Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia
Simon Fallon has taken the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge Australia series lead, after claiming today’s endurance race at Winton.
Fallon now leads Cooper Murray by a single point, while Murray took out the Jim Richards Endurance Trophy after finishing a close second place to Fallon.
Jimmy Vernon was third for the opening 29-lap race, ahead of Max Vidau.
South Australian Tom Taplin was fifth, ahead of the first Pro-Am finisher of Marcel Zalloua in sixth.
Michael Hoovey was seventh, ahead of Michael Loccisano, Sam Fillmore and Sergio Pires.
It was a tough race for some, with six drivers unable to finish the race, including Luis Leeds and Chelsea Angelo who unfortunately hit Leeds on the start line after he stalled.
The series will return to Winton for two further races tomorrow, as part of the penultimate round of the Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge.
CAMS PAYCE Australian Formula 4 Championship
AGI Sport have continued their streak of round wins, with Ryan Suhle claiming outright honours at Winton for the fourth round of the 2018 CAMS PAYCE Australian Formula 4 Championship.
The win has pushed Suhle into second in the Championship battle, after bad luck struck for Ojeda in the first two races.
Ojeda and Suhle had a collision in Saturday’s second race, after Ojeda climbed through the back of the field after earlier retiring from the opening race of the day.
Race 3 saw luck on Ojeda’s side, taking home the race win and 25 points for his title campaign.
Ojeda and Suhle are split by just one point, however with a maximum potential of 75 points on offer for tomorrow’s Round 5, the four-point gap between Ojeda-Suhle-Shields is set to continue this year’s thrilling title fight.
Lochie Hughes extended his streak of four consecutive Burson Auto Parts Rookie of the Round honours, clinching his first race win and overall podium in F4.
Aaron Love meanwhile ended his streak of consecutive round podiums in 2018, finishing fourth ahead of championship leader Ojeda.
Patrizicorse’s Jackson Walls was the next best rookie in sixth, leading Josh Smith, Thomas Smith, Antonio Astuti, Zayd Tones and Ardie Jonic.
Round 5 of the Championship kicks off first thing tomorrow morning, with Shields to start from pole position.
CAMS Australian GT Trophy Series
The title fight is set to go down to the wire tomorrow, as current series leader Nick Kelly qualified on pole for tomorrow’s opening race.
Kelly set the pace in the opening session to take provisional pole, with the Audi R8 LMS Ultra GT3 driver then improving by nearly half a second to stamp his authority on the grid in the second half of the two-part session.
He’ll be joined by Matt Stoupas on the front row, after the Victorian ace proved second fastest.
On debut in the Trophy Series, Scott Taylor piloted his Porsche 911 GT3 R to third fastest, edging out Dave Stevens in the Ferrari 458 GT3 by 0.4s.
Rio Nugara chalked up more crucial points in his quest for the series title as he qualified fifth, ahead of the Siedler Group Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car of Chris and Luke Seidler.
The series will host two 50-minute races as part of their final round of 2018.
Jacuzzi Spas Australian Production Car Series
Grant Denyer and Tony D’Alberto have recorded back-to-back victories in the Jacuzzi Spas Australian Production Car Series, capitalising on a late-race penalty for Ryan Simpson to narrowly take the first two-hour race of the weekend at Winton.
In a tense finish, D’Alberto edged out Simpson, who shares his car with Jim Pollicina, by just 0.2 seconds after the latter staged a remarkable comeback in the closing stages, having led a majority of the race.
Grant and Iain Sherrin finished third outright in their BMW M4, a lap behind the leaders.
After winning at Queensland Raceway, Denyer and D’Alberto held second for much of the race, however inherited the lead when Simpson was penalised for a breach of restart procedure following the sole Safety Car period.
The penalty ensured their five-second lead at the restart had turned into a 20-second deficit by the time Simpson returned to the circuit with just 25 minutes remaining.
Tony Alford/Kyle Alford in their Lotus finished fourth, while Jason Miller finished a strong fifth outright, making him the first driver to complete the two-hour enduro without a co-driver.
The A2 winner finished eighth outright with Nathan Callaghan and Chris Lillis while B1 honours went to the VW Golf R of James Keene and Dominic Martens.
Colin Osbourne and Callum Jones took Class C, while Matt Thelewis and Ellexandra Best won Class D.
Cem Yucel and Harley Haber edged out the James Brock/Elliot Barbour MG6 in a tight battle for Class E bragging rights.
There was drama for series leader Beric Lynton, the BMW M3 he shares with Tim Leahey was forced out of the race after 17 laps with broken wheel studs.
With nearest rivals Grant and Iain Sherrin finishing on the podium, the DNF sees Lynton’s points lead diminished heading into tomorrow’s second 120-minute race.
Porsche 944 Challenge
Cameron Beller has converted his pole position in qualifying to an opening race win, as part of the Porsche 944 Challenge’s invitational round at Winton.
Beller had to fend off an impressive Chris Lewis-Williams, who was on the Victorian’s tale throughout the race, even taking the lead at one stage in the race.
Robert Holding also was in the thick of the action, crossing the chequered in third.
Paul Crocitti was fourth, ahead of Mark Taubitz and Michael Westaway in fifth and sixth respectively.
Richard Howe was seventh in the opening race, with Pedr James, Peter Doherty and James Mitchell rounding out the top 10.
The Porsche 944 Challenge will be back on track tomorrow for a reverse grid race before their third and final race of the event.