Australia's most exotic sports and GT cars will take to the track this weekend for round two of the country's newest motorsport competition - The Pirelli GranTurismo Championship.

Former Ferrari Formula One pilot Ivan Capelli made a surprise visit to Melbourne's Calder Park on the Monday immediately following the Australian Grand Prix, but not as a spectator, the Italian star getting behind the wheel of Jim Manolios's Maserati Trofeo GT3 for some hot laps.

"This was a double-edged session," Trofeo Motorsport's Rod Wilson explained. "Ivan is a friend of ours and we have been speaking to him over recent months about getting him into the car whilst he was here - for two reasons. One, as a former Maserati instructor and race driver, his knowledge of the car and the package would be invaluable, as would his immense experience as a driver.