Zoe Woods and Summer Rintoule add more podiums to their GT4 Australia campaigns in Sandown
- MIKA BÖCKER
- 5 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Zoe Woods and Summer Rintoule each claimed a podium finish in a dramatic rain-affected GT4 Australia weekend at Sandown, with Woods coming close to a victory in race 2.
In changeable weather, Zoe Woods came close to victory in GT4 Australia, while both she and felow female driver Summer Rintoule secured podium finishes during an eventful weekend at Sandown.
Eighteen-year-old Summer Rintoule has made an immediate impact in her rookie season in the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series, stepping up from the Toyota GR 86 Cup to race in the top-tier Silver class. Teaming up with Jarrod Hughes in the #87 Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT4, Rintoule has consistently challenged for top-five finishes. After opening the season with a strong showing at Phillip Island, she claimed a runner-up finish in the opening race at Sydney Motorsport Park and came remarkably close to her first GT4 victory at Queensland Raceway, missing out by less than a second.
Returning to the series for a second year, 23-year-old Zoe Woods has continued her rapid progression in GT racing. After transitioning from karting to the Toyota GR 86 Series in 2023 and becoming the first woman to win a race in the GT4 Australia Pro-Am class in 2024, Woods now shares the #210 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport with Nash Morris at TekworkX Motorsport. The pair opened the season with consistent fourth- and fifth-place finishes at Phillip Island, followed by a third-place podium in Sydney.
At Queensland Raceway, Woods also fought at the front, claiming a runner-up finish in the second race.
Both female drivers were aiming to maintain momentum heading into the fourth round at Sandown.
Their respective teammates would start Saturday’s race—Morris in the #210 Porsche from fifth and Hughes in the #87 Mercedes from ninth. The start was clean and all cars survived the opening lap, with Morris gaining one position early on.
On the second lap, there was a minor collision at the chicane (Turns 3 and 4) between Morris and Quinn’s #3 BMW, which spun into the wall. The BMW remained largely undamaged and continued with time lost. Morris advanced to third overall and in the Silver class.
Hughes climbed to seventh on the same lap, running fourth in class. One lap later, however, Morris was spun at the same spot by another car, avoided the wall, but dropped back to 20th. Hughes benefited from the incident and moved up to fifth.
With just under ten minutes left in the race, Hughes overtook Seton in the #71 Mustang for fourth place. Shortly before the pit stop window, he capitalized on a battle between Burcher and Cameron to move into second overall.
Meanwhile, Morris mounted an impressive recovery drive to reach 15th before light rain began to fall just as the pit window opened. Both Hughes and Morris pitted early, opting to stay on slick tyres. Soon after, multiple cars began sliding off: the #20 car went into the gravel but rejoined, while the #17 Mercedes got stuck. A lap later, the #14 BMW missed the yellow flags, skidded off, and hit the stranded #17, bringing out the safety car.
The recovery took time, and racing resumed with eight minutes remaining. Rintoule ran eighth, and Woods had climbed to 11th. Shortly after the restart, Rintoule was passed by Geoghegan, who later received a 15-second penalty for contact with the #22 BMW. This allowed Rintoule to inherit positions and cross the line in second, claiming her fourth podium of the season.
Hansford was spun at the rear of the pack, triggering chaos in the tight field and allowing Woods to move up to tenth. She gained two more places and caught up to seventh but was narrowly beaten in a photo finish by Gomersall, taking eighth at the flag.
Before the second race, light rain began to fall and gradually intensified. Most of the top-ten runners remained on slicks—except Woods, who chose rain tyres. During the two formation laps, more teams followed suit as conditions worsened.
Woods’ strategy proved correct. Several cars slid off at the start, and she surged from ninth to second in the opening meters. Rintoule, still on slicks, dropped from 13th to 15th. By lap three, Woods had taken the lead in Turn 1 and built a multi-second advantage. Rintoule meanwhile fell to 17th.
After 13 minutes, Woods' double-digit lead was erased by a safety car following a spin by the #75 McLaren and contact for Arratoon. While the rain had eased, several teams used the opportunity to switch to wets. The restart came with 36 minutes to go on a drying track.
Nevertheless, Woods pulled away again. Rintoule regained ground to 14th. Just as the pit window opened, the #19 Mercedes spun on the back straight, triggering another safety car. The leaders had just passed pit entry and lost valuable time—along with their right to a wave-by for lapped cars.
After taking over from Woods, Morris rejoined in the lead but had second place right behind and several lapped cars in front. With no blue flags, the leading duo had to fight through traffic, which Morris managed better in the #210 Porsche.
Hughes, meanwhile, was flying and setting purple sectors. He quickly climbed to 11th, then seventh with ten minutes to go. Once the leaders cleared the traffic, the track had dried completely and Morris’ wet tyres were shot. Camilleri passed him with ease, pulling away by five seconds per lap.
Despite fading grip, Morris held off the car behind and crossed the finish line in second, securing his and Zoe Woods’ third podium of the season. The duo now sit fourth in the championship standings.
Hughes, meanwhile, was the fastest driver on track—not only in the race but in series history—setting a new GT4 lap record of 1:13.537. That pace allowed him to gain further positions and finish fourth, just a fraction behind Gray in third, still collecting valuable points. Jarrod Hughes and Summer Rintoule now sit fifth in the standings.
At the next round at The Bend, from September 5th to 7th, both teams aim to build on their strong momentum and chase that first victory.