Tom Bewley to join Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in 2025

Continuing its support of young New Zealand race drivers, Porsche New Zealand has announced that Tom Bewley will be the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Scholarship driver for the 2025 season.

The scholarship allows Bewley to race in a 911 GT3 Cup Car, with the support of Team Porsche New Zealand (TPNZ) and Earl Bamber Motorsport in 2025 in the Australian based series.

Fresh from being crowned the New Zealand Toyota 86 Champion for the 2023/24 season Bewley says he is thrilled to take this exciting next step in his career.

“I’m honoured to receive the scholarship, next year is going to be a big year for me but I’m looking forward to doing Porsche New Zealand proud on and off track,” said Bewley.

“I’ve done some early running in a Porsche already, and it’s a big step from a Toyota 86, but I’m ready to learn and grow from the TPNZ / Earl Bamber Motorsport team and look to get some good results in our first season in Australia.”

It has been a long motorsport journey for Bewley, who started in karts when he was six years old. Since then he has won multiple titles in karts before moving into race cars where he spent two years in the Toyota 86 championship – culminating in the championship win for the 2023/24 season.

“The first year in Toyota 86 was a big learning curve but it set me up for my second year perfectly, winning the championship was a big goal of mine.”

Bewley’s Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge season will kick off at the Phillip Island circuit outside of Melbourne in April.

Established in 2019, the scholarship programme has seen young New Zealand drivers compete across Asia and Australasia.

Porsche New Zealand General Manager, Greg Clarke says he’s pleased to welcome Bewley to Team Porsche New Zealand, and thinks the young Kiwi is more than deserving of the opportunity.

“This is the sixth year we’ve run this Porsche scholarship programme for a young Kiwi drivers, and we’re thrilled to welcome Tom to the Porsche fold and to compete in Australia next year,” says Greg Clarke, General Manager, Porsche New Zealand.

“We watch the junior categories here in New Zealand closely, and Tom clearly stood out last season. We look forward to see him develop further as a driver in Australia under the Earl Bamber Motorsport / Team Porsche New Zealand banner.”

Bewley is the latest in a long line of New Zealand drivers who have used the scholarship to springboard their international careers. The most notable being Callum Hedge who won the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship in 2023, which then saw him move on to the US to compete in the Indy NXT Championship.

“The scholarship has been a massive success as we saw with Callum Hedge winning the top Porsche Championship in Australasia in 2023. But add to that it has seen young Kiwi drivers such as Matthew Payne and Ryan Wood move onto Supercars. The programme is designed to give these young drivers the opportunities to perform and hopefully move onto the next stages of their careers.”

Earl Bamber Motorsport team principal Earl Bamber says he’s excited to see the latest Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Scholarship recipient to emerge out of the local New Zealand motorsport landscape.

“We are excited to announce Tom Bewley as the new recipient of the Team Porsche New Zealand scholarship. He is a well deserving winner and a champion at Toyota 86 which many of our previous drivers have come from. I think he has got an amazing back ground in racing and a great future in motorsport. ” says Bamber.

“We look forward to being a small part of his big future in motorsport, and hopefully can following the footsteps of Matt Payne, Ryan Wood, Callum Hedge and Brock Gilchrist.”

To learn more about the Team Porsche New Zealand scholarship program visit: porsche.co.nz/teamporschenz

2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series confirmed

Exciting 2025 calendar locks in six key events at sensational circuits across Australia

THE 2025 PORSCHE Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series calendar has been confirmed, with an exciting six-round schedule locked in for one of Australia’s most competitive series.

The 2025 schedule will feature a mixture of Supercars Championship and SRO-promoted events, offering Sprint Challenge competitors a mix of high-profile events, strong Television coverage and excellent opportunities for track time at excellent drivers’ circuits across the six-round schedule.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge will link with SRO Motorsport for four rounds of their new 2025 calendar, running on the same program as the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia and Monochrome GT4 Australia series.

Starting at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in April, the SRO segment of the calendar will include rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park, Queensland Raceway and Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend.

The series will also return to a pair of key Repco Supercars Championship rounds, including a second visit to North Queensland and the popular NTI Townsville 500 event in July.

Sprint Challenge made its street circuit debut at the event this year offering sensational racing, with the event serving for many as their first taste of street circuit competition.

The series will then be decided at the Penrite Sandown 500 in November, supporting the Supercars Championship at their key Finals event at the iconic suburban Melbourne venue.

Oscar Targett (Pro), Lachlan Harburg (Pro-Am) and Jacque Jarjo (Class B) claimed the 2024 titles in a compelling year of Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia competition.

2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series

Round 1 – SRO Phillip Island, April 4-6
Round 2 – SRO Sydney Motorsport Park, May 2-4
Round 3 – SRO Queensland Raceway, May 30 – June 1
Round 4 – NTI Townsville 500, July 11-13
Round 5 – SRO Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, September 5-6
Round 6 – Penrite Oil Sandown 500, November 13-15

John Murray – Porsche Cars Australia, Director Marketing and Motorsport

“The 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia calendar delivers a great mixture of events, circuits and opportunities for our teams and competitors.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with SRO Motorsports Australia to help grow their new for 2025 platform. They have exciting plans for their take on promoting events and it makes sense for an expanded Porsche presence, given the participation of our customers in their key categories as well.

“We are also proud to continue our excellent relationship with Supercars and ensure Sprint Challenge can join Carrera Cup in representing Porsche at key Repco Supercars Championship events.

“The first visit to Townsville was a roaring success, and concluding the series at Sandown as the Supercars are in the peak of their new ‘finals’ system will be an appropriate way to end the season.”

Ben McMellan – CEO, SRO Motorsports Group Australia 

“SRO Motorsports Australia is pleased to further strengthen SRO’s global relationship with Porsche by welcoming Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge to our events for the 2025 & 2026 seasons,” said McMellan.

“The Porsche Sprint Challenge class adds to Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, Monochrome GT4, and the new Ferrari Challenge Series, making our SRO events truly GT-inspired.

“The 2025 season sees us enter a new era for GT racing in Australia and this class of Porsche competition is the perfect partner for our events.”

Oscar Targett crowned Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge champion

Queensland teenager takes maiden national championship win at Sydney Motorsport Park

OSCAR TARGETT is the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series champion, sealing his maiden national racing title in style today at Sydney Motorsport Park.

