A pair of second-place finishes for Clay Osborne in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Australia on Saturday at Queensland Raceway has seen the Kiwi vault to third in the championship, behind only leaders Oscar Targett and Brock Gilchrist.
Having finished fifth on Friday’s opener, Osborne was second in each of Saturday’s races, behind only Targett, who won all three outings to be the first driver to sweep a round in 2024.
Spinning out of the lead early in Race 2 cost Gilchrist, who was forced to work back through the field, which he did to finish ninth. The Team Porsche New Zealand/EBM driver was also on the charge in the Jim Richards Enduro outing and crossed the line fourth.
Hodson impressed all weekend, qualified on the front row and claimed his maiden podium on Friday. He continued his strong run of form on Saturday to finish fourth in Race 2 and fifth in Race 3. He was classified fourth for the round, his best result of 2024.
Up front, however, Targett was untouchable, and his trio of victories has extended his championship lead over Gilchrist to 87 points with two rounds remaining.
As was the case on Friday, Targett was slow off the line from the pole on Saturday, relinquishing the lead to his title rival Gilchrist.
The two quickly gained ground on the field until the Kiwi locked up at Turn 3 and spun into the gravel, dropping him from the lead. He returned the order with work to do.
Gilchrist’s misfortunes elevated Hodson to second, Hamish Fitzsimmons to third, Osborne to fourth, and Ryan Suhle to fifth.
On Lap 3, Osborne made his move, leaping from fourth to second with one move. Fitzsimmons eventually also followed through for third, and Suhle moved to fourth, ahead of Hodson.
They remained in that order at the chequered flag, but a 10-second penalty for Fitzsimmons relegated him to 16th and promoted Suhle to the final podium spot.
Two Safety Car interventions assisted Gilchrist in remaining within touching distance of the field, and he recovered from deep within the top 20 to finish ninth.
The 45-minute Jim Richards Enduro outing was just as dramatic and featured several Safety Car interventions. The race finished under caution.
Once again, Targett was pipped off the line, with Osborne hitting the front, where he remained for the first two laps.
The pole-sitter returned to the front on Lap 3, where he remained for the rest of the race. Osborne remained nearby and was never more than 1.5 seconds behind the leader on his way to second place.
Suhle again completed the podium, while Gilchrist recovered valuable points in fourth, leading Hodson to the line. Fitzsimmons recovered from 16th to finish eighth to remain close to Osborne in the standings.
Incidents in the 29-lap outing claimed Aron Shields, who was contending for third overall in the standings, as well as Ross McGregor and Mark Darling.
Osborne was classified second overall for the round, which was his best result of the season.
The Porsche Sprint Challenge returns at the Tasmania Super Sprint in two weeks and finishes at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 18-20.
Header Image: Porsche Motorsport Australia
