Talent-stacked field to contest Michelin Sprint Challenge opener

Juniors, Pro-Am and Class B contenders stack up for opening round of new year

A SPECTACUALR start to a new Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia season is in store following confirmation of an outstanding grid for the opening round at Phillip Island this week. 

The 23-strong field will once again see a mixture of up-and-coming young Porsche Michelin Junior drivers, more experienced Professionals and Pro-Am / Class B competitors looking to claim their own titles this year.

13 cars are entered in the Professional class, 11 of them current Porsche Michelin Junior drivers.

Tom Bewley makes his debut as the official Team Porsche NZ representative, following in the footsteps of Ryan Wood, Callum Hedge, Marco Giltrap and Brock Gilchrist in the program’s fifth year.

His signing comes as Earl Bamber Motorsport look to win a third consecutive Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge title, a feat only achieved once before in series history.

Tyler Greenbury Racing expands to a pair of entries for the first time, the karting ace himself to be joined by young-gun Lincoln Evans, a Ferrari young driver academy member.

TekworkX Motorsport will field a pair of young chargers from New Zealand in the form of current New Zealand GT4 Champion Willie Exton and 19-year-old Toyota 86 series graduate and multiple Australian and NZ Karting champion, Jackson Rooney.

Another New Zealander, Hunter Robb, will contest a full season with Jones Motorsport, the team led by reigning Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia champion, Harri Jones.

DNA Autosport will field former TCR Australia winner Ryan Casha in a continuation of their GR Cup relationship, while Lachlan Bloxsom will create his own piece of Porsche history by doubling up his Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup campaign with a full season in Michelin Sprint Challenge as well. As he is in Carrera Cup, Bloxsom will be fielded by McElrea Racing.

Auticon-backed Ben Taylor shifts to Wall Racing for his second Sprint Challenge season, while new team Cup Car engineering will sport two entries having locked in US F4 champion Daniel Quimby and another Formula 4 graduate in the form of Sydney-based driver, Kamal Mrad.

Multiple Sprint Challenge champions Sonic Motor Racing return for another tilt this year, second-year driver Jake Santalucia returning for his second Sprint Challenge season. The Formula Ford graduate returns following six top-five finishes in his rookie season, including a best of a runner-up finish at The Bend.

Completing the Pro mix will be Ashley Seward Motorsport, who have secured Toyota GR Cup series runner-up James Lodge to pilot their #39 entry this year.

The Pro-Am fight is set to be fiercely competitive once again with defending champion Lachlan Harburg returning to defend his title in his The Cover Shop / EBM entry.

Harburg, who will have reigning Sprint Challenge Champion Oscar Targett on the headset from pit lane this weekend, will seek a maiden Pro-Am race win this year having claiming the 2024 title without winning a race in an incredibly consistent performance.

He is likely to be challenged by the very quick Ramu Farrell – who won six races in 2024 – while a Phillip Island wildcard could be Damien Flack, who makes his first Porsche one-make start since the 2014 Carrera Cup Australia Championship season.

The father of Carrera Cup Michelin Junior Marcos, Damien will return to Sonic Motor Racing in a Phillip Island one-off next week.

The Pro-Am field will add to its depth by including PSCA regulars David Grieg, John Papantoniou, Indiran Padayachee and Eric Constantinidis.

In Class B, Daniel Quimby is expected to be the man to beat, however newcomer David Valeo and 2024 Porsche Sprint Challenge Michelin Sportsperson of the year Stephen Moylan will be in the mix, running the previous-generation 991.1 GT3 Cup Cars.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field will contest three races across the Phillip Island weekend running alongside the Shannons SpeedSeries.

Following a pair of practice sessions on Friday, qualifying will be held on Saturday morning with the opening race later that afternoon.

Two further races will be held on Sunday to complete the opening round, with both the Saturday and Sunday action to be broadcast live on 7+ and 7mate this weekend.

Michelin Sprint Challenge has developed since its 2008 foundation to become one of Australia’s premier development categories, for both Professional and Pro-Am drivers and teams.

12 of the 18 Professionals in this year’s Porsche Carrera Cup championship are Sprint Challenge graduates, as are seven in the Pro-Am class.

Meanwhile, existing Sprint Challenge teams Jones Motorsport and DNA Autosport became race winners in Carrera Cup on stepping up for the first time this year.

ENTRY LIST
Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia, Round 1.

James Lodge makes step up to Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge

New Michelin Junior another to graduate to Sprint Challenge ranks

Toyota GAZOO Racing Australia GR Cup race winner James Lodge will make the next progression in his racing career by driving in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge for Ashley Seward Motorsport, starting at Phillip Island this weekend.

Lodge, 19, proved a standout in last year’s TGRA GR Cup achieving four victories, nine podiums, a pair of pole positions and three fastest laps in a standout year, and will now progress through the ASM pathway into Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge.

The second-tier Porsche category in Australia is renowned as a key developer of talent by providing the launch pad to careers in GT racing overseas, Carrera Cup and even Supercars.

As part of the deal, Lodge will be inducted into the Michelin Junior Program where he will benefit from tuition and experiences to fast track his career.

Ashley Seward Motorsport is vastly experienced in the category having supported many drivers efforts during the past decade.

Lodge and Ashley Seward Motorsport will begin their Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge campaign at Phillip Island at the Shannons SpeedSeries, starting this Friday.

“I’m very excited to be rejoining ASM in the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge,” said Lodge.

