Draft:GWR Australia

Formation and early years (2013–2016)

Garth Walden, the son of Sydney-based racecar builder Brian Walden, established Garth Walden Racing in 2013 after an earlier career that included stints in V8 Supercars, Australian Formula 3, the Australian Production Car Championship, and a role as a factory Radical Sportscars driver and manager. Walden had previously operated Walden Motorsport with his father and had achieved three World Time Attack Challenge Pro Class titles driving the Tilton Interiors Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX at Sydney Motorsport Park.^[3]

The team initially focused on Radical Cup Australia, NSW Supersports, and Time Attack competition, operating from a purpose-built workshop in Prospect. Walden himself competed in Porsche Carrera Cup Australia in 2016 alongside expanding the team’s multi-car operations.^[3]

Growth and diversification (2017–2022)

GWR steadily expanded into GT racing, fielding entries in what became GT World Challenge Australia (formerly the Australian GT Championship). The team took on a range of marques including Mercedes-AMG, Nissan, Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini for gentleman drivers and professional racers alike.

Key partnerships were formed during this period, most notably with RAM Motorsport (led by Mike Sheargold) and with Brett Hobson, who became a long-term driver within the GWR stable. The RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia partnership campaigned a Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the 2022 Bathurst 12 Hour, qualifying fifth outright — fastest of the GT3 Am class contenders — before a race-ending accident after 170 laps.^[4]

In 2021, GWR was appointed as the official Radical Sportscars dealer for Eastern Australia, responsible for the import, sale, and servicing of new Radical race cars and genuine parts.^[1]

Championship success (2023–present)

The 2024 season proved a breakout year for the team. Mike Sheargold and Garth Walden secured the GT World Challenge Australia Am Class championship driving the RAM Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3, after finishing second in the class in 2022 and third in 2023.^[5] The team also won the GTWC Australia Endurance Am Cup in 2024.^[6]

GWR's Carrera Cup programme reached its zenith in the 2025 season when Dylan O'Keeffe, driving the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Porsche 992 GT3 Cup car, won the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Equity-One Professional Championship — the team’s first national outright title in the category. O'Keeffe's season was characterised by consistency, recording only one DNF and one finish lower than sixth, beating two-time champion Harri Jones by 43 points.^[7] GWR teammate Matt Belford finished second in the Pro-Am class standings the same season.

At the 2026 Bathurst 12 Hour, the RAM Motorsport/GWR Australia Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Dylan O'Keeffe, Brett Hobson, and Garth Walden won the Pro-Am class, finishing 13th outright.^[8]

For 2025, GWR also expanded into Monochrome GT4 Australia, entering a Toyota GR Supra GT4 Evo2 — one of the first examples delivered worldwide — for Formula Ford graduate Daniel Frougas.^[9]

O'Keeffe confirmed a return to Carrera Cup for 2026 to defend his title, marking a fifth consecutive season with the GWR Australia/RAM Motorsport operation.^[10]

Workshop and services

GWR Australia’s Prospect workshop serves as both the team’s race headquarters and a commercial motorsport services facility. The workshop houses specialist equipment for race car preparation and trackside support, engine building and sub-assembly, suspension and damper servicing and configuration, driver training and coaching, and race engineering.^[2]

Radical dealership

As Radical Australia East, GWR is responsible for the import, sale, and factory-approved servicing of Radical race cars across Eastern Australia. The dealership complements GWR’s competitive Radical Cup programme, through which the team has won multiple outright Radical Cup Australia titles.^[1]

Multi-car campaigns

GWR’s logistical capability was showcased at the 2021 Bathurst 6 Hour, where the team ran three cars — a pair of Mercedes A45 AMGs and a Mitsubishi Evo X driven by brothers Ben and Michael Kavich — with all three finishing in the outright top 10.^[3]

RAM Motorsport A1 class dominance

The partnership between GWR Australia and RAM Motorsport has produced a remarkable record in the Bathurst 6 Hour’s Class A1 (high-performance turbocharged cars). The RAM Motorsport Mercedes A45 AMG, prepared and managed by GWR, achieved podium finishes in every one of its first four Bathurst 6 Hour entries.^[11]

