Tom Bewley is aiming for a strong finish in the final three races of the Australian Porsche Sprint Challenge championship at Melbourne’s Sandown International Raceway this Friday and Saturday.
Bewley held down second place in the series for most of the season until a championship-ending shunt into the barriers on the streets of Townsville while leading a race saw him plummet down to fourth in the standings.
Then at the penultimate round in Adelaide, the 17-year-old Porsche Challenge rookie regained enough ground by setting pole, a new lap record and taking a race win to put himself right back in the hunt for a top-two finish.
The final round offers just a single practice session, qualifying, and one race on Friday, with the final two races on Saturday, when there is a high probability of rain, something Bewley experienced earlier in the week during his only test at the Victorian circuit.
“It was a tough test; the track was pretty much a river, so we got no testing done until the afternoon, and even then, it was still pretty sketchy. At least I got to learn the track a little bit, so if it rains this weekend, I’ve got a very clear picture of how to drive the track on a wet tyre, and I know where the grip is,” said Bewley.
Sandown is the sixth new race track Bewley has encountered during his rookie international season, and he considers it to be more like New Zealand tracks than the others he’s been to.
“It’s quite bumpy, narrow and tight, so it might be more difficult to pass on than some of the others, so qualifying well will be important, and hopefully we won’t have to do much passing.”
While his main rival and championship leader, Jake Santalucia, has managed to pull a points gap over the past two rounds, Bewley has the runner-up honours firmly in his sights.
“Definitely second is close enough, but I think winning will be a bit of a stretch. After a challenging season, I think finishing in the top three would still be a strong effort after having that DNF [did not finish] and a few issues which set us back.”
The Havelock North-based teenager became champion of the New Zealand Toyota 86 series before stepping up to GT3 racing in Australia in the #4 Dura-Seal/Clipped Assist Porsche, so he’s familiar with the challenges of racing one-make identical cars.
“Before the season, I had hardly done any running on a slick tyre, and trying to qualify on that was a challenge, so getting to grips with that has been my biggest improvement.”
“I’ve learnt to turn the tyre on better, not overdo it and chew the tyre up. Also mastering the braking. Without ABS in the cars, getting the right feel for the pedal and the right bleed to maximise is something I’ve improved a lot.”
Just 34 points separate Bewley from second place heading into Sandown, where the Michelin Sprint Challenge supports the V8 Supercars Sandown 500 event. There are 200 points on offer at the sixth and final round.
Qualifying is at 1.30pm NZ time Friday, with the first of two 25-minute races at 4.45pm.
Saturday’s first race is the longer 45-minute time-certain race at 12.50pm, with the season finale starting at 4.10pm. All races will be broadcast live in New Zealand on Sky Sport 52.
Bewley’s the youngest-ever winner of the Porsche New Zealand scholarship, and his campaign is also supported by Dura-Seal High Performance Vehicle Protection, Clipped Assist, Earl Bamber Motorsport, Showerdome, Creme Insurance and TACCOC.
Header Image: Edge Photographics