At 18 years 10 months, the Queenslander is the second youngest ever one-make Porsche champion in Australia, trailing only Jordan Love – who won the 2017 Sprint Challenge title aged 18 years, 4 months.

Targett’s title came as the Sprint Challenge season was concluded at Sydney Motorsport Park today, the Grove Racing Junior also claiming the prestigious Jim Richards Endurance Trophy – decided across the longer, 45-minute enduro races held at each round of the championship.

Targett won the final round narrowly over Clay Osborne – who won the final race – and Ryan Suhle.

Ramu Farrell claimed the Pro-Am win over Lachy Harburg and Jacque Jarjo, while Daniel Quimby won Class B in Sydney.

Harburg claimed his second Porsche title, adding the Pro-Am class win to his 2022 Class B Sprint Challenge championship.

Harburg’s success ensured Earl Bamber Motorsport claimed both the Pro and Pro-Am titles, a feat they achieved in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia last year but had yet to achieve in Sprint Challenge.

Jacque Jarjo had already claimed the Class B championship and stepped up to Pro-Am for the first time this weekend.

Driving for Earl Bamber Motorsport and backed by the Grove Racing junior program, Targett’s accomplishment is the next step on a meteoric rise since his debut in Round 2 of the 2023 championship.

His lengthy karting career saw him race professionally overseas in the FIA Karting Championship before returning to Australia, aged just 16, to commence his circuit racing career.

His maiden year of racing saw him split circuit racing campaigns between one-make Toyota GR Cup and Porsche competition as he earned his racing stripes, racing under the tutelage of Grove Racing’s experts.

His initial Porsche campaign had a setback from the outset as he missed the opening round of last year’s title on account of having open heart surgery earlier in the year – however rebounded superbly to claim third in the championship, winning two races.

That set up a second-year attack where he arguably entered the year as a title favorite, however had to work hard for his early success in a highly competitive field of young Porsche Michelin Juniors.

He opened his 2024 account by winning the series opener at Phillip Island, before the flat-out series of races to opener the year where five different drivers claimed victories.

Perhaps his most emphatic statement of title intent, however, came in the final race at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend, where he charged to victory in a chaotic third race from 14th position on the starting grid.

That drive through the field to victory set up a dominant mid-season stanza where he claimed two of the three races in Townsville, all three races at Queensland Raceway and two of the three in Tasmania to claim all three rounds and entrench himself at the top of the standings.

The only driver remaining in contact with Targett heading into the series finale was Brock Gilchrist, who followed him home in Sydney Motorsport Park’s opener on Friday night to take the title battle into the final day – even if his hopes were more mathematical than anything else.

Targett then wrapped up the title with victory in the opening race of the final day, clinching the championship with one race to spare.

Brock Gilchrist capped off a successful debut season in Australia as the Team Porsche New Zealand-backed driver finished second overall, ensuring an EBM 1-2 in the championship.

Clay Osborne’s rookie season delivered him third overall for McElrea Racing in a promising season that included his maiden one-make Porsche victory.

Harburg’s Pro-Am title came via extreme consistency, the only driver in the class to finish every race he started.

In his rookie season, Andrew Georgiadis finished second while Ramu Farrell won the most races, and claimed third for the season.

All Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series awards will be presented on Saturday night in the series’ awards night in Sydney.

Targett survives wet-weather dash to take Sydney opener

Penalty denies Osborne victory as Farrell takes Pro-Am win

CLAY OSBORNE drove the race of his life, but the results will show Oscar Targett as the winner of the first Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia race at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend. 

In sultry and increasingly wet conditions, Osborne raced his way into the lead in Friday night’s sprint race that kicked off the final round of the 2024 Sprint Challenge season – however a five second penalty applied post race for a start line infringement handed the win to Targett.

Ramu Farrell claimed the Pro-Am class victory in style over Lachy Harburg – who provisionally claimed the Pro-Am title in the process – while newcomer Daniel Quimby took out the Class B win and finished an outstanding 10th outright on his Porsche debut.

The 25-minute race started with heavy skies over Sydney Motorsport Park with rain expected at some point throughout the race.

Starting from pole, Targett led the field into turn one however as the rain began to fall, Osborne began making moves and gradually worked his way to the rear of the championship leader out front.

Fourth at the end of lap one, Osborne passed Brock Gilchrist for third on lap five and Ryan Suhle for second one lap later.

He then got down the inside of Targett at turn four on the ninth lap to take the lead, however Targett remained in close company for the remainder to ensure he secured the win.

The race proved a show of skill from the 24-strong Porsche field, running the full distance without interruption despite the conditions being extremely wet by race’s end and a vast majority of the field remaining on slicks.

With penalties applied, Targett claimed the win over Gilchrist, who keeps his title hopes alive by only ceding a further 6 points to his year-long rival heading into tomorrow’s two races.

Provisionally the gap now sits at 98 points, with 120 up for grabs on Sunday.

Suhle finished third and Osborne fourth, narrowly ahead of Jake Santalucia in fifth position. Ayrton Hodson was another to cop a five second penalty but retained sixth position, while Conor Somers was a star – charging through the field following a 10 grid position penalty post-qualifying.

Aron Shields, Tyler Greenbury and Class B winner Daniel Quimby rounded out the top-10, the latter doing so on his debut race.

Ramu Farrell won Class B while Lachy Harburg’s second in class was enough to ensure he can no longer be beaten for the class title tomorrow.

Harburg’s success doubles up on his Class B title, claimed two years ago.

Farrell and Harburg battled for the lead in the class all race with the pair drag-racing to the line; Harburg narrowly missing his first race win of the year by 0.05 seconds.

Tomorrow will see the overall Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series title decided across two races.

The Jim Richards Enduro trophy will be settled first before the final race of the season on Saturday afternoon at Sydney Motorsport Park – the 2:10pm AEDT encounter to be broadcast live on 7mate and 7 Plus Sport.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge titles to be decided in Sydney

Pro, Junior and Enduro Cup titles all on the line this weekend in Sydney

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist will commence a Trans-Tasman battle for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series title this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park. 