In 2021, Michael Sheargold, Ollie Shannon, and Brett Hobson won Class A1 and finished seventh outright, recovering from an early tyre puncture through strategic pit calls by GWR to claw back from nearly a lap down.^[12]

In 2022, Dylan O'Keeffe, Michael Sheargold, and Ollie Shannon won Class A1 and finished fourth outright — the only non-Class X car to finish on the lead lap.^[13]

In 2023, Sheargold, Hobson, and O'Keeffe secured a third consecutive Class A1 victory, with Sheargold joining an elite group of drivers to achieve three successive class wins in Bathurst endurance racing — a list that includes Peter Brock, Jim Richards, Craig Lowndes, and Jamie Whincup.^[14]

In 2025, the original RAM Motorsport driver line-up of Ryan Godfrey, Alex Bryden, and Mike Sheargold reunited for the first time as co-drivers, running a special Tour de Cure livery in recognition of Sheargold’s bowel cancer diagnosis in 2023. Despite suspension issues in practice and tyre delamination during the race, Godfrey battled to secure third in Class A1 and 15th outright — extending the team’s A1 podium streak to four from four entries.^[11]

Earlier GWR involvement

GWR was involved in earlier Bathurst 6 Hour events in various capacities. In 2019, a GWR-prepared Mercedes A45 driven by Steve Johnson, Rob Woods, and Marcel Zalloua finished third outright after a dramatic last-corner battle.^[15] Team owner Garth Walden and long-time co-driver Michael Auld achieved Bathurst 12 Hour production car era class victories in 2008 and 2009.

Peter Paddon

Peter Paddon, the owner of Sydney IT firm First Focus, became the dominant force in Radical Australia Cup competition in the mid-2010s. Paddon claimed three consecutive Radical Australia Cup titles, established six consecutive race victories at Mount Panorama, and compiled an unbeaten record at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand across five races.^[16]

Paddon joined GWR Australia ahead of the 2021 season. He continued as a leading contender through the transition to the Radical Cup Australia in 2022, finishing runner-up in the inaugural season and fourth in 2023. Paddon then reclaimed the national title in 2024, winning the First Focus Radical Cup Australia championship in a season-long battle with Cooper Cutts that went to the final race at Mount Panorama and was decided by just 10 points.^[17] With his fourth national Radical title (three in the old RAC format, one in the RCA), Paddon cemented his position as the most decorated Radical racer in Australian history.

Chris Perini

Chris Perini emerged as Paddon’s most formidable rival during the 2018 season. The former motorcycle racer showed immediate speed in his debut Radical Australia Cup campaign with GWR, claiming maiden race victories at The Bend Motorsport Park and Sydney Motorsport Park. After narrowly missing the 2018 title to Kim Burke, Perini and Paddon — now GWR teammates — engaged in a season-long championship duel in 2019 that went to the final round at Highlands Motorsport Park in New Zealand. Despite Paddon’s dominant unbeaten record at the venue, Perini — who had never previously raced at Highlands — won the 2019 title by eight points after an epic battle across the final two races.^[18]

With the 2020 season severely curtailed, Perini returned in 2021 to dominate the Radical Australia Cup, extending his winning streak at Sydney Motorsport Park.^[19] When the category was restructured as the Radical Cup Australia in 2022, Perini won the inaugural championship.

The Perini–Paddon rivalry

The competitive dynamic between Perini and Paddon — both GWR Australia teammates sharing a garage — was one of the defining storylines of Australian one-make sportscar racing through the late 2010s and into the 2020s. The pair pushed each other relentlessly on track while maintaining mutual respect off it, with each crediting the other’s presence as a motivating factor in their own development.^[3]

Other notable Radical competitors

Beyond Perini and Paddon, GWR has fielded numerous other Radical Cup competitors including Steve Champion (multiple NSW Supersports champion and Radical race winner), Kostinken Pohorukov (also associated with GWR’s World Time Attack Challenge programme), Paul Braico, and Phil Anseline. The team has consistently won or challenged for the teams’ championship in the Radical Cup Australia, competing against rival operations Arise Racing and Volante Rosso Motorsport.^[3]