“It will be a new challenge, compared to 86, but I’m prepared for it and I know I have the team to get the results that we are looking for.

“The Porsche is certainly a lot faster than the 86, but it’s a pleasure to drive. I’ve enjoyed the two test days that we’ve had and I can’t wait to get to Phillip Island for the first round.

“Last year was a really strong season. We expected to do another year in the 86s, but after having so much success, we needed to take the step up. And Porsche was the logical progression for my career.

“It’s going to be a challenge to step up like this. I don’t want to set expectations too high, so I’ll just take it a step at a time and see what happens at Phillip Island.”

Jackson Rooney Joins Sprint Challenge Field with TekworkX Motorsport

Rooney will join fellow Kiwi William Exton to form a two-car line-up for the opening round of the season at the multiple-race winning squad.

New Zealander Jackson Rooney will make his Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia debut at Phillip Island next weekend with TekworkX Motorsport.

Rooney will join fellow Kiwi William Exton to form a two-car line-up for the opening round of the season at the multiple-race winning squad.

The 21-year-old has an extensive racing background, competing in karting since the age of just seven. After numerous titles throughout New Zealand, Rooney made his car racing debut in the 2024 NZ Toyota 86 Championship.

Rooney immediately excelled in the category, blazing his way to five race wins and eight podiums, netting the rookie fourth in the points standings. 2024 also saw Rooney make his debut in Australian car racing, contesting a round of the Monochrome GT4 Australia Series alongside Tony Quinn at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Phillip Island will mark the first time TekworkX has fielded multiple Pro-Class cars in the category since 2023, when the team clean swept three of the final four rounds.

Round one of the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series takes place from April 4-6 at Phillip Island, as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries.

Jackson Rooney

“I don’t really know what to expect, it’s going to be a big learning curve, but I can’t wait to hit the track with TekworkX.

“I haven’t driven a car like this before, so our goal is just to learn as much as we can at Phillip Island. There are a few drivers in the field who have done a lot of testing, and we’ll be on track on Thursday for the first time. From what I’ve seen it’s definitely a fun track, lots of high-speed corners to test the limits.

“William and I grew up karting together, and we were actually teammates in the Toyota 86 last year so I’m looking forward to teaming up with him again.

Rob Woods

“I had been in discussions with Jackson last year and we met at Hampton Downs earlier this year when we ran Zoe in the GT4. Since then, there have been further discussions and from there, I left Jackson to put together the budget to run with TekworkX in 2025.

“I know it hasn’t been ideal for him to get the budget together and it being so late prior to Round 1, but it was finalised only this Monday while we were testing at Phillip Island, some 10 days prior to round one.

“Jackson comes with obviously a very good karting career and achievements. His season in 2024 in Toyota 86s in NZ and his results as well were very impressive. For us as a team, we really want Jackson to improve session by session over the weekend at Phillip Island and not put any pressure on himself for results as he learns these cars.”

US F4 Champion to join Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia

International F4 champion to join Porsche Sprint Challenge

2024 US F4 Champion Daniel Quimby has signed with Andy Hall’s Cup Car Engineering for his rookie campaign in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Class B.

Quimby has been racing since the age of 10 in National Karting series around Australia, highlighted with a move to the US last year and winning the US F4 Championship in his debut year.

Quimby, is also the youngest ever US Formula Pro Winter series champion at the age of 14 years old, racing on the west coast of America in 2023.

Returning home he has his sights set on making his mark in the Porsche championship starting off in Class B with a move to the Pro class in 2026.

“I’m really looking forward to racing this year in the Porsche, I know I wont be able to compete fully with the guys in the faster cars, but I will be trying to put myself in amongst them.

“I still have racing commitments in the US this year, with a scholarship drive for winning the F4 championship, so I will be flying in and out of Australia this year” concluded Quimby.

Cup Car Engineering lead by Porsche guru Andy Hall will be helping Quimby with car preparation and track support this year from their Melbourne Based workshop.

“I have had the privilege of racing with Daniel in 2024 at the last round of Sprint Challenge and I have been massively impressed by his ability to drive the Porsche. said Hall.

The 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge season gets underway at Phillip Island from April 4-6 – the first of a six-round calendar that also sees the category race in Sydney, Queensland, Townsville, Tailem Bend and Sandown.

Sprint Challenge opening round schedule confirmed

Packed Phillip Island program locked in for start of new year

Cup Car Engineering to join Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia grid

Two-car commitment from Sydney-based team in 2025

SYDNEY-BASED team Cup Car Engineering will enter a two-car team in the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series. 

Porsche Engineer Andy Hall has made the decision to take his Cup Car Engineering team to the next level and has entered a 2-car team in the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge.

Hall’s deep understanding of Porsche vehicles and racing strategies will be a key asset for the team. His experience in high-stakes competition will be crucial in navigating the challenges of the Sprint Challenge, positioning Cup Car Engineering for success in 2025.

FCL Transport has come on board to support the team and has made significant investment to ensure its success, which has been critical to the start-up phase of this venture.

Further announcements to follow in the next few weeks with an exciting driver lineup to be announced.

Kiwi Ace William Exton Signs with TekworkX Motorsport

Another young rising star from New Zealand joins 2025 Sprint Challenge grid

One of New Zealand’s brightest prospects, William Exton, has signed with TekworkX Motorsport for his rookie campaign in Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge.