The pair, split by 91 points with 181 up for grabs across three races, are the only two drivers that can win the championship this weekend.

Targett has won eight races to Gilchrist’s pair this year however the latter’s consistency aboard his Team Porsche New Zealand entry has kept him well in the hunt.

However, Gilchrist does lead the Jim Richards Enduro Trophy by twelve points, with the Sprint Challenge ‘race within a race’ to be decided on Saturday morning at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Both of those titles will be decided this weekend, while the Pro-Am and Class B battles will also draw to their conclusion in Sydney as a strong 27-car field prepares to tackle the three races – to be held on Friday and Saturday of the Shannons SpeedSeries event.

Targett’s rise to the top of the table has been well documented following his early-season debut last year.

After missing the opening round of the series, the teenager had a strong run home to finish third in the championship behind eventual champion Marco Giltrap, and Aaron Shields.

As part of the Grove Racing junior program, Targett will aim to deliver the Grove’s their first Porsche title since Stephen’s Pro-Am successes in Carrera Cup Australia.

Gilchrist came from New Zealand this year after winning the Porsche New Zealand Scholarship that has recently supported the likes of Ryan Wood, Callum Hedge and Marco Giltrap to success in Australian Porsche competition under the ‘Team Porsche New Zealand’ banner.

Now established in Queensland – and working at Queensland Raceway – Gilchrist’s strong season included a clutch Enduro Cup race win at The Bend in round two and another strong win in Tasmania amidst a weekend where he and Targett spent much of the event locked together.

After delivering five different race winners from the first five races, this year’s Sprint Challenge title battle has been dominated since by the Earl Bamber Motorsport pair who have claimed 9 of the subsequent ten races between them.

Kiwi Clay Osborne sits third in the championship, 99 points clear of teammate Caleb Sumich in fourth, while a late-season surge from Ayrton Hodson has him fifth in the standings and just 12 points behind his teammate.

In Pro-Am, Lachy Harburg holds a commanding lead in the title race with Sydneysider Andrew Georgiadis his closest contender in his rookie season.

The Queenslander will aim to secure his second Sprint Challenge title this weekend, having claimed the Class B championship in 2022 and finished runner-up last year prior to stepping up to the Pro-Am ranks in 2024.

With second-placed Danny Stutterd electing not to compete in Sydney, both Georgiadis (third) and Eric Constantinidis will aim to overhaul the TekworkX driver in the standings in a bid to score a top three championship result this weekend.

With the Class B title already claimed, New South Wales driver Jacque Jarjo will step up into the Pro-Am ranks this weekend for the first time, adding another strong contender to the mix.

The 27-car field includes the Sprint Challenge debut of Class B entrant Daniel Quimby aboard his FCL Transport / Cup Car Engineering entry.

Action commences on Friday with a 45-minute practice session at 12:55pm local time, followed by Qualifying at 3:55pm and Race 1 at 6:55pm.

Saturday will see the Enduro Cup decider battled over 45-minutes at 9:25am with the title decider to be sorted at 2:10pm on Saturday afternoon.

The final race of the year will be broadcast live and free on the Seven Network on 7mate and 7plus Sport on Saturday.

Targett: Championship as Oscar takes Tassie

Andrew Georgiadis claims maiden Pro-Am victory in Tasmania

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist will battle for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series in the final round at Sydney Motorsport Park following a thrilling conclusion to Round 5 of the championship at Symmons Plains.

The pair battled out another hugely entertaining encounter today, continuing the theme of the weekend where the pair were inseparable across the three races.

After trailing early, Targett claimed the race and the round over Gilchrist and Clay Osborne, while Andrew Georgiadis took his first Pro-Am Round victory in style by claiming the third race.

The final sprint was a thriller from the outset as Gilchrist, starting from second, beat Targett into turn one.

The pair were locked together with McElrea’s Clay Osborne in hot pursuit early in the race, the trio pulling away from the remainder of the field.

As he did in race two, Targett launched several attacks on his EBM teammate at turn four and turn six before he finally made a move stick at four, claiming the lead.

Gilchrist had to settle for second, but was chased hard to the line by his Kiwi compatriot Osborne who also set the new lap record in today’s race.

In fact, the new benchmark set on Saturday by Targett was broken by eight drivers in the final race, all taking advantage of the best track conditions of the weekend and relatively fresh Michelin slicks for the final race.

Osborne’s strong finish to the weekend saw him claim third overall in Tasmania by just a single point, thanks to his efforts on Friday to secure his first career pole position award.

Behind the leaders some furious battling unfolded with Ayrton Hodson making early moves to assert his position in fourth.

He was chased all race by teammate Caleb Sumich, while a flying Tyler Greenbury charged from the back of the field to finish sixth – at one point owning the lap record before it was broken later by Osborne.

The Sonic duo of Jake Santalucia and Conor Somers were next, at one point battling for position as the former was another to charge his way through from the back of the field after enduring a broken axle in race two. They were followed home by Aron Shields and Ben Taylor, who completed the top-10.

Andrew Georgiadis’ pathway to the Pro-Am win was made slightly simpler when closest rival, and race two winner, Eric Constantinidis limped back to pit lane on the formation lap with a broken axle on his Area Cloud & Cyber Security entry.

Georgiadis was then chased to the line by John Papantoniou – finishing in that order for both race and round – with Jonathan Glicksten surviving an off at turn six to secure third for the race and the round.

It was his first round win in Sprint Challenge competition and the first in Pro-Am for his DNA Racing team.

With one round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series remaining, Oscar Targett provisionally leads Brock Gilchrist in the standings by 91 points, with 181 up for grabs at the Sydney Motorsport Park finale’ in October.

Clay Osborne holds third in the championship with Caleb Sumich fourth and Ayrton Hodson fifth.

In Pro-Am, Lachlan Harburg leads Danny Stutterd in the standings once the series ‘drop your worst round’ score is in place.

Andrew Georgiadis’ strong weekend in Tasmania sees him move to third position in the standings with Eric Constantinidis fourth.

The final round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will be decided at Sydney Motorsport Park at the Shannons SpeedSeries ‘Race Sydney’ event on October 18-20.

