- In Pro Class, Thomas Sargent leads Ryan Wood by 32 points with 180 points up for grabs
- In Morris Pro-Am, Brett Boulton has a 99-point lead over Sam Shahin in his quest for a maiden championship
- In Class B, Lachlan Harburg leads Nathan Sticklen by 38 points, with Jacob Li just 24 further back
- At 31 entries, Round 6 will be the largest of the season and is a Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge record at the Phillip Island Circuit
The final round of 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series will see a record field of 31 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Gen I & II) cars roll out at the 32nd running of Phillip Island Auto Racing Club’s (PIARC) Island Magic event at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this Friday and Saturday.
The 4.45 km Circuit will host the 78th round of Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge (formerly GT3 Cup Challenge) marking the 14th time the National Series has visited the track – which is also the most of any Australian track in Series history.
This weekend will also be the eight time in Series history that Phillip Island has hosted the series finale’, with the 2022 Championship set to go down to the wire in all three classes. Notably, five of the last six Pro round winners at the circuit have all gone on to progress to Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia the following year, including the most recent winner, Ryan Suhle.
With a welcome respite in the Victorian weather forecast for the Friday’s practice and qualifying as well as Saturday’s three sprint races, the introduction of the 991 Gen II models this year should see the 2014 lap record of Matt Campbell and 2015 pole lap record of Ryan Simpson be toppled.
The two most likely to achieve this are the Series Pro Championship contenders, Thomas Sargent, and Porsche Team New Zealand’s Ryan Wood. The pair have dominated 2022, with Sargent finishing either first or second in every race this year and the pair finishing 1-2 in four of the five rounds to date.
After finishing runner-up in the 2018 and 2019 Morris Pro-Am Championship, Brett Boulton will be hoping his 99-point buffer over Sam Shahin, is sufficient to see him through to his maiden Championship title this year. Another two notable Carrera Cup Australia regulars that may mix up the class results this weekend include Ben Stack and Adrian Flack.
Meanwhile, the battle in Class B for 991 Gen I cars is still wide open between Lachlan Harburg and Nathan Sticklen with only 38 points separating the leading pair. Round 5 winner, Jacob Li carries good momentum into the finale’ following Bathurst and lies a further 24 points back in third.
Along with various National and regional series at the Island Magic event this year, the German marque will also be well represented by the Endeavour Cup Porsche 944 Challenge with 18 drivers on track.
All three Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge races on Saturday 26 November will be livestreamed via the Blendline Tv channel on YouTube. For further event information, ticketing and streaming information, follow the PIARC website: piarc.com.au
For race information, videos and interviews, follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, Round 6, Phillip Island Magic
ENTRY LIST:
| # | Name | Surname | Class | Sponsor |
| 2 | Richard | Cowen | Pro-Am | McElrea Racing |
| 3 | Jonathan | Gliksten | Class B | Porsche Centre Melbourne |
| 5 | Nathan | Murray | Pro-Am | Garage 1 |
| 8 | Madeline | Stewart | Pro | Bullrush Rally / EBM |
| 13 | Sam | Shahin | Pro-Am | The Bend Motorsport Park |
| 18 | Travis | Knipe | Pro-Am | Favrte Racing / Pinnacle Road & Race Works |
| 20 | Adrian | Flack | Pro-Am | AGAS National / EBM |
| 22 | Andrew | Goldie | Pro-Am | Cirrus Aircraft |
| 23 | Lachlan | Bloxsom | Pro | McElrea / Team Navy |
| 24 | Pan | Boyaci | Pro-Am | GRPB Racing |
| 26 | Tom | Taplin | Pro | Taplin Real Estate |
| 27 | Sam | Fillmore | Pro-Am | TekworkX Motorsport |
| 29 | Daniel | Stutterd | Pro-Am | TekworkX Motorsport |
| 32 | Courtney | Prince | Pro | Sonic Motor Racing / Local Legends |
| 34 | Nathan | Sticklen | Class B | TekworkX Motorsport |
| 35 | Indiran | Padayachee | Pro-Am | Hyundai Forklifts |
| 40 | Ryan | Wood | Pro | Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM |
| 47 | Thomas | Sargent | Pro | Tegra Australia |
| 59 | Jason | Miller | Pro | Stokes Skis Australia |
| 74 | Ben | Stack | Pro-Am | EMA / Dutton |
| 81 | Tom | McLennan | Pro | Tom McLennan |
| 84 | Brett | Boulton | Pro-Am | Bold Living |
| 85 | Bradley | Carr | Class B | Car Mods Australia |
| 87 | David | Greig | Pro-Am | DW Motorsport |
| 88 | Harrison | Goodman | Pro | Bob Jane T Marts / True Grid |
| 91 | Lachlan | Harburg | Class B | Autohouse Racing |
| 99 | Ross | McGregor | Pro-Am | Southern Star Windows |
| 100 | Emanuel | Mezzasalma | Pro-Am | EJM Financial Services |
| 116 | Aron | Shields | Pro | McElrea Racing |
| 131 | Graham | Williams | Pro-Am | Sonic Motor Racing / WRA |
| 266 | Jacob | Li | Class B | ASM / Mars Performance |
BROADCAST SCHEDULE: Blendline TV Livestream (YouTube)
Saturday 26 November
09:30 – 09:50 Race 1 (13 laps / 20min)
12:30 – 12:50 Race 2 (13 laps / 20min)
15:30 – 15:50 Race 3 (13 laps / 20min)
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Lap Record:
Matt Campbell (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car) 1m31.1140s – 2014
