TEENAGER Lincoln Taylor has claimed his maiden Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia race and round victories in a heady day at Queensland Raceway.
The TekworkX driver, a graduate of the Toyota 86 championship last year, powered to victory in both of Saturday’s races to become the third round winner from three rounds to date this season and inject himself into the championship fight.
Taylor withstood pressure from race one winner Hunter Robb in a scrappy second race in Saturday’s early hours, a drying circuit seeing the field start behind the Safety Car and then manage a safety car immediately following the race’s proper commencement – setting up a four lap dash to the line.
He then led for a majority if the Jim Richards Enduro trophy encounter later that day before being hunted down and passed by Kobi Williams late in the race.
Williams, who had won the previous to JR Enduro encounters earlier in the season, then looked to have sealed his third before Taylor fought back and re-took the position with just a few laps remaining – then surviving a last-ditch challenge at the final corner to claim the win.
The Porsche Michelin Junior rising star backed up wins from Robb and Avramides earlier this year to be the third winner from three starts this year in the ultra-competitive Sprint Challenge fight.
While Robb slipped down the order in the Enduro, he was still able to finish second for the weekend and reclaim the championship lead in the process.
Erstwhile leader Xavier Avramides’ consistent weekend saw him finish third overall and remain well in the title fight, while Williams finished fourth and a strong comeback performance from Ryan Suhle saw him claim fifth overall for the round.
In the Pro-Am class, Anthony Gilbertson continued his near-perfect season as he swept the trio of races to claim his third round win on the trot.
He finished ahead of Stephen Moylan, who continued his strong podium-finishing form this season, while John Papantoniou completed the podium.
The next round of Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge will see the series return to the streets of Townsville in July as the field returns to the NTI Townsville 500 for the third time.