Targett, Gilchrist one-all after two Tassie races

Pro-Am wins split between Andrew Georgiadis and Eric Constantinidis

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist are one-all following two superb Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia races today at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Gilchrist claimed his second win of the season after fending off the championship leader in the race one sprint, while Targett returned serve in race two in a breathless Jim Richards Enduro encounter to level the score.

It means the pair are tied on points for the round victory heading into Sunday’s Tassie decider.

In Pro-Am, a pair of first-time winners were welcomed into the Porsche record books with Andrew Georgiadis and Eric Constantinidis claiming the victories across the two races.

Race 1 started in dramatic fashion as polesitter Clay Osborne was slow away in wet conditions, being swamped by the field and allowing Gilchrist to pull away to an early lead.

A pair of Safety Car interruptions – including one that saw the race conclude under yellow – slowed the pace that otherwise saw Gilchrist and Targett running nose to tail while battling for the lead.

Gilchrist ultimately grabbed his second win of the season to remove six points from Targett’s championship lead, while Ayrton Hodson scored his second top three finish of the season by finishing third. Jake Santalucia was fourth with Tyler Greenbury completing the top five.

Osborne’s day went from bad to worse when he made contact with Aron Shields at the hairpin as he attempted to recover from his slow start on lap one – the contact ending Shields’ race and seeing Osborne take a drive through penalty for his efforts – ultimately finishing 12th.

A compelling Pro-Am battle saw Georgiadis take the win for the first time in his career, ahead of Jonathan Gliksten and John Papantonio, while Eric Constantinidis led the the class until lap 7, before he was caught out by the wet conditions.

The 45-minute Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race was a thriller and saw Gilchrist and Targett resume their hostilities from the outset.

The pair traded fastest laps early, Target re-setting the Symmons Plains lap record in his pursuit on lap 16 to a 52.5883s flyer.

The battle was paused momentarily for a Safety Car to recover a stranded Jonathan Gliksten, who was off the road at turn six, however on the restart Targett was on the offensive.

He launched an attack down the inside at Turn 4, only for Gilchrist to get the undercut and draw alongside – the pair running side by side down the back straight until a second Safety Car was called, this time for a stranded Tyler Greenbury who was out of the race with steering damage at turn two.

Greenbury and Ayrton Hodson had made contact on the restart, the impact spinning the latter off and breaking the steering on the former’s car.

Gilchrist was judged to be in front when the Safety Car was called and led the field back to green, only for Targett to launch another attack for the lead at turn six – though the Grove car ran wide and allowed his Kiwi rival to slip past once again.

The third time would prove to be the charm for Targett, re-passing Gilchrist at turn six two laps later and this time being able to make the move stick – ultimately edging away to record another win and level the score with his nearest title pursuer.

Gilchrist then switched to defence, holding off a charging Clay Osborne in a fight for second and third late in the race.

Caleb Sumich was another strong performer, recovering from an early incident to finish fourth, having passed Conor Somers late in the race.

In Pro-Am, Eric Constantinidis won the class following a superb drive that saw him running with the leading group of Pro drivers on the restarts.

He would lead Ben Taylor home for seventh outright and the class win, with Race 1 winner Andrew Georgiadis second in class and John Papantonio third.

One sprint race will complete the penultimate round the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series on Sunday at the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint, starting at 1210pm AEST on Sunday – with live coverage on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.

Osborne beats Gilchrist to maiden Porsche pole

Two first-time Porsche polesitters in Tassie as Andrew Georgiadis tops Pro-Am

CLAY OSBORNE has edged out Brock Gilchrist by less than one tenth of a second to score his maiden Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia pole position in a thrilling qualifying shootout at Symmons Plains Raceway. 

A gripping session saw the top spot swap hands on six occasions with Oscar Targett, Gilchrist and then Osborne late in the session all taking turns at the top of the timing screen at various points of the 30-minute session.

Targett held sway early before Gilchrist asserted himself on top as the field concluded their first efforts mid-session.

With fresh Michelins fitted, everyone went quicker on their second attempts with Gilchrist looking strong before Osborne charged to the top late.

His 51.9828s flyer stands as a qualifying record for Porsche’s at Symmons Plains and the second quickest ever Cup Car lap of the 2.41km venue – Gilchrist having gone marginally quicker earlier in the second practice session.

The 19-year-old Kiwi ultimately took pole by 0.0991 seconds with Gilchrist second and championship leader Targett starting third.

Osborne becomes the fourth different polesitter from the five rounds held to date this year, the effort doubling as McElrea Racing’s first of the year.

It means the driver third in the standings will start race one from pole, the driver second in points second and the title leader from the inside of the third row of the grid.

Fourth was Ayrton Hodson – 0.26 seconds behind pole – to continue his strong run of qualifying form while Caleb Sumich set the fifth quickest time in his McElrea entry.

Conor Somers was a strong sixth for Sonic, a worthy return for the Victorian talent following a ground-up rebuild of his #71 GT3 Cup Car following his spectacular Townsville rollover.

His teammate Jake Santalucia followed with Tyler Greenbury eighth and just 0.6 seconds from pole.

Friday offered a double dose of first-time pole position winners with Andrew Georgiadis grabbing the top spot in Pro-Am and qualifying 10th outright in his Team DNA entry.

They Sydneysiders best lap of 53.6017s was just 1.6s away from Osborne’s outright pole time and saw him take the class pole by 0.3 seconds over Eric Constantinidis, Jonathan Glicksten and John Papantoniou completing the Pro-Am order.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field charges into racing tomorrow with a pair of races to highlight the Saturday schedule at the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint.

Race 1 commences at 10:30am AEST while race 2 – the Jim Richards Enduro race – commences at 2:40pm local time and runs for 45 minutes.

Both races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports in Australia, and Sky Sports in New Zealand.

Tasmania the scene for critical round in Sprint Challenge title chase

Pro-Am battle set for first-time winner, Enduro lead up for grabs in Tassie

A make-or-break penultimate round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series is in store for the Apple Isle this weekend.

Just two weeks after points leader Oscar Targett swept all three races at Queensland Raceway, the title battle returns to Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend as a key support act on the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint program.

As the fifth round of six this year, the Tassie event represents a critical moment for title contenders to position themselves ahead of October’s finale’ in Sydney.

Targett leads Team Porsche NZ / EBM teammate Brock Gilchrist by 85 points heading to Tassie, though 180 are up for grabs this weekend.

