JAKE SANTALUCIA has stormed to the lead of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series with an emphatic victory at Queensland Raceway, becoming the third different round winner from three events this year. 

The teenager and his Dexion Victoria Sonic Motor Racing entry stormed to victory in Sunday’s Jim Richards Enduro Trophy race, backing up two further Pro class wins in the two sprint races as he raced towards his first round win and provisionally, a 38-point championship lead.

In the Pro class, Santalucia won the round ahead of local hero Ryan Casha and Tom Bewley, who had an up-and-down weekend in his Team Porsche NZ entry but finished strongly in the long race.

Santalucia now leads the Sprint Challenge standings by 38 points at the half-way mark of the season, Tom Bewley now second and Ryan Casha sitting third.

In Pro-Am, Ramu Farrell created history as he became the first Pro-Am driver in the history of the championship under the current Pro / Pro-Am regulations to claim an outright race victory – a feat he then backed up in race two on Sunday morning.

While he slipped to sixth position outright in race three, he still swept the Pro-Am class weekend and extended his championship lead in the process.

Farrell holds a comfortable series lead over Andrew Georgiadis heading to the next round, while Jacque Jarjo has moved to third in the Pro-Am standings.

Daniel Quimby continued his sweep of Class B to extend his lead in that series.

Sunday’s races were action packed with Ramu Farrell making more history and the outright championship lead changing hands twice across the day.

Backing up his race one efforts, Farrell stormed away from pole in race two on Sunday morning to take a lead he’d never lose.

Santalucia played the points game by finishing second while Willie Exton was third in another consistent performance from the TekworkX driver. Ryan Casha and James Lodge were next with Hunter Robb and erstwhile championship leader, Lochie Bloxsom, in seventh.

With Tyler Greenbury next, Tom Bewley finished ninth having survived a wild moment at turn two on the opening lap – one that saw his EBM entry run wide on the exit and launch high into the air, all four wheels of the ground before the landing damaged the front of this car, the Kiwi ensuring he finished and scored points from there.

In his milestone 50th Sprint Challenge race, Lachy Harburg was 10th outright and second in the Pro-Am class.

The longer distance Jim Richards Enduro race completed the weekend and featured plenty of drama for key contenders.

Santalucia’s start was the best from the front row and he charged into an early lead, pulling away gradually from a chasing pack that included Willie Exton and Ryan Casha.

Farrell was slower away and found himself in the midst of the pro-driver fight, ultimately settling in a solid top five outright position – but still the class lead – as the race evolved.

Santalucia then survived an attack from Exton, who sent a move up the inside at turn six only to run wide and find the barrier on the outside of the corner, the damage ending his day and costing him valuable championship points.

That freed up Santalucia out front, though he then had to spend his race with a chasing Ryan Casha in his mirrors, never more than 1.5 second behind for the run to the flag.

Casha, in turn, spent his race fending off a charging Tom Bewley who had started ninth but made solid ground in the early running to race his way to the podium.

Greenbury was another one to work his way forward to finish fourth while Bloxsom was a solid fifth to score more championship points in his consistent campaign. Farrell finished sixth outright, claiming all three Pro-Am races, while Jackson Rooney was another impressive performer as he charged through the field.

Jacque Jarjo made a late pass on Harburg to take second position in the Pro-Am class, sealing that position for the round result overall in the process.

Leading contender James Lodge finished 12th outright, recovering through the field after an earlier spin at turn three saw him tumble down the order as he battled for a spot in the top five.

Hunter Robb was another to suffer disappointment as his car cried enough mid-race, the Kiwi forced to pull to the side of the road at turn one with fluid pouring from his car – denied a top 10 finish that would have capped off a strong weekend.

Following a busy start to the season, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia teams take a well-earned break before the fourth round of the championship returns the series to North Queensland and the NTI Townsville 500 on July 11-13.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship returns sooner, taking to the Top End and Hidden Valley Raceway in two weeks time.