• Long standing lap and qualifying records set to fall at Mount Panorama
• 28-car field entered for this weekend eclipses the previous Series record of 21 set in both 2009 and 2010
• In Pro Class, Thomas Sargent leads Ryan Wood by 39 points heading into the final two rounds and six races
• In Morris Pro-Am, Brett Boulton has a 100-point lead over Sam Shahin

The penultimate round of the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series sees Porsche teams head to Mount Panorama in Bathurst, New South Wales after a 12-year hiatus. Arguably, the highlight of the 2022 calendar, the Supercheap Bathurst International event marks the longest ever gap in Series history between visits to any given circuit since its inception.

The Sprint Challenge has only raced at Mount Panorama on two occasions, in 2009 and 2010, out of the76 rounds and 223 races contested in Series history. As a result, only four of the drivers entered for Round 5 this weekend – Madeline Stewart, Sam Shahin, Indiran Padayachee and Graham Williams – have raced at Bathurst previously in one-make Porsche racing.

Others, including 2022 Bathurst 6 Hour winner, Sargent, have raced there before in other categories, and include: Courtney Prince (Aussie Racing Cars), Brad Carr (Bathurst 6 Hour), Lachlan Bloxsom and Ryan Wood (Toyota 86s).

Remarkably, Tony Quinn still holds both the race and qualifying records at Mount Panorama for Sprint Challenge (Formerly known as GT3 Cup Challenge) competition and they remain the oldest records among active circuits currently used by one-make Porsche racing in Australia.

Should the weather remain as forecast for Friday’s qualifying and Saturday’s races, these current lap records are almost certain to fall as the lap records for the Type 991.2 GT3 Cup Car – used in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia through to the end of the 2021 season – now campaigned in Sprint Challenge, are over 10 seconds quicker.

The last two occasions Sprint Challenge raced at Bathurst, the Series shared / split grid with the Victorian Porsche 944 Challenge category. In 2009, there were 42 entries, of which 21 were 944s, while in 2010 there were 32 in total – and eleven 944s. As such the 28-car field entered this weekend eclipses the previous Series record of 21 set in both 2009 and 2010.

In the championship battle, Race 2 at The Bend was the first of the ten races held so far this season that did not see Thomas Sargent and Ryan Wood finish 1-2. The nine consecutive races they did lock out the top two spots is a record in series history.

Wood’s ninth place finish is the first time either driver has been split by more than 15 points this season, with Sargent now leading by 39 points heading into the final two rounds and six races.

The battle for third remains highly competitive, Aron Shields leading Courtney Prince by just seven points, with Lachlan Bloxsom a further 30 points further back in fifth. Jason Miller is only 74 points off third in the championship but sits sixth, while Madeline Stewart in seventh is 98 points away from third.

Aron Shields (2^nd), Madeline Stewart (3^rd) and Tom McLennan (4^th) all scored season best race results in Race 2 at The Bend. While four Porsche teams – CHE Racing, Team Porsche NZ / EBM, McElrea Racing and Sonic Motor Racing – fill the top four spots in the Championship.

In Morris Pro-Am, Brett Boulton’s double win at The Bend (coupled with Sam Shahin’s Race 1 DNF) has him clear by a full 100 points heading into the final two rounds. Andrew Goldie sits third, just 40 points ahead of old sparring partner and former Class B title rival, David Grieg, in their fight for the final step on the podium.

In Class B, Lachlan Harburg now leads the standings having either won or finished second in his last four races. He leads Nathan Sticklen by 57 points and Bradley Carr by 67 with two rounds to go.

A single practice session, qualifying and the first sprint race will take place on Friday 11 November. Both Saturday’s 25-minute Sprint races will be broadcast LIVE on Stan Sport.

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 5, Bathurst Intl

ENTRY LIST:

#	DRIVER	SURNAME	CLASS	SPONSOR
2	Richard	Cowen	Pro-Am	McElrea Racing
8	Madeline	Stewart	Pro	Bullrush Rally / EBM
11	Eric	Constantinidis	Pro-Am	Our Kloud / Up to 11 Motorsport
12	Matt	Slavin	Pro-Am	Ares Group
13	Sam	Shahin	Pro-Am	The Bend Motorsport Park
22	Andrew	Goldie	Pro-Am	Cirrus Aircraft
23	Lachlan	Bloxsom	Pro	Team Navy
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 / Local Legends
35	Indiran	Padayachee	Pro-Am	Hyundai Forklifts
34	Nathan	Sticklen	Class B	TekworkX Motorsport
40	Ryan	Wood	Pro	Team Porsche NZ / EBM
47	Thomas	Sargent	Pro	Tegra Australia
59	Jason	Miller	Pro	Stokes Skis Australia
61	Adrian	D Silva	Pro-Am	EBM Giga Racing
81	Tom	McLennan	Pro	Tom McLennan
84	Brett	Boulton	Pro-Am	Bold Living
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: Stan Sport

Saturday 12 November

12:40 -13:05   Race 2

14:30 -14:55  Race 3

 

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Lap Record:

Tony Quinn (Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Car) 2m16.7271s – 2009
*991.2 GT3 Cup Car: Jaxon Evans (Porsche 911.2 GT3 Cup Car) 2m06.2285s – 2018

(*Cited for a current day reference)