John Gourlay’s latest Sports Sedan will make its highly-anticipated competition debut in Round 1 of the Victorian Sports Sedan Championship Sandown, in the hands of 17-year-old, Cadel Ambrose.
Ambrose’s call-up to drive Gourlay’s new Audi A4 marks his debut in Sports Sedans, which joins the Trico Victorian State Race Series for its opening round, February 14-16.
The first round at Sandown will be a shakedown for both Ambrose and the new Audi, with a goal of competing in the 2025 National Sports Sedans Series, kicking off at Sydney Motorsport Park, March 21-23.
Having been in development for close to a decade, Gourlay’s latest creation is an evolution of his highly-successful Audi A4, which has featured at the head of national Sports Sedans competition since 2007.
With Ambrose recently completing several test sessions at Winton, the Mornington Peninsula-based youngster feels he’s taking a realistic approach to a significant new challenge.
“As soon as I left the pits for the first time, I knew the Audi demanded respect.” Said Ambrose.
“Heading to Winton for that first test, I wouldn’t say it was daunting, but I knew the significance of the task at hand and I had to be mature in my approach, making sure I listened whenever possible.
“Obviously, you take it easy on the first few sighting laps, but John (Gourlay) has done a mega job developing this new beast, and I started to feel comfortable pretty quickly.
“The new Audi is a perfect example of John’s engineering ability, and his competitive desire to push the technical and design features of the new car.
“I’ve grown up around Sports Sedans most of my life, but experiencing a Chevrolet V8 thumping away just centimeters from your left knee was a whole new experience for me.
“Like all new race cars, there are a few teething issues to iron out, but that’s what testing is for, and I simply cannot wait to jump behind the wheel of the Audi at Sandown and get a proper understanding of its straight-line handling capabilities.
“I am grateful to John for allowing me the opportunity to debut this car at Sandown.”
Esteemed alumni associated with Gourlay’s previous-generation Audi include Jack Perkins, Darren Hossack and most recently, Jordan Caruso, the latter two claiming National Sports Sedans titles in 2008 and 2022 respectively.
Hossack has been tasked with initial testing duties of the new Audi and was close to debuting it at the 2024 National Sports Sedans finale at the Bathurst International, however the team pragmatically elected to delay its maiden appearance to focus on further development.
The new Gourlay Audi started life as Jeff Barnes’ Pontiac Trans AM Sports Sedan, which was built by the famed K&A Engineering, in Adelaide, the same firm that created the Veskanda Group C Sports Cars driven in period by circuit racing legends, Dick Johnson and John Bowe.
Gourlay took over the chassis and rebuilt it from the ground up. Although resembling the old Audi with B7 series A4 body work, the new A4 represents a notable evolution from the old car, especially underneath the panels.
Ambrose has amassed an enviable racing resume in a relatively short time span, including several Australian Karting titles, the 2023 Victorian Hyundai Excel Championship, as well as a stint in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Scholarship Series in 2024.
Sitting in Ambrose’s corner and supporting his racing journey is his father, Rohan Ambrose, who has made his lion’s share of starts in Improved Production, as well as Sports Sedans, racing rotary-powered Mazdas in the 1990s and 2000s.