While Gilchrist is yet to compete in Tasmania, Symmons Plains was the scene of Targett’s spectacular Sprint Challenge debut in 2023 having missed the earlier opening round at Phillip Island.

While the pair battle for the outright / Pro championship, they are also fighting for the lead in the prestigious Jim Richards Endurance Trophy battle where Gilchrist holds the ascendancy by 18 points over his Aussie rival.

Clay Osborne sits third in the Pro championship race, 178 points from the lead and needing a strong weekend to ensure he can continue to contend heading into the season finale’.

Hamish Fitzsimmons, who misses the Tasmanian event this weekend, sits fourth with Aron Shields and Caleb Sumich, both close behind, looking to make headway with strong performances this weekend.

The outright battle is expected to be intense this weekend with the return of Michelin Junior Conor Somers a welcome sight following his enormous rollover in Townsville earlier this year.

His Sonic Motor Racing team – which includes Somers on the tools – has re-shelled his 991.2 GT3 Cup Car between events with the young gun set for a racing return at a circuit he’s familiar with via his Formula Ford career.

The always unpredictable Pro-Am class battle takes another twist this weekend with a first-time round winner a guarantee – a ‘drop your worst round’ clause in the series point score calculations allowing drivers to skip one round a year while still remining in title calculations.

As such, the top three drivers in the class will be on the side-lines for Tasmania, including championship leader Lachy Harburg and second-placed Danny Stutterd.

Therefore, class success this weekend will be decided between Jonathan Gliksten (Racing to beat FA), Eric Constantinidis (Area Cloud & Cyber Security), Andrew Georgiadis (Bondi Carpets / DNA) and John Papantoniou (Entertainment Park) – all four searching for a maiden class round victory in Sprint Challenge competition.

Of the 14 entries assembled for this weekend, just five drivers have raced a Porsche at Symmons Plains before – Targett, Constantinidis, Sumich and Shields competed last year, while Jonathan Gliksten raced there in 2019.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field will contest three races this weekend as part of a bumper Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint program at Symmons Plains.

Following practice and qualifying on Friday, the first two races will be held on Saturday – the second the key Jim Richards Endurance Championship encounter.

The final race will be contested just after midday on Sunday to decide the weekend.

Action on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports this weekend, plus coverage on Sky Sports in New Zealand.

ENTRY LIST – ROUND 5, Symmons Plains Raceway

Conor Somers returns to Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge field in Tasmania

Welcome return for Porsche Michelin Junior following massive Townsville crash

Targett sweeps Queensland with first 2024 three-peat

Victories to Ramu Farrell and Jacque Jarjo in Queensland with two rounds remaining

A POWERFUL performance has delivered Oscar Targett the first three-peat of the 2024 season, sweeping all three races to claim Round 4 of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series at Queensland Raceway. 

Having claimed pole, a race one win and the lap record on Friday, Targett backed up that performance with two wins on Saturday to head to Tasmania’s penultimate round of the series with a much more comfortable championship lead with two events and six races left in his second Porsche season.

Targett’s excellent weekend came despite ceding the lead in all three races, slow starts from the dirty side of the road ensuring he had to work for his wins this weekend.

Targett trailed Brock Gilchrist on the opening lap of Race two, another short sprint race held Saturday morning.

The pair escaped from the chasing pack early before a locked brake saw the Team Porsche NZ driver spin at turn three, dropping the race lead and falling down the pack, ultimately finishing in ninth position.

That left Targett in the lead while a five-car fight for the minors broke out with Ayrton Hodson holding down second from a charging Hamish Fitzsimmons, Clay Osborne and Ryan Suhle – only for Osborne to leap from fourth to second in a single move on the third lap.

That’s where the Kiwi would finish, Fitzsimmons crossing the line in third position on the road before a 10-second penalty dropped him down to a final finish of 16th.

Suhle was the beneficiary, claiming third, while Hodson finished fourth and Jake Santalucia was fifth in his Sonic Motor Racing #777 entry.

Aron Shields was sixth, Caleb Sumich seventh while Ramu Farrell – who spent much of his race dicing with Santalucia before dropping back in the final two laos – claimed the Pro-Am class win and finished eighth overall – in front of Gilchrist and Lachy Harburg.

Jacque Jarjo continued his strong Class B form, taking the win and finishing 15th outright.

Race 3 doubled as the Jim Richards’ endurance trophy encounter, run over 45-minutes in the afternoon light.

The race would prove a dramatic affair with several Safety Car interruptions and ultimately, a finish under caution.

Targett again struggled to launch his Grove car from pole, Osborne racing into the early lead he would hold for the first two laps before his rival again pounced – sweeping to the lead on lap three.

It would be a lead he’d never lose, though Osborne continued to apply the pressure throughout – never falling more than 1.5 seconds behind Targett in a relentless pursuit of the leader.

Suhle again finished third, while Brock Gilchrist recovered valuable points to fourth position, leading Ayrton Hodson to the line. Tyler Greenbury was sixth, Santalucia seventh and Hamish Fitzsimmons eighth having started 16th.

Ramu Farrell completed his sweep of the Pro-Am leaderboard by finishing ninth outright while Jacque Jarjo was the same in Class B, winning all three races and claiming 10th in the finale’.

The race was a dramatic affair with incidents claiming Aron Shields, Ross McGregor and Mark Darling throughout the eventful 29-lap journey.

Targett’s three wins ensured he walked away from Queensland with maximum points, provisionally extending his series lead over Brock Gilchrist to 87 points with two rounds remaining.

Osborne banked his best ever Sprint Challenge round with second overall while Ryan Suhle returned to the podium in third, having not raced a Porsche since the end of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season on the Gold Coast.

Ayrton Hodson and Brock Gilchrist completed the top five for round four, while Osborne also moved to third in the series’ standings with his strong performance.

Ramu Farrell’s clean sweep saw him take the Pro-Am round victory over Lachy Harburg and Andrew Georgiadis, while Harburg now leads the series following Danny Stutterd’s absence in Queensland.

Jacque Jarjo swept the Class B round to take his third win of the season and extend his commanding class lead.

The next round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will see the series return to the Apple Isle to contest the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint in two weeks time.