Exton plied his trade across an extensive junior career in national karting, highlighted with a championship winning campaign in the Rotax Max Light class in the 2021 Kartsport NZ National Sprint.

After making his car racing debut, Exton put together an impressive maiden season in the NZ Toyota 86 Championship in 2023. One year later, Exton returned to the category and claimed 11 podium finishes on his way to third place in the championship.

In recognition of his outstanding efforts both on and off-track Exton was awarded New Zealand’s Kaizen Award. The honour earned the 20-year-old a place aboard a GR Supra GT4 EVO in a round of GT4 Germany, held at the iconic Nürburgring circuit.

Exton is currently competing in the Summerset GT New Zealand Championship, after earning the Giltrap Group Scholarship, where he competed against TekworkX’s Zoe Woods in the GT4 class at Hampton Downs.

“I’m very excited to be joining TekworkX Motorsport, they’re an amazing team and Sprint Challenge is the best next step for me,” said Exton.

“My best friend recommended the team, and then over the past six months we’ve been talking and decided to give Sprint Challenge a crack. The field was pretty strong last year, I’m hoping it will be again this year with some more great drivers and I can really challenge myself.

“I’ve been to a few of the tracks, but I’ve never raced on any of them so that will be a huge challenge. There’ll be a couple other kiwi’s as well so we’ll all be in the same boat and testing our abilities to adapt.

“I know TekworkX will give me the best opportunity with the car and the data to get up to speed. I met some of the team last weekend in New Zealand, I already knew a few of the team through karting as well, so it was great to catch up and look forward to the season,” concluded Exton.

TekworkX Motorsport have established their place as a front-running organisation in the hotly contested Sprint Challenge category. Across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, the team earned 12 outright race wins along with a further six wins in the Pro-Am class.

“We at TekworkX couldn’t be more happier to have Will join the TekworkX team in 2025 for Sprint Challenge. He was a driver that was identified midway through 2024, with discussion taking place from then right through to the end of 2024. I was ecstatic when I got the phone call from Will only a couple of weeks ago confirming he will join TekworkX,” said Woods.

“I finally got to meet Will in person along with his family, last weekend at the Hampton Downs round of the NZ Summerset GT Series and I couldn’t be more impressed with the maturity and professionalism he showed throughout the weekend.

“I know he has the ability and skill, and we will give him a car and the attention required to have him at the pointy end of the field from the onset of round one at Phillip Island,” concluded Woods.

The 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge season gets underway at Phillip Island from April 4-6 – the first of a six-round calendar that also sees the category race in Sydney, Queensland, Townsville, Tailem Bend and Sandown.

Porsche Michelin Junior Program returns, expands in 2025

Key driver development program to expand, supporting young talent in one-make Porsche racing

PORSCHE MOTORSPORT Australia has announced an expanded version of its highly successful Porsche Michelin Junior Program for 2025.

Applications are now open for young drivers intending to contest either the 2025 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Championship, or Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge series, to join the program.

The application form, which contains all the relevant details, can be found here.

The expanded program will continue to embrace a two-day Porsche Junior Camp at the beginning of the season, however, will also expand this year to include regular seminars, coaching, guest speakers and ongoing support for those within the Junior program.

The program will encompass not just the physical and mental growth of participants, but also deliver insight into engineering, media, sponsorship and more.

A dedicated driver mentor will also be in place throughout the year, with that appointment to be announced in due course.

An industry panel, selected by Porsche Motorsport Australia, who will at the end of the year assess all participants, with the driver that best represents the broadest range of skills required to become a professional racing driver nominated as the Porsche Michelin Junior for 2025.

That nominee will then take part in the annual Porsche Junior Shootout in Europe, where the winner receives a scholarship prize towards contesting a season of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup Championship.

As part of their support of the program and both Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge, the top three Porsche Michelin Juniors at each round will receive a free set of Michelin tyres as rewards for their efforts.

Drivers looking to participate in the program must contest a full season in either Carrera Cup or Sprint Challenge this year and nominate with Porsche Motorsport Australia by 23 January to be included.

“We are thrilled that Michelin has returned to support this important initiative driving the growth of young drivers from this part of the world, giving them opportunities they may not get elsewhere,” said Porsche Senior Motorsport Manager, Craig Nayda.

“The team has taken the time to fully review the Porsche Michelin Junior program for 2025 and expand its reach in a bid to better provide an all-round program for our young talent.

“The focus of the program previously has been on the camp at the beginning of the season and then the driver that scores the most points at the end. The new format will evolve the Junior program to something that is part of these drivers for the full season – helping them grow and develop in parallel with their on-track activities.

“The Porsche Michelin Junior program already has a sensational track record and has supported more than 100 young drivers since its inception. 2025 will be no different and give the young talent in Sprint Challenge and Carrera Cup more opportunities to progress their careers.”

Tom Bewley to join Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge in 2025

Continuing its support of young New Zealand race drivers, Porsche New Zealand has announced that Tom Bewley will be the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Scholarship driver for the 2025 season.

The scholarship allows Bewley to race in a 911 GT3 Cup Car, with the support of Team Porsche New Zealand (TPNZ) and Earl Bamber Motorsport in 2025 in the Australian based series.

Fresh from being crowned the New Zealand Toyota 86 Champion for the 2023/24 season Bewley says he is thrilled to take this exciting next step in his career.

