THE second half of an intense Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series kicks off this weekend as the one-make Porsche pack returns to the NTI Townsville 500 in North Queensland.

It marks the second time that the series will have raced on the challenging Reid Park street circuit following a successful debut in 2024 that saw eventual champion Oscar Targett claim the round honours.

Another highly competitive field – 26 strong – all driving Porsche GT3 Cup Cars will compete this weekend as key contenders begin to flex their muscle ahead of the deciding rounds in an ultra-competitive title fight.

So far three drivers have claimed round victories this year while six different drivers have claimed race victories – from the nine contested.

The 26-strong field is headlined by current championship leader Jake Santalucia, who claimed the Pro class in the most recent round at Queensland Raceway and became the third different leader in three rounds this year.

He’ll be joined in the Sonic Motor Racing camp by a one-off cameo from Sprint Challenge graduate Marcos Flack, who is now a regular in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia.

Flack returns to Sprint Challenge this weekend in a bid for more valuable street circuit experience and will help give Sonic a strong two-car punch this weekend.

Second in the championship, Team Porsche NZ / EBM ace Tom Bewley, will make his first Street Circuit start this weekend however does so in the knowledge that the car he is driving sat on pole position twelve months ago: teammate Brock Gilchrist having grabbed the top spot on his Townsville debut last year.

Queensland’s Ryan Casha has spent his most recent rounds rebounding from a slow start to the year and now sits third in the championship, just a few points in front of fellow Queenslander, Lockie Bloxsom.

Like Flack this weekend, Bloxsom is doing double duties this season and heads to Townsville fresh from the most recent Carrera Cup round in Darwin.

A return to form at Queensland Raceway ensured TekworkX’s Willie Exton remained in the title hunt after winning the opening round – he sits fifth in points and less than 100 from the leader; 180 are up for grabs in Townsville this weekend.

A total of 12 Porsche Michelin Juniors will make up the 14-strong Professional class this weekend, including Class B leader Daniel Quimby who will be looking for another strong run on the Townsville streets this weekend – at a circuit that should narrow the performance gap between the later-specification cars and his.

In Pro-Am all eyes will be on Ramu Farrell following his remarkable performance last time out at Queensland Raceway – where he not only won his class but also claimed two outright race victories; beating the Pro drivers at their own game.

Farrell’s remarkable weekend was a Sprint Challenge record-breaker and doubled as the first Sprint Challenge team win for Jones Motorsport, the squad headed by two-time Carrera Cup Champion Harri.

Farrell leads Andrew Georgiadis in the Pro-Am standings, the latter holding a narrow lead over Jacque Jarjo and Lachy Harburg in the battle for second, third and fourth at the half-way point of the season.

Farrell will, however, have plenty of attention this weekend as key Pro-Am contenders return and new drivers step up to the plate.

As well as round winner Jacque Jarjo, Hallmarc’s Marc Cini will also return to Sprint Challenge competition this weekend; making it four Carrera Cup regulars making cameo’s in North Queensland. Cini contested the Townsville event last year and qualified second in the Pro-Am class. Indiran Padayachee also returns to the Sprint Challenge grid this weekend.

Stepping up to a new car will be 2024 Porsche Michelin Sportsperson of the year, Stephen Moylan – who has upgraded his Class B 991 GT3 Cup Car to a 991.2 entry between his most recent round at Sydney Motorsport Park and now.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field will be on show across all three days of the NTI Townsville 500 this weekend.

Following two practice sessions on Friday to set the tone, the Porsche field will be first on track as Townsville’s wake-up call on Saturday morning with qualifying.

Race one will be contested later that morning, with the field then returning early on Sunday for the 45-minute Jim Richards Enduro Trophy encounter.

Race three will be the curtain-raiser before the final Super2 and Repco Supercars Championship races on Sunday afternoon.

All sessions this weekend will be shown on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sport, while race three on Sunday will also be broadcast on the Seven network.

ENTRY LIST
Round 4, NTI Townsville 500, Townsville, QLD

No	Car #	SPONSOR	C/L	DRIVER	SURNAME	STATE	COLOUR
1	4	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Pro	Tom	Bewley	NZ	White / Black / Yellow
2	5	Jacque Fine Jewellery	Pro-Am	Jarcque	Jarjo	NSW	Red / Black
3	6	Tyler Greenbury Racing	Pro	Tyler	Greenbury	QLD	White / Blue / Black
4	7	McElrea Racing	Pro	Kamal	Mrad	NSW	White
5	9	Hallmarc / Melbourne Performance Centre	Pro-Am	Marc	Cini	VIC	Various
6	11	Aera Cloud & Cyber Security Group	Pro-Am	Eric	Constantinidis	NSW	Blue
7	14	KDL Property Group	Pro-Am	Kent	Leicester	QLD	Black
8	18	Wall Racing / Foundation Academy	Pro	Harry	Walker	VIC	White
9	23	McElrea Racing	Pro	Lachlan	Bloxsom	QLD	White
10	24	McElrea Racing	Class B	Daniel	Quimby	NSW	White
11	25	Auticon / Wall Racing	Pro	Ben	Taylor	VIC	White
12	29	Tyler Greenbury Racing	Pro	Lincoln	Evans	QLD	White
13	35	Rentcorp Forklifts	Pro-Am	Indiran	Padayachee	NSW	Red / Blue / White
14	37	Jones Motorsport / Bondi Carpets	Pro-Am	Andrew	Georgiadis	NSW	Silver
15	39	Ashley Seward Motorsport	Pro	James	Lodge	VIC	White
16	42	Tractor Repairs & Spares / TekworkX	Pro	Willie	Exton	NZ	White
17	47	Effect  / Wall Racing	Pro-Am	Stephen	Moylan	NSW	White
18	51	Farrell Transport Group	Pro-Am	Tim	Farrell	QLD	White
19	69	Jones Motorsport / vomofiji.com	Pro	Hunter	Robb	NZ	White
20	79	DNA Autosport	Pro	Ryan	Casha	QLD	White
21	87	DW Motorsport	Pro-Am	David	Greig	VIC	White / Blue
22	91	The Cover Shop / EBM	Pro-Am	Lachlan	Harburg	QLD	Navy / Pink
23	96	Entertainment Park	Pro-Am	John	Papantoniou	NSW	White / Green
24	99	Sonic Motor Racing	Pro	Marcos	Flack	QLD	Silver / Blue
25	777	Sonic Motor Racing / Dexion	Pro	Jake	Santalucia	VIC	White / Grey / Red
26	888	Jones Motorsport / Attachment Warehouse	Pro-Am	Ramu	Farrell	QLD	Black / Gold