Slow start can’t deny Targett fast victory in QR opener

Series leader extends margin after action-packed twilight affair at QR

A SLOW start couldn’t stop Oscar Targett from extending his lead in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series, taking win number five for the season in a twilight affair at Queensland Raceway. 

Targett started from pole however burst into wheelspin at the start, losing the lead to young Kiwi Ayrton Hodson, who lead his first Sprint Challenge laps after making the better start from the outside of the front row.

However he was hunted down and passed by the championship leader, who would ultimately streak away to record the win – breaking the lap record in the process.

Targett had earlier qualified on pole by a substantial 0.4 seconds margin and became the first repeat polesitter of the season, however his slow start ensured he had to work for his race win today.

After passing Hodson on lap three, the Grove Racing / EBM driver pulled a comfortable lead before consolidating his margin to bring home a comfortable victory.

The battle behind was far from comfortable, however, as Hodson came under fire from a group of contenders that included Brock Gilchrist.

After several attempts, the Team Porsche NZ driver was able to sneak past his Kiwi compatriot on the 14th lap to secure second in the race and the series.

Hodson finished third to secure his best ever race result in the one-make Porsche series, placing best of the McElrea fleet.

The inter-team rivalry was intense behind Hodson as Clay Osborne and a returning Ryan Suhle battled furiously for fourth position for much of the race.

Osborne held the sport for the first 10 laps before Suhle passed for position on lap eleven, however a late challenge from Osborne saw the pair duel on the final lap – crossing the line side by side to be ultimately split by 0.0073 seconds at the line – Suhle in front.

With Osborne fifth, a recovering Hamish Fitzsimmons charged to sixth position, having qualified 10th due to a broken fuel pump ensuring he missed much of the sole practice session earlier in the morning.

Caleb Sumich was seventh, with Jake Santalucia eighth and Ramu Farrell ninth and first of the Pro-Am runners.

Farrell spent much of his race chasing Santalucia, having seen off earlier challenges from Tyler Greenbury and Lachy Harburg.

Greenbury rounded out the 10, while Harburg was 12th outright and second in Pro-Am, Andrew Georgiadis third in his class after a strong race.

Jacque Jarjo was first home in Class B after a lap one incident ended the race for rivals Brad Carr and Stephen Moylan, Scott Taylor also involved and forced out in his STM #222 entry.

Today’s result extends Targett’s series lead over Brock Gilchrist by another six points ahead of the remaining two races this weekend.

Those two races will be held on Saturday at Queensland Raceway and broadcast live and free on the Seven Network.

2024 so far – the Rollercoaster ride

Recapping the incredible season so far in Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia

QUEENSLAND RACEWAY marks the start of the second half of the 2024 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Season so it’s worthwhile catching up with the way the season has gone so far. 

It’s been a rollercoaster ride, from a three-way tie for the round win at Phillip Island, to plenty of dramatic moments at The Bend and an awesome street circuit debut for the category on the streets of Townsville just one month ago.

The season has delivered five different race winners across the nine races held to date and there remains less than 100 points between the top seven contenders in the championship standings – meaning every result is on the table on what is a busy run home to the final round in Sydney this October.

But with things so tight, this weekend’s event at the Shannons SpeedSeries ‘Race Queensland’ event could prove critical to making or breaking championship hopefuls in all three classes – and the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy as well.

Here’s how things have played out so far.

ROUND 1 – PHILLIP ISLAND GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT

WEST AUSTRALIAN junior star Caleb Sumich claimed a dramatic opening round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series in a sensational conclusion to the first round of the new season. 

The Perth-based teenager had run fourth in the final race of the weekend at Phillip Island before a remarkable turn of events saw him claim not only his maiden race victory – but the overall round win as well.

Sumich, who is in his second Porsche season, took advantage of a collision between the drivers in third and second – and then a post-race penalty to the leader – to claim the big trophy in a dramatic conclusion to an incredible Sprint Challenge season opener.

Sumich won on a countback by virtue of claiming the final race of the weekend, while Team Porsche New Zealand’s Brock Gilchrist was second.

Race one winner Oscar Targett finished third overall after a post-race penalty in the final race dropped him from the top step of the podium.

Danny Stutterd won the Pro-Am class for the round over Ramu Farrell and Lachlan Harburg, while Jacque Jarjo claimed the Class B trophy.

Read the full Round 1 recap here.

ROUND 2 – SHELL V-POWER MOTORSPORT PARK, The Bend

OSCAR TARGETT has survived one of the most unpredictable Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia rounds in history to claim Round 2 of the championship at The Bend. 

The Grove Racing / EBM driver claimed a dramatic race three victory to win the round overall over Brock Gilchrist and Aron Shields – but the story was in no way as simple as the results indicate.

Home-town hero Pan Boyaci claimed the win in Pro-Am over Danny Stutterd and Lachy Harburg, while Jacque Jarjo won the Class B battle at the South Australian venue.

Targett’s pathway to victory was far from easy after he was penalised 10 seconds following race two earlier on Sunday morning.

That result dropped him from second on the road to 14th position which is where he started race three later in the afternoon.

Brock Gilchrist won the Enduro race on Sunday morning with Jake Santalucia and Hamish Fitzsimmons – who charged from 24th on the grid following his challenging race one on Saturday – to third position.

Read the full Round 2 recap here.

ROUND 3 – NTI TOWNSVILLE 500

OSCAR TARGETT claimed Round 3 of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia championship with a fighting second position in Townsville’s finale – while Hamish Fitzsimmons powered to his second race win of the season in style. 

It was a crushing performance from the TekworkX driver who launched from the second row of the grid and raced his way to the lead early in the final 20-minute sprint.

The win, his second of the season, completed a remarkable comeback that saw the TekworkX driver qualify on pole only to be relegated to a pit lane start for Race 1 following a start line infringement.

He then worked his way through the field to finish 14th in race one and 4th in the second to put himself at the pointy-end f0r the finale’.

That progression, coupled with a fresh set of Michelins saved for the final sprint race, saw him able to race to the lead and win by almost ten seconds.

It was double delight in Townsville for the Gold Coast-based TekworkX team with Danny Stutterd claiming the Pro-Am race and round victory as well.

Read the full Round 3 recap here.