“I’m honoured to receive the scholarship, next year is going to be a big year for me but I’m looking forward to doing Porsche New Zealand proud on and off track,” said Bewley.

“I’ve done some early running in a Porsche already, and it’s a big step from a Toyota 86, but I’m ready to learn and grow from the TPNZ / Earl Bamber Motorsport team and look to get some good results in our first season in Australia.”

It has been a long motorsport journey for Bewley, who started in karts when he was six years old. Since then he has won multiple titles in karts before moving into race cars where he spent two years in the Toyota 86 championship – culminating in the championship win for the 2023/24 season.

“The first year in Toyota 86 was a big learning curve but it set me up for my second year perfectly, winning the championship was a big goal of mine.”

Bewley’s Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge season will kick off at the Phillip Island circuit outside of Melbourne in April.

Established in 2019, the scholarship programme has seen young New Zealand drivers compete across Asia and Australasia.

Porsche New Zealand General Manager, Greg Clarke says he’s pleased to welcome Bewley to Team Porsche New Zealand, and thinks the young Kiwi is more than deserving of the opportunity.

“This is the sixth year we’ve run this Porsche scholarship programme for a young Kiwi drivers, and we’re thrilled to welcome Tom to the Porsche fold and to compete in Australia next year,” says Greg Clarke, General Manager, Porsche New Zealand.

“We watch the junior categories here in New Zealand closely, and Tom clearly stood out last season. We look forward to see him develop further as a driver in Australia under the Earl Bamber Motorsport / Team Porsche New Zealand banner.”

Bewley is the latest in a long line of New Zealand drivers who have used the scholarship to springboard their international careers. The most notable being Callum Hedge who won the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship in 2023, which then saw him move on to the US to compete in the Indy NXT Championship.

“The scholarship has been a massive success as we saw with Callum Hedge winning the top Porsche Championship in Australasia in 2023. But add to that it has seen young Kiwi drivers such as Matthew Payne and Ryan Wood move onto Supercars. The programme is designed to give these young drivers the opportunities to perform and hopefully move onto the next stages of their careers.”

Earl Bamber Motorsport team principal Earl Bamber says he’s excited to see the latest Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia Scholarship recipient to emerge out of the local New Zealand motorsport landscape.

“We are excited to announce Tom Bewley as the new recipient of the Team Porsche New Zealand scholarship. He is a well deserving winner and a champion at Toyota 86 which many of our previous drivers have come from. I think he has got an amazing back ground in racing and a great future in motorsport. ” says Bamber.

“We look forward to being a small part of his big future in motorsport, and hopefully can following the footsteps of Matt Payne, Ryan Wood, Callum Hedge and Brock Gilchrist.”

To learn more about the Team Porsche New Zealand scholarship program visit: porsche.co.nz/teamporschenz

2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series confirmed

Exciting 2025 calendar locks in six key events at sensational circuits across Australia

THE 2025 PORSCHE Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series calendar has been confirmed, with an exciting six-round schedule locked in for one of Australia’s most competitive series.

The 2025 schedule will feature a mixture of Supercars Championship and SRO-promoted events, offering Sprint Challenge competitors a mix of high-profile events, strong Television coverage and excellent opportunities for track time at excellent drivers’ circuits across the six-round schedule.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge will link with SRO Motorsport for four rounds of their new 2025 calendar, running on the same program as the Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia and Monochrome GT4 Australia series.

Starting at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit in April, the SRO segment of the calendar will include rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park, Queensland Raceway and Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend.

The series will also return to a pair of key Repco Supercars Championship rounds, including a second visit to North Queensland and the popular NTI Townsville 500 event in July.

Sprint Challenge made its street circuit debut at the event this year offering sensational racing, with the event serving for many as their first taste of street circuit competition.

The series will then be decided at the Penrite Sandown 500 in November, supporting the Supercars Championship at their key Finals event at the iconic suburban Melbourne venue.

Oscar Targett (Pro), Lachlan Harburg (Pro-Am) and Jacque Jarjo (Class B) claimed the 2024 titles in a compelling year of Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia competition.

2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series

Round 1 – SRO Phillip Island, April 4-6
Round 2 – SRO Sydney Motorsport Park, May 2-4
Round 3 – SRO Queensland Raceway, May 30 – June 1
Round 4 – NTI Townsville 500, July 11-13
Round 5 – SRO Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, September 5-6
Round 6 – Penrite Oil Sandown 500, November 13-15

John Murray – Porsche Cars Australia, Director Marketing and Motorsport

“The 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia calendar delivers a great mixture of events, circuits and opportunities for our teams and competitors.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with SRO Motorsports Australia to help grow their new for 2025 platform. They have exciting plans for their take on promoting events and it makes sense for an expanded Porsche presence, given the participation of our customers in their key categories as well.

“We are also proud to continue our excellent relationship with Supercars and ensure Sprint Challenge can join Carrera Cup in representing Porsche at key Repco Supercars Championship events.

“The first visit to Townsville was a roaring success, and concluding the series at Sandown as the Supercars are in the peak of their new ‘finals’ system will be an appropriate way to end the season.”

Ben McMellan – CEO, SRO Motorsports Group Australia 

“SRO Motorsports Australia is pleased to further strengthen SRO’s global relationship with Porsche by welcoming Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge to our events for the 2025 & 2026 seasons,” said McMellan.

“The Porsche Sprint Challenge class adds to Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS, Monochrome GT4, and the new Ferrari Challenge Series, making our SRO events truly GT-inspired.

