The final race of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia weekend at Reid Park Street Circuit in Townsville was filled with chaos, controversy, and costly outcomes for Kiwi drivers, most notably Tom Bewley and William Exton.
The drama began well before Sunday’s Race 3 even took to the track. Race 2 was cancelled outright following a massive 10-car pile-up on the opening lap. The incident saw eight drivers, including Kiwi William Exton, withdrawn from the event. As a result, Race 3’s grid was set based on Saturday’s Race 1 results.
This put Jake Santalucia on pole alongside Ryan Casha, with Kiwi rising star Tom Bewley lining up on the second row in third, alongside Lachlan Bloxsom.
Fellow New Zealander Hunter Robb started further back in P8.
At the drop of the green flag, Bewley launched off the line brilliantly, clearing Marcos Flack to cement third position.
He then moved into second when Casha ran wide in a heated early battle with Santalucia for the lead, narrowly missing the tyre barriers. Bewley capitalised to secure track position and began pressuring Santalucia for the lead.
Meanwhile, Tyler Greenbury, one of the drivers involved in Saturday’s Race 2 crash, put on a sensational recovery drive from 17th on the grid, jumping five places to P12 by the end of the opening lap.
Hunter Robb also made early gains, moving up to seventh after passing Kamal Mrad.
The front-running trio of Santalucia, Bewley and Casha quickly broke away from the field, with a two-second buffer over Flack in fourth. With 12 minutes left on the clock, the fight for the lead reached its boiling point. Santalucia ran wide at Turn 11, opening the door for Bewley, who dived down the inside at Turn 12 to seize the race lead.
However, heartbreak struck just seconds later.
Casha, following close behind, misjudged his braking and slammed into the rear of Bewley’s Porsche, sending the Kiwi hard into the wall with heavy front-end and steering damage.
The incident triggered a safety car intervention and brought an early end to what had been a promising race for the EBM/Team Porsche New Zealand driver.
As racing resumed with just six minutes remaining, it was clear Santalucia’s car had suffered damage of its own, with fluid leaking from the rear of his Porsche. He would later retire down an escape road due to a mechanical failure.
Robb, meanwhile, dropped back to eighth after Greenbury, continuing his remarkable comeback, moved into P7.
Race control then announced a drive-through penalty for race leader Ryan Casha for causing the incident with Bewley. He dove into pit lane to serve the penalty, gifting the lead to Flack.
The final laps saw a reshuffled running order with Flack leading Mrad, Bloxsom, Christian Lodge, and the charging Greenbury. Robb climbed to sixth before slipping back to seventh by the chequered flag, holding on as the last remaining Kiwi in the field.
At the flag, it was Flack who claimed the Race 3 victory, followed by Mrad in second and Bloxsom rounding out the podium.
Robb delivered a solid performance to finish seventh, while Bewley’s hopes were dashed through no fault of his own in a race that will sting for some time.
Header Image: Jones Motorsport