Sprint Challenge battle enters second half of competitive 2024 season

Queensland Raceway the scene for Round 4 this weekend

THE FIGHT for Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia supremacy enters the second half of a compelling 2024 season this weekend at Queensland Raceway.

Round 4 of the series returns a 23-strong field to the Shannons SpeedSeries Race Queensland event at the Ipswich circuit, the track long a staple of the series and home base to a large percentage of its teams and drivers.

The title battle is well poised following three rounds with Oscar Targett and Brock Gilchrist split by just 26 points out in front, while a chasing pack including Hamish Fitzsimmons, Aron Shields, Clay Osborne, Caleb Sumich and Tyler Greenbury all covered by just 65 points in the fight for third through seventh in the standings.

The unpredictable nature of the 2024 series has seen the nine races contested deliver five different winners so far, while no driver has managed to finish in the top five in every race.

The Queensland grid includes the return of Ryan Suhle to the series, the Queenslander set for his first Sprint Challenge start since the 2021 season.

Suhle is a three-time Sprint Challenge race winner and will return to racing this weekend following a year out of the sport. Suhle, who will be supported by Ray White North Lakes this weekend, will race Brett Boulton’s McElrea Racing-prepared car with the Pro-Am contender away for this event.

As well as Scott Taylor’s return in the Pro-Am class, Ramu Farrell is likely to be a contender aboard his Jones Motorsport-entered #888 entry – having qualified 10th outright on his debut in the category twelve months ago.

Rob Woods returns for his second start of the 2024 season aboard his TekworkX Motorsport entry, while Queenslander Mark Darling will make his debut aboard the #272 SPM Motorsport entry.

The Pro-Am class is expected to be wide open this weekend with series leader Danny Stutterd not competing this weekend, opening the door for Lachy Harburg, currently second in the championship, to challenge for the lead.

The Class B battle will see Jacque Jarjo, Brad Carr and Stephen Moylan continue their season-long battle.

Oscar Targett scored pole last year at Queensland Raceway, while Nash Morris swept all three races to claim the round win, his then-teammate Hamish Fitzsimmons in close company behind.

The 2023 round was notable for producing the closest qualifying session in Sprint Challenge history, the top 5 cars on the grid covered by 0.0874s and the top-10 just 0.39.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field will complete a condensed schedule this weekend, competing across Friday and Saturday only at the Shannons SpeedSeries Race Queensland event.

Practice, Qualifying and Race 1 will be held on Friday with two races Saturday – including the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race – to be shown live on 7plus on Saturday.

The Queensland event kicks off a busy period for the Sprint Challenge field, with the paddock to pack up on Sunday ahead of a trip to Tasmania for the next round in just two weeks time.

ENTRY LIST – Round 4, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge – Queensland Raceway

Scott Taylor to perform double Porsche duties at Queensland Raceway

Welcome Sprint Challenge return for STM chief

Scott Taylor will be one very busy driver at Queensland Raceway this weekend, competing in two different Porsches at the Shannons SpeedSeries event.

Taylor will compete in both the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS in his 911 GT3R (997), and the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in his 991.2 GT3 Cup Car.

Bathurst Triple Crown winner and friend Paul Morris will join Taylor for Fanatec GT Australia’s twin one hour events.

The Sprint Challenge entry comes hot off the heels of his young driver Nash Morris racing that Porsche at Townsville recently.

Taylor says the combination of being his home circuit, plus his body and mind being in great shape, it was an opportunity that he could not pass by.

“It just feels right to get in and race both cars this weekend,” said Taylor.

“I haven’t been in the Sprint Challenge car for a while, and the car is all prepped and ready after Nash had a clean run on the Townsville streets.

“I had some health challenges recently, but now that I am in the clear, I like to take these opportunities when they come up. For me, it’s time for me to explore something different and here was an opportunity in my own backyard.”

Taylor says that the only similarity between the two Porsches is the badge on the bonnet.

“One is a full-blooded GT car. It has traction control and ABS. The GTR 997 is a screamer.

“Compared to the Sprint Challenge car, it’s a completely different beast. It has no ABS, no traction control and it’s a one make series, so it’s a lot more even.

“In Sprint Challenge, there’s lots of different classes. There’s the young guys up the front, there’s the mid-pack runners and those at the back. Wherever you are, there’s always someone to race against, so I like that.

“In GT World Challenge, it’s varied and very competitive. There’s some pretty quick cars and driver combinations.

“And having Paul as my co-driver will be great … whatever I bugger up, he can fix up!”

Friday will be a busy day for Taylor, with two GT World Challenge practice sessions, plus practice, qualifying and Race 1 for Sprint Challenge.

The final two Sprint Challenge races will be run on Saturday, with one GT one-hour race on both Saturday and Sunday.

All racing action on Saturday and Sunday will be seen on the screens of Seven in Australia. GT World’s YouTube page will feature the Fanatec GT Australia races for international viewers.

SCHEDULE, ROUND 3, FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE AUSTRALIA POWERED BY AWS

Friday
10:50 Practice 1
15:25 Practice 2

Saturday
9:20 Qualifying 1
9:45 Qualifying 2
16:20 Race 1

Sunday

11:55 Race 2

SCHEDULE, ROUND 4, PORSCHE MICHELIN SPRINT CHALLENGE

Friday
9:35 Practice

13:05 Qualifying
17:00 Race 1

Saturday
11:05 Race 2
14:45 Race 3

Somers: ‘We will be back’ after tough Sonic weekend

Tough weekend for Sonic duo in North Queensland

It proved a tough yet rewarding third round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for Sonic Motor Racing Services on the Reid Park Street Circuit in Townsville.

It was the first visit to the venue for the second-tier Porsche category and marked the first experience of a street circuit for Sonic’s two drivers.

Jake Santalucia and Conor Somers proved quick when track action started, but the attack was soon depleted after an incident in qualifying for the latter.

Leading the Sonic charge through practice, Somers caught slower traffic at Turn 10 during qualifying and was pitched into multiple rolls ending his weekend. Somers emerged uninjured from the incident, which is a credit to the strength of the Porsche.

“It was a disappointing weekend for us,” said Somers.

“We rolled out of the truck with a really fast car on Friday, but unfortunately we had an incident during qualifying, which resulted in a rollover to end our weekend.