“The 2025 season sees us enter a new era for GT racing in Australia and this class of Porsche competition is the perfect partner for our events.”

Oscar Targett crowned Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge champion

Queensland teenager takes maiden national championship win at Sydney Motorsport Park

OSCAR TARGETT is the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series champion, sealing his maiden national racing title in style today at Sydney Motorsport Park.

At 18 years 10 months, the Queenslander is the second youngest ever one-make Porsche champion in Australia, trailing only Jordan Love – who won the 2017 Sprint Challenge title aged 18 years, 4 months.

Targett’s title came as the Sprint Challenge season was concluded at Sydney Motorsport Park today, the Grove Racing Junior also claiming the prestigious Jim Richards Endurance Trophy – decided across the longer, 45-minute enduro races held at each round of the championship.

Targett won the final round narrowly over Clay Osborne – who won the final race – and Ryan Suhle.

Ramu Farrell claimed the Pro-Am win over Lachy Harburg and Jacque Jarjo, while Daniel Quimby won Class B in Sydney.

Harburg claimed his second Porsche title, adding the Pro-Am class win to his 2022 Class B Sprint Challenge championship.

Harburg’s success ensured Earl Bamber Motorsport claimed both the Pro and Pro-Am titles, a feat they achieved in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia last year but had yet to achieve in Sprint Challenge.

Jacque Jarjo had already claimed the Class B championship and stepped up to Pro-Am for the first time this weekend.

Driving for Earl Bamber Motorsport and backed by the Grove Racing junior program, Targett’s accomplishment is the next step on a meteoric rise since his debut in Round 2 of the 2023 championship.

His lengthy karting career saw him race professionally overseas in the FIA Karting Championship before returning to Australia, aged just 16, to commence his circuit racing career.

His maiden year of racing saw him split circuit racing campaigns between one-make Toyota GR Cup and Porsche competition as he earned his racing stripes, racing under the tutelage of Grove Racing’s experts.

His initial Porsche campaign had a setback from the outset as he missed the opening round of last year’s title on account of having open heart surgery earlier in the year – however rebounded superbly to claim third in the championship, winning two races.

That set up a second-year attack where he arguably entered the year as a title favorite, however had to work hard for his early success in a highly competitive field of young Porsche Michelin Juniors.

He opened his 2024 account by winning the series opener at Phillip Island, before the flat-out series of races to opener the year where five different drivers claimed victories.

Perhaps his most emphatic statement of title intent, however, came in the final race at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend, where he charged to victory in a chaotic third race from 14th position on the starting grid.

That drive through the field to victory set up a dominant mid-season stanza where he claimed two of the three races in Townsville, all three races at Queensland Raceway and two of the three in Tasmania to claim all three rounds and entrench himself at the top of the standings.

The only driver remaining in contact with Targett heading into the series finale was Brock Gilchrist, who followed him home in Sydney Motorsport Park’s opener on Friday night to take the title battle into the final day – even if his hopes were more mathematical than anything else.

Targett then wrapped up the title with victory in the opening race of the final day, clinching the championship with one race to spare.

Brock Gilchrist capped off a successful debut season in Australia as the Team Porsche New Zealand-backed driver finished second overall, ensuring an EBM 1-2 in the championship.

Clay Osborne’s rookie season delivered him third overall for McElrea Racing in a promising season that included his maiden one-make Porsche victory.

Harburg’s Pro-Am title came via extreme consistency, the only driver in the class to finish every race he started.

In his rookie season, Andrew Georgiadis finished second while Ramu Farrell won the most races, and claimed third for the season.

All Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series awards will be presented on Saturday night in the series’ awards night in Sydney.

Targett survives wet-weather dash to take Sydney opener

Penalty denies Osborne victory as Farrell takes Pro-Am win

CLAY OSBORNE drove the race of his life, but the results will show Oscar Targett as the winner of the first Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia race at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend. 

In sultry and increasingly wet conditions, Osborne raced his way into the lead in Friday night’s sprint race that kicked off the final round of the 2024 Sprint Challenge season – however a five second penalty applied post race for a start line infringement handed the win to Targett.

Ramu Farrell claimed the Pro-Am class victory in style over Lachy Harburg – who provisionally claimed the Pro-Am title in the process – while newcomer Daniel Quimby took out the Class B win and finished an outstanding 10th outright on his Porsche debut.

The 25-minute race started with heavy skies over Sydney Motorsport Park with rain expected at some point throughout the race.

Starting from pole, Targett led the field into turn one however as the rain began to fall, Osborne began making moves and gradually worked his way to the rear of the championship leader out front.

Fourth at the end of lap one, Osborne passed Brock Gilchrist for third on lap five and Ryan Suhle for second one lap later.

He then got down the inside of Targett at turn four on the ninth lap to take the lead, however Targett remained in close company for the remainder to ensure he secured the win.

The race proved a show of skill from the 24-strong Porsche field, running the full distance without interruption despite the conditions being extremely wet by race’s end and a vast majority of the field remaining on slicks.

With penalties applied, Targett claimed the win over Gilchrist, who keeps his title hopes alive by only ceding a further 6 points to his year-long rival heading into tomorrow’s two races.

Provisionally the gap now sits at 98 points, with 120 up for grabs on Sunday.

Suhle finished third and Osborne fourth, narrowly ahead of Jake Santalucia in fifth position. Ayrton Hodson was another to cop a five second penalty but retained sixth position, while Conor Somers was a star – charging through the field following a 10 grid position penalty post-qualifying.

