Ojeda and Lucchitti Claim Darwin Podium Despite Challenging Finale

Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti have secured another podium finish in the GT World Challenge Australia Championship after claiming second place during the Liqui Moly GT Festival Darwin at Hidden Valley Raceway.

The Tigani Motorsport pairing showed encouraging pace from the outset, finishing second in Friday's opening practice session. Lucchitti qualified seventh for Race 1, while Ojeda secured fourth in his qualifying session, placing the #66 Mercedes-AMG GT3 on the second row for Sunday's Race 2.

Ojeda praised his co-driver following the podium result.

"Nice to get on the podium on a Saturday. Paul did an awesome job to avoid the carnage early in the race and drove a solid stint." said Ojeda.

"Awesome points for our championship and a great performance from the Tigani Motorsport team."

Lucchitti said capitalising on the opening-lap incident proved crucial.

"Second place is a great result considering the weekend we've had," said Lucchitti.

"We've been struggling with the car and pace, so it's good to come away with a podium. I could see the incident at Turn 1 unfolding and it opened up a pathway for me to move into P2. From there it was about putting together a clean stint."

Sunday looked positive with Ojeda starting Race 2 from the second row. However, contact in another chaotic Turn 1 dropped the #66 Mercedes-AMG GT3 down the order before the crew was further impacted by the additional success penalty earned following Saturday's podium, ultimately finishing 11th.

"Not the day we'd hoped for," said Ojeda.

"We were boxed in at Turn 1 and got caught in the chaos. Our success penalty from yesterday sent us even further down the field during the pit stop."

Tigani Motorsport Technical Director Matt Harvey said the team had maximised its package despite carrying the additional success penalty.

"An exceptional job from everyone to learn the track, adapt to the set-up and get the cars dialled in," Harvey said.

"Unfortunately we've been a victim of our own success this year and the balance of performance has gone against us, but we've done what we could to mitigate it. Today the lack of straight-line performance played out and things compounded from there. We'll take the points and look forward to the next round."

Despite a difficult conclusion to the weekend, the Saturday podium and valuable championship points ensure Ojeda and Lucchitti remain firmly in the GT World Challenge Australia title fight as the series heads to Sydney Motorsport Park for the next round.