“I’m just really disappointed we couldn’t get a result for everyone at Sonic for all the work they put in and getting a deserved result.

“Nevertheless, lots of hard work to be done, but we’ll be there ready to go at Queensland Raceway.”

Santalucia started the opening race from 10th and made moves early to be sixth until a mistake by a competitor in front led to heavy contact with the wall exiting Turn 6.

A superb effort from the Sonic team was duly rewarded by Santalucia on Sunday by two top results starting with eighth outright in the 45 minute Jim Richards Endurance event, then scoring sixth in the final.

“It was certainly a challenging weekend here at Townsville,” said Santalucia.

“First of all I’d like to thank the crew for working extremely hard to get my car back on-track for Sunday’s races after my crash in Race 1.

“In qualifying I got caught out by the red flag, but it’s not what you can prepare for and we started 10th.

“I made my way to seventh, but was involved in a crash and I had to start Sunday’s opening race from the back. It was quite exciting to drive through the field as in Race 2 I made up 15 positions. This proved the highlight of the day.

“I was chipping away, but was forced to manage a flat spot after the restart and lost a couple of spots after that.

“I have stuff to work on for myself, but I couldn’t have done it without the great team at Sonic.

“I can’t wait to hit the track again at Queensland Raceway.”

Both Somers and Santalucia will continue their maiden Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge campaigns at Queensland Raceway as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries on August 2-4.

Targett takes the round, Fitzsimmons the finale’ in Townsville showdown

Fast-paced finale puts on a show as Sprint Challenge ends successful Townsville debut

OSCAR TARGETT claimed Round 3 of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia championship with a fighting second position in Townsville’s finale – while Hamish Fitzsimmons powered to his second race win of the season in style. 

It was a crushing performance from the TekworkX driver who launched from the second row of the grid and raced his way to the lead early in the final 20-minute sprint.

The win, his second of the season, completed a remarkable comeback that saw the TekworkX driver qualify on pole only to be relegated to a pit lane start for Race 1 following a start line infringement.

He then worked his way through the field to finish 14th in race one and 4th in the second to put himself at the pointy-end f0r the finale’.

That progression, coupled with a fresh set of Michelins saved for the final sprint race, saw him able to race to the lead and win by almost ten seconds.

It was double delight in Townsville for the Gold Coast-based TekworkX team with Danny Stutterd claiming the Pro-Am race and round victory as well.

Behind Fitzsimmons, Oscar Targett and Brock Gilchrist warred for second and third in what would be the battle to see who claimed the round overall.

Targett held the lead early only for Gilchrist to work his way past – though the positions would change several times throughout the race.

Ultimately Targett was able to squeeze past late to secure second which also delivered him the round win – his second in a row.

He claimed the top spot with Gilchrist second for the round – the pair also first and second in the championship at the half-way point.

Fitzsimmons claimed third for the weekend thanks to his mighty comeback, Clay Osborne narrowly missing the podium after receiving a five second penalty for a false start in race three.

Nash Morris ultimately finished fourth and Caleb Sumich fifth after a huge comeback following the late night rebuild – Jake Santalucia just behind in another huge comeback story for the Sonic team.

Osborne – fourth on the road – dropped to seventh with his penalty with Aron Shields and Ayrton Hodson battling furiously over eighth and ninth throughout the final sprint.

Danny Stutterd made it an incredible day for TekworkX thanks to claiming the Pro-Am victory and 10th outright, a result which also ensured he claimed the round overall and extending his championship lead.

Lachy Harburg finished second in class in race three and the round while Marc Cini completed the Pro-Am podium in third aboard his Hallmarc Property Group / Melbourne Performance Centre entry.

Jacque Jarjo took the Class B victory in Race 3, while Brad Carr and Stephen Moylan enjoyed a frenetic battle for second in class.

Carr, however, was able to claim the round victory to build his Class B title lead.

Targett on Enduro Cup with Sunday morning Townsville win

Kiwi drivers complete podium, Brad Carr, Danny Stuttered take class wins

OSCAR TARGETT survived early race pressure from Brock Gilchrist before edging away to victory in the Jim Richards Endurance Championship race on Sunday morning at the NTI Townsville 500. 

The Grove Racing Junior made the best start of the leading bunch and led the field into turn two but had to spend the first several laps vigorously defending his position from nearest rival, race one runner-up Brock Gilchrist.

The Team Porsche NZ racer attacked on several occasions but was unable to break Targett’s defence and ultimately slipped a second behind the leader, who edged away to claim his third straight win and fourth of the season on Sunday morning.

Targett becomes the third winner from three Enduro Cup races to date this season following successes for Hamish Fitzsimmons (Phillip Island) and Brock Gilchrist (The Bend) previously.

After running with the leaders early, Clay Osborne slipped back to finish a consistent third and a bag of valuable championship points in the process.

Behind the leading trio, the same as in race one, there were a host of impressive drives as several contenders worked their way from the back of the field following race one dramas.

Hamish Fitzsimmons gained 10 spots to finish fourth, while Nash Morris worked his way from the back to finish sixth in his STM machine.

After late-night rebuilds, both Jake Santalucia and Caleb Sumich were able to make meaningful inroads through the pack in their repaired machines this morning.

Santalucia stormed to 8th position and Sumich 10th after both teams worked to beyond midnight to ensure their cars could start the Enduro Cup race.

There was action aplenty in the Pro-Am ranks, Race 1 winner Brett Boulton and Lachy Harburg making contact early on that would ultimately end the race one winner’s race on the sport.

While Harburg recovered – via a few exciting moments – to second in class, Daniel Stutterd extended his class championship lead with 12th outright and a class win.

They were all, however, trumped by Brad Carr who passed them all to claim 11th outright in his Class B winning 991.1 Cup Car, while Jacque Jarjo finished just behind Stutterd on the road to take second in class.

The 29-lap race ended behind the control of the Porsche Taycan Safety Car following a late spin for Eric Constantinidis, who was stranded at turn seven with less than five minutes remaining.

One final, 20-minute sprint will complete the third round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series on Sunday afternoon.

That race will start at 12:45pm local time and will be shown live on Fox Sports, Kayo and Channel 7.