Aron Shields, Tyler Greenbury and Class B winner Daniel Quimby rounded out the top-10, the latter doing so on his debut race.

Ramu Farrell won Class B while Lachy Harburg’s second in class was enough to ensure he can no longer be beaten for the class title tomorrow.

Harburg’s success doubles up on his Class B title, claimed two years ago.

Farrell and Harburg battled for the lead in the class all race with the pair drag-racing to the line; Harburg narrowly missing his first race win of the year by 0.05 seconds.

Tomorrow will see the overall Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series title decided across two races.

The Jim Richards Enduro trophy will be settled first before the final race of the season on Saturday afternoon at Sydney Motorsport Park – the 2:10pm AEDT encounter to be broadcast live on 7mate and 7 Plus Sport.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge titles to be decided in Sydney

Pro, Junior and Enduro Cup titles all on the line this weekend in Sydney

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist will commence a Trans-Tasman battle for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series title this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park. 

The pair, split by 91 points with 181 up for grabs across three races, are the only two drivers that can win the championship this weekend.

Targett has won eight races to Gilchrist’s pair this year however the latter’s consistency aboard his Team Porsche New Zealand entry has kept him well in the hunt.

However, Gilchrist does lead the Jim Richards Enduro Trophy by twelve points, with the Sprint Challenge ‘race within a race’ to be decided on Saturday morning at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Both of those titles will be decided this weekend, while the Pro-Am and Class B battles will also draw to their conclusion in Sydney as a strong 27-car field prepares to tackle the three races – to be held on Friday and Saturday of the Shannons SpeedSeries event.

Targett’s rise to the top of the table has been well documented following his early-season debut last year.

After missing the opening round of the series, the teenager had a strong run home to finish third in the championship behind eventual champion Marco Giltrap, and Aaron Shields.

As part of the Grove Racing junior program, Targett will aim to deliver the Grove’s their first Porsche title since Stephen’s Pro-Am successes in Carrera Cup Australia.

Gilchrist came from New Zealand this year after winning the Porsche New Zealand Scholarship that has recently supported the likes of Ryan Wood, Callum Hedge and Marco Giltrap to success in Australian Porsche competition under the ‘Team Porsche New Zealand’ banner.

Now established in Queensland – and working at Queensland Raceway – Gilchrist’s strong season included a clutch Enduro Cup race win at The Bend in round two and another strong win in Tasmania amidst a weekend where he and Targett spent much of the event locked together.

After delivering five different race winners from the first five races, this year’s Sprint Challenge title battle has been dominated since by the Earl Bamber Motorsport pair who have claimed 9 of the subsequent ten races between them.

Kiwi Clay Osborne sits third in the championship, 99 points clear of teammate Caleb Sumich in fourth, while a late-season surge from Ayrton Hodson has him fifth in the standings and just 12 points behind his teammate.

In Pro-Am, Lachy Harburg holds a commanding lead in the title race with Sydneysider Andrew Georgiadis his closest contender in his rookie season.

The Queenslander will aim to secure his second Sprint Challenge title this weekend, having claimed the Class B championship in 2022 and finished runner-up last year prior to stepping up to the Pro-Am ranks in 2024.

With second-placed Danny Stutterd electing not to compete in Sydney, both Georgiadis (third) and Eric Constantinidis will aim to overhaul the TekworkX driver in the standings in a bid to score a top three championship result this weekend.

With the Class B title already claimed, New South Wales driver Jacque Jarjo will step up into the Pro-Am ranks this weekend for the first time, adding another strong contender to the mix.

The 27-car field includes the Sprint Challenge debut of Class B entrant Daniel Quimby aboard his FCL Transport / Cup Car Engineering entry.

Action commences on Friday with a 45-minute practice session at 12:55pm local time, followed by Qualifying at 3:55pm and Race 1 at 6:55pm.

Saturday will see the Enduro Cup decider battled over 45-minutes at 9:25am with the title decider to be sorted at 2:10pm on Saturday afternoon.

The final race of the year will be broadcast live and free on the Seven Network on 7mate and 7plus Sport on Saturday.

Targett: Championship as Oscar takes Tassie

Andrew Georgiadis claims maiden Pro-Am victory in Tasmania

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist will battle for the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series in the final round at Sydney Motorsport Park following a thrilling conclusion to Round 5 of the championship at Symmons Plains.

The pair battled out another hugely entertaining encounter today, continuing the theme of the weekend where the pair were inseparable across the three races.

After trailing early, Targett claimed the race and the round over Gilchrist and Clay Osborne, while Andrew Georgiadis took his first Pro-Am Round victory in style by claiming the third race.

The final sprint was a thriller from the outset as Gilchrist, starting from second, beat Targett into turn one.

The pair were locked together with McElrea’s Clay Osborne in hot pursuit early in the race, the trio pulling away from the remainder of the field.

As he did in race two, Targett launched several attacks on his EBM teammate at turn four and turn six before he finally made a move stick at four, claiming the lead.

Gilchrist had to settle for second, but was chased hard to the line by his Kiwi compatriot Osborne who also set the new lap record in today’s race.

In fact, the new benchmark set on Saturday by Targett was broken by eight drivers in the final race, all taking advantage of the best track conditions of the weekend and relatively fresh Michelin slicks for the final race.

