The final race of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park delivered 45 minutes of relentless, high-stakes action—and the Kiwi contingent rose to the challenge in dramatic fashion.
With elbows out and eyes forward, Jackson Rooney, Tom Bewley, William Exton, and Hunter Robb showcased grit, racecraft, and incredible speed in a pulsating Race 3 that saw all four make their mark in a stacked field.
From the drop of the green flag, the race was fierce. Kamal Mrad surged into an early lead after an intense wheel-to-wheel exchange with Lachlan Bloxsom and James Lodge.
But for the New Zealanders, the focus was clawing forward. Earl Bamber Motorsport driver Bewley started best of the bunch in 4th, with Exton 19th, Rooney 22nd and Robb back in 23rd—plenty of work ahead for the young chargers.
Bewley wasted no time, going toe-to-toe with Ryan Casha and boldly snatching 4th in the opening laps. Behind him, the charge was on—Rooney climbed into the top 10, Exton picked off rivals to move into 11th, and Robb slotted up to 14th, all before the race reached its midpoint. The Kiwis were coming alive.
However, not everything came easy. A brief but costly tangle between Bewley and Casha while fighting for 3rd sent the Kiwi wide, dropping him back to 5th and potentially damaging his car.
As he began to lose touch with the front-runners—falling 1.9 seconds, then over 4 seconds adrift—his mirrors filled with pressure from Daniel Quimby.
It turns out he was battling with a power steering failure and Bewley proved he wasn’t done yet—clocking the race’s fastest lap, a blistering 1:31.5180, with under 10 minutes to go. He may have been out of podium contention, but he was still the quickest driver on the track.
Right behind, the rest of the New Zealand quartet were storming ahead. Rooney executed a tidy move on Jacque Jarjo to jump into 8th.
Exton followed suit with a pass for 9th. And Hunter Robb—quietly but efficiently—hauled himself up to 11th before squeezing past Cooper Farrell on the final lap to snatch a hard-earned Top 10 finish.
Up front, the drama didn’t let up. Mrad’s five-second penalty for a start line infringement loomed large for most of the race, threatening to shuffle the podium order post-race. But in the dying stages, confusion reigned as the penalty mysteriously disappeared from timing screens.
Commentary teams scrambled for answers as Mrad’s team reportedly protested the decision. The penalty was withdrawn for now—though officials promised a post-race investigation.
In a photo finish, James Lodge narrowly held off Casha by a tenth of a second to claim 2nd, with Mrad officially taking the win on the road—pending any further ruling.
When the dust settled, Bewley crossed the line in 7th, followed closely by Rooney in 8th, Exton in 9th, and Robb completing the Kiwi sweep of the Top 10.
Bewley secured 3rd place overall in the Pro class for the round.
All four Kiwis displayed a gritty, determined performance in the weekend’s final race in Sydney.
While the podium may have eluded them this time, the performance of the Kiwis in Race 3 showed they’re not just part of the field—they’re serious contenders.
With pace, precision, and fearless overtakes, the future looks bright for this young group of rising Kiwi stars.
Header Image: TekworkX Motorsport
