Kiwi racer Tom Bewley delivered a dominant showing in the final Porsche Sprint Challenge round, while Hunter Robb produced an impressive comeback after his earlier DNF.
Qualifying:
Qualifying saw each driver’s fastest lap set their grid spot for Race 1, with the results from the earlier races to shape the grids for Races 2 and 3.
Victorian driver James Lodge secured pole with an impressive 1:09.784, while Tom Bewley wasn’t far off—his 1:09.941 put him just 0.157 seconds shy and earned him third overall, the best of the Kiwi contingent.
Hunter Robb also delivered a strong showing, his 1:10.331 placing him seventh for the Race 1 start.
Race 1:
Bewley’s race got off to a nightmare start as his car stalled on the grid, leaving him stranded while the cars behind manoeuvred past. He slipped just outside the top ten but quickly clawed back a few positions through the opening corners.
Turn 1 proved chaotic, with Andrew Georgiadis locking both brakes and colliding with Mrad, tearing off a radiator and ending up in the gravel trap. Kamal made it safely into the pits, but Georgiadis was unable to rejoin the race.
Amid the chaos, Robb jumped from seventh to fifth, holding his position until the safety car was deployed.
When racing resumed, Bewley pushed hard to regain positions, overtaking Diesel Thomas on the outside into the corner, then passing Jacque Jarjo shortly after. Sitting in sixth behind Robb, he began closing the gap of over a second to his fellow Kiwi.
Meanwhile, Robb defended his position while simultaneously reducing the gap to the cars ahead, aiming to move up the order before the finish.
Despite bringing the gaps down to less than half a second, neither Kiwi could secure another position on track. Post-race, Lachie Bloxsom received a 10-second penalty for his fourth-place finish, promoting the Kiwis by one spot each.
Robb crossed the line in fourth, with Bewley just behind in fifth after a strong recovery drive.
Race 2:
The drivers lined up for Race 2 based on their finishing positions, with the Kiwis side by side on row three.
Robb made a flying start, slicing past the drivers in third and second to run alongside Lodge into turn two. Disaster struck when the pair collided, sending Robb wide and spinning Lodge across the track. Tyler Greenbury had nowhere to go and slammed into Lodge’s left front, while several others ran off to avoid the wreck. Lodge tried to limp to the pits but couldn’t, prompting the safety car to clear the debris.
Amid the chaos, Bewley gained a spot, slotting into fourth as the field followed the safety car.
When racing resumed, Robb surged ahead, with Ryan Casha closing in and the pair beginning to build a gap over the battling pack behind them. Bewley attacked Jake Santalucia through a tight series of corners but couldn’t complete the pass, settling just ahead of Lachie Bloxsom in fourth.
In the final corners, Casha dove down the inside of Robb to try and take the lead, riding over the curb and clipping Robb as they went through the grass.
The incident bunched up the pack, allowing Santalucia to surge past both drivers down the front straight to claim the lead, while Casha reclaimed second from Robb around turn one.
With the field tightly packed, Bloxsom overtook Bewley to move into fourth. Casha then took the lead from Santalucia, opening the door for Robb to reclaim second.
Halfway through the race, Eric Constantinidis spun off and got stuck in the gravel, bringing out the safety car for a second time.
At the restart, Robb’s car began spewing liquid and smoke. He battled on for a few corners before being forced to limp into the pits, ending his race in a DNF.
Bewley capitalised immediately, overtaking Bloxsom and chasing down Santalucia. On the following lap, he found a gap on the inside and took second place.
Although Bewley crossed the line in second on track, a post-race penalty for Casha promoted him to the race win, capping a dramatic comeback for the Kiwi.
Race 3:
After his victory in Race 2, Bewley started the final race on pole, while Robb lined up 20th following his DNF.
Bewley stormed off the line, quickly establishing a 1.5-second lead by the end of the opening lap.
Robb made an impressive start of his own, moving up eight places on the opening lap to sit 12th. He continued his climb through the field, overtaking Lodge on the inside and then Jarjo to break into the top ten.
Robb kept up the momentum, passing Harry Walker a few laps later and then D. Thomas on the following lap to claim eighth place.
At the front, Bewley controlled the race, stretching his advantage to nearly four seconds by the middle of the 20-minute contest, commanding a comfortable lead over the pack battling behind him.
As the race neared its conclusion, Robb overtook Greenbury and began closing the gap to Josh Thomas. In the final laps, he made a decisive pass on J. Thomas to finish sixth—an impressive 14-place gain from his starting position.
Bewley crossed the line in dominant fashion, taking the win with a commanding 8.6-second margin over Mrad in second.
Header Image: Porsche Motorsport Australia