Osborne’s strong finish to the weekend saw him claim third overall in Tasmania by just a single point, thanks to his efforts on Friday to secure his first career pole position award.

Behind the leaders some furious battling unfolded with Ayrton Hodson making early moves to assert his position in fourth.

He was chased all race by teammate Caleb Sumich, while a flying Tyler Greenbury charged from the back of the field to finish sixth – at one point owning the lap record before it was broken later by Osborne.

The Sonic duo of Jake Santalucia and Conor Somers were next, at one point battling for position as the former was another to charge his way through from the back of the field after enduring a broken axle in race two. They were followed home by Aron Shields and Ben Taylor, who completed the top-10.

Andrew Georgiadis’ pathway to the Pro-Am win was made slightly simpler when closest rival, and race two winner, Eric Constantinidis limped back to pit lane on the formation lap with a broken axle on his Area Cloud & Cyber Security entry.

Georgiadis was then chased to the line by John Papantoniou – finishing in that order for both race and round – with Jonathan Glicksten surviving an off at turn six to secure third for the race and the round.

It was his first round win in Sprint Challenge competition and the first in Pro-Am for his DNA Racing team.

With one round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series remaining, Oscar Targett provisionally leads Brock Gilchrist in the standings by 91 points, with 181 up for grabs at the Sydney Motorsport Park finale’ in October.

Clay Osborne holds third in the championship with Caleb Sumich fourth and Ayrton Hodson fifth.

In Pro-Am, Lachlan Harburg leads Danny Stutterd in the standings once the series ‘drop your worst round’ score is in place.

Andrew Georgiadis’ strong weekend in Tasmania sees him move to third position in the standings with Eric Constantinidis fourth.

The final round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will be decided at Sydney Motorsport Park at the Shannons SpeedSeries ‘Race Sydney’ event on October 18-20.

Targett, Gilchrist one-all after two Tassie races

Pro-Am wins split between Andrew Georgiadis and Eric Constantinidis

OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist are one-all following two superb Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia races today at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Gilchrist claimed his second win of the season after fending off the championship leader in the race one sprint, while Targett returned serve in race two in a breathless Jim Richards Enduro encounter to level the score.

It means the pair are tied on points for the round victory heading into Sunday’s Tassie decider.

In Pro-Am, a pair of first-time winners were welcomed into the Porsche record books with Andrew Georgiadis and Eric Constantinidis claiming the victories across the two races.

Race 1 started in dramatic fashion as polesitter Clay Osborne was slow away in wet conditions, being swamped by the field and allowing Gilchrist to pull away to an early lead.

A pair of Safety Car interruptions – including one that saw the race conclude under yellow – slowed the pace that otherwise saw Gilchrist and Targett running nose to tail while battling for the lead.

Gilchrist ultimately grabbed his second win of the season to remove six points from Targett’s championship lead, while Ayrton Hodson scored his second top three finish of the season by finishing third. Jake Santalucia was fourth with Tyler Greenbury completing the top five.

Osborne’s day went from bad to worse when he made contact with Aron Shields at the hairpin as he attempted to recover from his slow start on lap one – the contact ending Shields’ race and seeing Osborne take a drive through penalty for his efforts – ultimately finishing 12th.

A compelling Pro-Am battle saw Georgiadis take the win for the first time in his career, ahead of Jonathan Gliksten and John Papantonio, while Eric Constantinidis led the the class until lap 7, before he was caught out by the wet conditions.

The 45-minute Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race was a thriller and saw Gilchrist and Targett resume their hostilities from the outset.

The pair traded fastest laps early, Target re-setting the Symmons Plains lap record in his pursuit on lap 16 to a 52.5883s flyer.

The battle was paused momentarily for a Safety Car to recover a stranded Jonathan Gliksten, who was off the road at turn six, however on the restart Targett was on the offensive.

He launched an attack down the inside at Turn 4, only for Gilchrist to get the undercut and draw alongside – the pair running side by side down the back straight until a second Safety Car was called, this time for a stranded Tyler Greenbury who was out of the race with steering damage at turn two.

Greenbury and Ayrton Hodson had made contact on the restart, the impact spinning the latter off and breaking the steering on the former’s car.

Gilchrist was judged to be in front when the Safety Car was called and led the field back to green, only for Targett to launch another attack for the lead at turn six – though the Grove car ran wide and allowed his Kiwi rival to slip past once again.

The third time would prove to be the charm for Targett, re-passing Gilchrist at turn six two laps later and this time being able to make the move stick – ultimately edging away to record another win and level the score with his nearest title pursuer.

Gilchrist then switched to defence, holding off a charging Clay Osborne in a fight for second and third late in the race.

Caleb Sumich was another strong performer, recovering from an early incident to finish fourth, having passed Conor Somers late in the race.

In Pro-Am, Eric Constantinidis won the class following a superb drive that saw him running with the leading group of Pro drivers on the restarts.

He would lead Ben Taylor home for seventh outright and the class win, with Race 1 winner Andrew Georgiadis second in class and John Papantonio third.

One sprint race will complete the penultimate round the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series on Sunday at the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint, starting at 1210pm AEST on Sunday – with live coverage on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.

Osborne beats Gilchrist to maiden Porsche pole

Two first-time Porsche polesitters in Tassie as Andrew Georgiadis tops Pro-Am

CLAY OSBORNE has edged out Brock Gilchrist by less than one tenth of a second to score his maiden Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia pole position in a thrilling qualifying shootout at Symmons Plains Raceway. 

