Volante Rosso AMR aiming for better in Sydney Motorsport Parks opening night race on Saturday
This time gunning for outright glory, the Sydney based team has taken on board the racing talent of both Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser within their older 16A variant of the AMR Vantage GT3 but that certainly didn’t hold the duo back at the opening races at the start of the month.
Suffering disqualification from both Qualifying sessions for technical reasons after the event, the #1 car had to drive through the pack to secure a P5 finishing position at the end of race one whilst on Sunday they went even better to finish upon the podium in P2, narrowly missing out with a race win such was their pace.
Now more settled into the surroundings, the #1 crew will obviously be looking for something better in qualifying that will put them in good stead against their fourteen other race rivals around the 2.4-mile circuit layout.
Race one on Saturday will be a night race with a 19:55hrs local time start (sunset 17:13hrs local) before resuming normal service on Sunday with a 14:10hrs start to the second hour long race of the weekend.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Wednesday, April 30, 2025 |
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Rags to riches for the Volante Rosso AMR at Phillip Island at the weekend
Sporting a brand-new livery and a new driver pairing of Liam Talbot and Declan Fraser, the team sadly hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after Qualifying when the car failed its post session technical inspection through not being able to produce enough of a fuel sample for the stewards.
That lost the car pole position for Talbot’s Q2 session and would place the 16A variant of the Vantage GT3 at the rear of the grid for both races within the fifteen strong grid for the opening two, hour long races.
What happened next however was nothing short of remarkable as Talbot took the opening stint for race one as he quickly established a top ten running position within the opening laps. A Safety car for a stranded Audi in the gravel only helped to close the gaps for when the race went back to green just a few minutes left to the opening of the put window with the #1 car in P8.
Stops over and the #1 car resumed its P8 running position with Fraser now aboard before a second Safety car intervention was required (unsure why) which again, closed everyone back up. A late puncture for one car and a post-race time penalty for another was enough to lift the Volante Rosso AMR up to P5 overall at the end.
Sunday’s second race was much of the same as the Aston Martin again started from the back of the pack with Fraser this time behind the wheel where this time, he gained significant early places within the opening laps.
Getting into the top ten overall at the midway point to his stint, Fraser was also hanging upon the heels of those in front looking for that further passing opportunities before pitting from P11.
Starting their final stint of the day, Talbot was immediately on that charge as he passed into P10 and up to P6 overall with still fifteen minutes remaining. A puncture and spin for the Porsche and a DTP for the race leading Audi all helped again to lift the #1 into a podium contending position with just seven minutes remaining as rain threatened overhead.
With drops of rain now steadily falling, Talbot was the fastest car on track with just two laps remaining but the distance to first was just too great with diminishing grip for him to push safely for the win. Last to second on the podium would be their ending to the opening race weekend!
Next stop Sydney Motorsport Park at the beginning of May.
Photo credits – Team / Series / social media
Monday, April 07, 2025 |
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Volante Rosso indeed fly the AMR flag solo within GT World Challenge Australia this weekend
The GT World Challenge Australia Series kicks off its six round 2025 season this weekend with a two race visit to Phillip Island for its eighteen strong GT3 grid.
As per previous posts regarding the Volante Rosso entry, they will indeed remain the sole Aston Martin Racing entry for this round and possibly the season as the KMB Motorsport team have elected to run their Bentley GT3 this time around rather than their V12 Aston Martin Racing Vantage GT3.
Still racing within the Pro-Am class, the Volante Rosso AMR V8 AMR Vantage GT3 will be driven by GT World Challenge Australia Sprint Cup racer Liam Talbot alongside Supercar’s racer Declan Fraser within a car that will be displaying its third livery design since coming to the team from the USA last year.
Judging by the team attire at the recent Bathurst 12hr, we cannot assume that it will be red related either and you can see the car behind the drivers in white!!
Photo credits – Team / social media
Monday, March 31, 2025 |
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