Sydney rising star David Wall will lead a pack of sportscars valued at almost $10 million to Eastern Creek Raceway this weekend, for Round Six of the Shannons Nationals. Wall sits atop the Australian GT Championship, the country’s premier sportscar class and one of seven national categories taking part in a massive weekend of racing in Sydney. The 20-plus car field features dream machines from Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Aston Martin, Mosler, Lotus, Dodge, Maserati and Corvette. Driving for Sydney-based team PR Technology, Wall leads the championship by 51.5 points at the halfway mark in a Porsche GT3 Cup S, one of only two in the country.

“We’re more than happy with how the year has gone so far,” Wall said.

“Entering the second half of the season, we’re leading the championship and have a little margin up our sleeve.

“Eastern Creek is our home round so we’re keen for a good result, hopefully we can have a strong run and extend our championship lead.”

A former Carrera Cup front-runner, Wall has amassed plenty of Porsche experience in recent years.

Since rejoining the GT Championship this year after Carrera Cup’s demise, Wall finished second in the season opener at the Clipsal 500 and won the following rounds at the Australian Grand Prix and Phillip Island.

This weekend will see the championship change in format, reverting from the pair of one-hour races at Phillip Island to contest three, 20-minute sprint races.

“There’s a definite change in tempo between the longer races and the sprint races,” the Shannons-backed driver said.

“In the longer races, you can think twice about trying overtaking moves and use pitstop strategy, whereas you need to take advantage of every opportunity you get in a sprint race.

“I drove this car for the very first time at Eastern Creek last year, we did 20-odd laps and our speed was on par with the front-runners from last year’s GT round, which is positive heading into this weekend.”

In addition to his Australian GT title campaign, Wall has a number of other upcoming drives on his radar.

He will make his V8 Supercar debut, tackling the V8 Supercar endurance races with Wilson Security Racing, and compete in a sportscar endurance race in Malaysia next month.

“Winning the GT Championship is my focus, but I’m looking forward to the V8 races,” Wall said.

“I’ve done a test day and a couple of co-driver sessions in the Supercar this year and there’s some more to come, but I’ve also been doing drive days with the team since 2006 so I feel comfortable in the cars.

“With the GT and V8 races and the Malaysian 12 Hour, it’s going to be a busy second half of the year.”

The Australian GT Championship will be joined by the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, Boylan Traffic Solutions Australian Manufacturers Championship, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, TTM Traffic and Parking Commodore Cup, Australian Superkart Championship and Tyrepower HQ Nationals this weekend.

A big weekend of action kicks off at 9am on Saturday, with racing from 3pm, ahead of a full program of races from 9am on Sunday.

Sunday tickets are great school holiday value at just $20, with kids under 12, grandstand seating and pit paddock access all free.

A unique initiative in conjunction with Boylan Traffic Solutions, wheelchair-bound fans and a carer will be admitted free all weekend.

For more information about the 2009 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit http://www.thenationals.com.au.