A gripping session saw the top spot swap hands on six occasions with Oscar Targett, Gilchrist and then Osborne late in the session all taking turns at the top of the timing screen at various points of the 30-minute session.

Targett held sway early before Gilchrist asserted himself on top as the field concluded their first efforts mid-session.

With fresh Michelins fitted, everyone went quicker on their second attempts with Gilchrist looking strong before Osborne charged to the top late.

His 51.9828s flyer stands as a qualifying record for Porsche’s at Symmons Plains and the second quickest ever Cup Car lap of the 2.41km venue – Gilchrist having gone marginally quicker earlier in the second practice session.

The 19-year-old Kiwi ultimately took pole by 0.0991 seconds with Gilchrist second and championship leader Targett starting third.

Osborne becomes the fourth different polesitter from the five rounds held to date this year, the effort doubling as McElrea Racing’s first of the year.

It means the driver third in the standings will start race one from pole, the driver second in points second and the title leader from the inside of the third row of the grid.

Fourth was Ayrton Hodson – 0.26 seconds behind pole – to continue his strong run of qualifying form while Caleb Sumich set the fifth quickest time in his McElrea entry.

Conor Somers was a strong sixth for Sonic, a worthy return for the Victorian talent following a ground-up rebuild of his #71 GT3 Cup Car following his spectacular Townsville rollover.

His teammate Jake Santalucia followed with Tyler Greenbury eighth and just 0.6 seconds from pole.

Friday offered a double dose of first-time pole position winners with Andrew Georgiadis grabbing the top spot in Pro-Am and qualifying 10th outright in his Team DNA entry.

They Sydneysiders best lap of 53.6017s was just 1.6s away from Osborne’s outright pole time and saw him take the class pole by 0.3 seconds over Eric Constantinidis, Jonathan Glicksten and John Papantoniou completing the Pro-Am order.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field charges into racing tomorrow with a pair of races to highlight the Saturday schedule at the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint.

Race 1 commences at 10:30am AEST while race 2 – the Jim Richards Enduro race – commences at 2:40pm local time and runs for 45 minutes.

Both races will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports in Australia, and Sky Sports in New Zealand.

Tasmania the scene for critical round in Sprint Challenge title chase

Pro-Am battle set for first-time winner, Enduro lead up for grabs in Tassie

A make-or-break penultimate round of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series is in store for the Apple Isle this weekend.

Just two weeks after points leader Oscar Targett swept all three races at Queensland Raceway, the title battle returns to Symmons Plains Raceway this weekend as a key support act on the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint program.

As the fifth round of six this year, the Tassie event represents a critical moment for title contenders to position themselves ahead of October’s finale’ in Sydney.

Targett leads Team Porsche NZ / EBM teammate Brock Gilchrist by 85 points heading to Tassie, though 180 are up for grabs this weekend.

While Gilchrist is yet to compete in Tasmania, Symmons Plains was the scene of Targett’s spectacular Sprint Challenge debut in 2023 having missed the earlier opening round at Phillip Island.

While the pair battle for the outright / Pro championship, they are also fighting for the lead in the prestigious Jim Richards Endurance Trophy battle where Gilchrist holds the ascendancy by 18 points over his Aussie rival.

Clay Osborne sits third in the Pro championship race, 178 points from the lead and needing a strong weekend to ensure he can continue to contend heading into the season finale’.

Hamish Fitzsimmons, who misses the Tasmanian event this weekend, sits fourth with Aron Shields and Caleb Sumich, both close behind, looking to make headway with strong performances this weekend.

The outright battle is expected to be intense this weekend with the return of Michelin Junior Conor Somers a welcome sight following his enormous rollover in Townsville earlier this year.

His Sonic Motor Racing team – which includes Somers on the tools – has re-shelled his 991.2 GT3 Cup Car between events with the young gun set for a racing return at a circuit he’s familiar with via his Formula Ford career.

The always unpredictable Pro-Am class battle takes another twist this weekend with a first-time round winner a guarantee – a ‘drop your worst round’ clause in the series point score calculations allowing drivers to skip one round a year while still remining in title calculations.

As such, the top three drivers in the class will be on the side-lines for Tasmania, including championship leader Lachy Harburg and second-placed Danny Stutterd.

Therefore, class success this weekend will be decided between Jonathan Gliksten (Racing to beat FA), Eric Constantinidis (Area Cloud & Cyber Security), Andrew Georgiadis (Bondi Carpets / DNA) and John Papantoniou (Entertainment Park) – all four searching for a maiden class round victory in Sprint Challenge competition.

Of the 14 entries assembled for this weekend, just five drivers have raced a Porsche at Symmons Plains before – Targett, Constantinidis, Sumich and Shields competed last year, while Jonathan Gliksten raced there in 2019.

The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia field will contest three races this weekend as part of a bumper Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint program at Symmons Plains.

Following practice and qualifying on Friday, the first two races will be held on Saturday – the second the key Jim Richards Endurance Championship encounter.

The final race will be contested just after midday on Sunday to decide the weekend.

Action on Saturday and Sunday will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports this weekend, plus coverage on Sky Sports in New Zealand.

ENTRY LIST – ROUND 5, Symmons Plains Raceway

Conor Somers returns to Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge field in Tasmania

Welcome return for Porsche Michelin Junior following massive Townsville crash