A determined drive to second place in Sunday’s race has highlighted Tony Bates’ return to motorsport in Round 1 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia at Phillip Island over the weekend.

Starting second in the Am class, Bates made a speedy getaway from the rolling start and gained two positions by the first corner, and within the first four laps, he had built a margin of more than six seconds over his rivals.

However, Bates and his team soon became aware of a slowly deflating tire on his Makita/C-Tech Laser Mercedes-AMG GT3, and rather than making an unscheduled visit to the pits, Bates elected to slow his pace to ensure the damaged tire could be replaced during his compulsory stop.

By the time Bates pitted, he had lost multiple positions. Still, upon his return to the track, he punched out the fastest laps of the Am-Class drivers. He pulled off some inspired overtaking moves, including a spectacular high-speed pass around the outside of a competitor through the second-last corner.

While content with the second, Bates felt a win went begging.

“Before the tire went down, I was doing it comfortably, but then I had to drop my times by about five seconds a lap to ensure I made it to the pit stop without the tire failing altogether,” he said.

“Once I rejoined, the pace was strong, but it was hard work passing cars.”

Bates was also on for a good result in the Saturday race, again leading the Am class until Phillip Island’s notoriously unpredictable weather intervened; he was caught as the pioneer on a greasy track and rotated off the circuit at Turn 1.

“When the rain arrived, I braked early, but I think I caught the painted white line on the edge of the track, which was very slippery and completely unsettled the car,” Bates said.

Nevertheless, after being out of the car for almost 12 months, Bates was satisfied with his return to the racing scene.

“It was very enjoyable being back on track, having some good battles with my old rivals, and knowing I was fast enough to race at the front of the pack,” he said.

“The Ashley Seward Motorsport crew prepared the car meticulously, and I thoroughly enjoyed working with my engineer, Brendan Hogan, who fine-tuned the car after each session. We made incremental improvements all weekend, and by the Sunday race, I felt very comfortable.

“It would have been nice to have completed my comeback with a race win, but there are lots of positives to take out of the weekend with the pace we displayed,” Bates concluded.

The next round of GT World Challenge Australia will be held at The Bend Motorsport Park, 31 May-2 June.

GT World Challenge Australia Round 1 Results
Qualifying 1: 4^th
Qualifying 2: 2^nd
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: 2^nd
Overall: 7^th