Summer Rintoule and Zoe Woods continue strong GT4 Australia campaign with podium finishes in Queensland
- MIKA BÖCKER
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
Summer Rintoule and Zoe Woods continued their impressive GT4 Australia campaigns at Queensland Raceway, with Rintoule narrowly missing out on her first win by less than a second and Woods securing her second overall podium of the season, further cementing both drivers as consistent front-runners in the Silver class.
Summer Rintoule just missed out on her first GT4 Australia victory by less than a second at Queensland Raceway, the third round of the season, which also saw Zoe Woods secure a podium finish.
After a chaotic first wet race, both Summer Rintoule and Zoe Woods fought for podiums in the second race, adding important results to their already remarkable start to the season.
The two female drivers are enjoying a brilliant start to the 2025 Monochrome GT4 Australia Series, consistently battling within the top five at each round so far and remaining steady contenders for the overall podium—an achievement both have already secured in 2025. Rintoule finished second in the opening race at Sydney Motorsport Park, while Woods followed with a third-place finish in race two.
Rintoule, stepping up from the highly competitive Toyota GR 86 Cup, is in her rookie season in GT4 Australia but has already impressed at the wheel of the #87 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT4, which she shares with Jarrod Hughes in the Silver class—the top category in the championship. After opening with a top five at Phillip Island, the 18-year-old went on to finish second and fifth at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Also returning to the championship is 23-year-old Zoe Woods, who made the transition from karting to the Toyota GR 86 Series in 2023. In 2024, she stepped up to GT4 Australia with a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport while continuing to compete in the Toyota GR 86 Series. After a first podium, Woods became the first woman to win a race in the series in the Pro-Am class.
In 2025, Woods is looking to continue that upward trajectory—and she has certainly started strong: sharing the #210 Porsche with Nash Morris for TekworkX Motorsport, the duo finished fourth and fifth at Phillip Island, and their consistency continued with fourth- and third-place finishes in Sydney’s second round.
The series then headed to Queensland Raceway for round three, with both teams aiming to keep scoring points toward their Silver class championship.
Qualifying produced an interesting starting grid: Hughes would start the #87 Mercedes from second place, while Morris would be forced start the #210 Porsche from the back of the grid.
Before the first GT4 Australia race of the Queensland weekend, in fact, rain began to fall on the track. This led to a tyre gamble for most teams, as a tyre change would require a pit stop with a minimum duration of over two minutes. Some teams started on wets, but most—including Hughes in the #87 Mercedes—opted for slicks. However, during the formation lap, Hughes realised the rain had intensified and wisely pitted before the start.
The field tiptoed through the first two corners without incident, but the third corner proved more chaotic. After multiple collisions, the #36 Mercedes spun and crashed heavily into a concrete wall, while the #48 Audi went into a tyre barriers. The safety car was deployed, and other teams used the opportunity to switch to wet tyres.
Hughes benefitted from the early call and avoided going a lap down, lining up behind the cars that had started on wets. Others, like Morris in the #210 Porsche, who pitted later, were not so lucky and rejoined a lap behind. The restart came 18 minutes into the race. Hughes quickly moved up to fifth and soon overtook the #24 McLaren at the final corner. Clearly the fastest in the wet, he charged up to second and began chasing the leader.
Midway through the race, the #14 BMW spun into the gravel and got stuck, prompting another safety car. The field used this opportunity for their mandatory pit stops and driver changes. Unfortunately, Rintoule rejoined between the safety car and the race leader, and it took several laps to resolve the issue before she was waved past. Meanwhile, Woods gained several positions and found herself in a
stronger position than she had started.
The next restart took place with 12 minutes to go. Just two laps later, Rintoule had climbed back to fifth overall. Neither of the women’s teams had the chance to advance further, though, as the race was red-flagged six minutes early: in a battle for the lead, the #27 Mustang was forced off-line on the front straight, lost control, and crashed heavily into the pit wall. The wreckage left debris strewn across the entire track width. Simultaneously, the #22 car spun into the gravel.
Rintoule’s #87 Mercedes was classified 10th overall and 3rd in class, having been handed a time penalty. Woods’ Porsche finished 16th overall and 6th in class after an unpredictable and unlucky race.
Race two of the weekend took place on the first day of the Australian winter. Unlike the day before, conditions were however sunny and warm. Rintoule started from 11th overall in the #87 Mercedes, while Woods lined up 14th in the #210 Porsche.
The start was clean, despite a small midfield collision. After the opening lap, Rintoule had already climbed to ninth, though she was unable to match the pace of the car ahead, driven by Berryman.
Woods moved up to 13th, then gained another spot the following lap. She needed three more laps to pass Arratoon for 11th, at which point most positions were largely settled.
A spin from the #24 McLaren with 40 minutes remaining brought out the safety car. The neutralisation extended into the pit window.
After her stint, Rintoule commented:“It was good, to be honest. I was just trying to pick up some pace there. I really had to go a lot to catch up to those guys in front, and I was. I got him there at the end, but unfortunately we did get a safety car. But it kind of works to our benefit as well. So I just hope Jarrod [Hughes] can go out there and get him back.”
The safety car period was extended further when two McLarens broke down with overheating issues and had to be recovered, leaving just 17 minutes of green-flag racing after the restart.
Morris (now in the #210 Porsche) was in fourth, with Hughes right behind in the #87 Mercedes. The two drivers overtook Lawrence’s BMW together shortly after the restart. However, on the second lap, the Ginetta spun and was collected by a Mustang, requiring yet another safety car.
The final restart came with just 3:30 minutes remaining. The two women's teams were still line astern and immediately fought each other for second place in the Silver class—and third place overall. Despite the battle, both overtook Callaghan and began chasing the leader.
Hughes overtook Morris and closed in on the leader, who defended aggressively. Unable to make a move stick, Hughes came under pressure from Morris again. In a thrilling finish, the top three crossed the line within one second: Summer Rintoule narrowly missed her first GT4 Australia win, finishing second. Zoe Woods secured her second overall podium of the season with third place.
Continuing their strong start to the season, both Rintoule and Woods remain consistent front-runners. Woods now sits fourth in the Silver class championship standings with 74 points, while Rintoule is sixth with 63. The next round will take place at Sandown, from 25–27 July.
