Richards looking forward to Barbagallo challenge

BMW Team SRM driver Steve Richards is looking forward to the CAMS Australian GT Championship's third round, set to be held at Barbagallo next weekend.

It marks the first time the series has visited the Western Australian circuit, but it's a venue Richards is already familiar with.

"I think it'll be a great circuit and suit the cars really well," Richards explained.

"Even though the circuit is quite short the corners there are quite fast so it should actually be quite a good place for the GT cars.

"They'll get to use all their aerodynamic drip and it's a nice smooth circuit as well so the cars will be at their optimum."

Known for producing dramatic racing, Richards expects Barbagallo will play host to another thrilling weekend of racing in the CAMS Australian GT Championship with plenty of overtaking.

"Generally what happens at Barbagallo is you have really bad tyre life but I don't think we'll have that," Richards said.

"I think we'll have good life from the Pirelli tyres but the overall grip might be low because the circuit is so sandy.

"The good thing about that is we'll be able to race nice and hard the whole way through the race, it should be great.

"There are quite a few opportunities to pass, and if you've got that then guys will take the opportunity when people make mistakes."

Barbagallo will be the third round of the 2016 CAMS Australian GT Championship, and the third event for Richards' BMW Team SRM outfit.

After debuting at the Clipsal 500 in March the team has already made strong progress as it comes to grips with the BMW M6 GT3.

However it continues to face strong opposition with the championship leading Melbourne Performance Centre teams having tested at the Barbagallo circuit last week.

The CAMS Australian GT Championship will have two 60-minute races across the May 6-8 weekend, starting with practice and two qualifying sessions on Friday.

Foxtel will broadcast all sessions from Qualifying 1 live on channel 506 across the weekend.

CAMS Australian GT Championship Schedule

Friday
09:10 – 09:30 Practice
11:25 – 11:45 Qualifying 1
14:05 – 14:25 Qualifying 2
Saturday
12:15 – 13:15 Race 1
Sunday
11:25 – 12:25 Race 2