SERIES leader Jake Santalucia has starred in the opening Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series race at the NTI Townsville 500, launching from second on the grid to lead every lap of the opening race to claim a strong victory. 

It was the Sonic Motor Racing driver’s fifth Pro class victory of the season and saw him extend his series lead ahead of the two races on Sunday in North Queensland.

Santalucia led home a strong Ryan Casha – who finished inside the top three for the fifth consecutive race – and Tom Bewley, who started sixth but continued his supremely consistent season by climbing to a top three finish by race’s end.

In the Pro-Am class, Jacque Jarjo spent much of his race in a furious battle with series leader Ramu Farrell to claim the victory.

The 25-minute race was a competitive affair and saw Santalucia beat polesitter Lachy Bloxsom into turn one to assume a lead he would never lose.

Bloxsom was then under fire in second and saw himself involved in a frenetic fight for the minors before ultimately slipping behind both Casha – who started fifth – and Bewley.

Tyler Greenbury and Willie Exton were also in the fight for the top three early in the race before contact ended both of their races.

Marcos Flack and James Lodged battled for fourth and fifth, with Kmal Mrad also in the fight and ultimately finishing seventh. Hunter Robb was eighth, while another starring performance from Daniel Quimby saw the class B contender score ninth outright.

10th was Lincoln Evans, who scored his first top-10 finish in what was his first ever street circuit race.

Behind them was the furious battle for the Pro-Am class win that would ultimately go to Jacque Jarjo.

His win didn’t come easy however after spending much of his race with Ramu Farrell locked beneath his bumper bar.

The pair battled until the closing stanza of the race when Farrell attempted a move up the inside of Jarjo into the back chicane, locking his rears and spinning into the runoff area.

That elevated Andrew Georgiadis to second position and Eric Constantinidis to third in the class.

With one of three races completed this weekend, Jake Santalucia’s championship lead extends to 50 points over Tom Bewley, Ryan Casha closing to within two points of second position thanks to his performance on Saturday.

Two races complete round four of the series on Sunday at the NTI Townsville 500, including the next stanza in the always competitive Jim Richards Enduro Trophy race in the morning.

The final race of the weekend will double as the curtain raiser before the Super2 and Supercars races on Sunday afternoon.

Both races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo, with race three also on the screens of seven.