PORSCHE CARRERA CUP AUSTRALIA CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLES INTENSIFY AS TITLE RIVALS MAKE THEIR MARK

What was a three-way championship battle has become a fight between five as the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship reaches what is set to be a hugely competitive end to the season. Meanwhile, the ever-fluctuating Morris Pro-Am championship remains on a knife’s edge with a key contender yet to stamp their authority on a pulsating championship battle across the first six rounds this year.

Heading into round 7 at the Repco Bathurst 1000 this weekend, Harri Jones continues to lead the Pro championship, with a 68-point advantage, despite his first non-finish of the season in the final race of Round 6 at Sandown.

The unpredictable, wet weekend of racing in the south east of Melbourne affected all the top Pro contenders and actually saw Jones seal the 2022 Michelin Junior title and grow his Pro class advantage over his nearest rival heading towards Mount Panorama.
That rival is now David Wall, who returned to second in the standings in round 6 having been passed by the in-form Dylan O’Keeffe at The Bend Motorsport Park in round 5.

Wall’s consistent weekend, coupled with O’Keeffe’s Sunday struggles at Sandown – which included a points penalty for contact with Max Vidau in Sandown’s Enduro Cup race – have positioned the 2017 champion 16 points clear in second position heading into two of his stronger circuits.
Although O’Keeffe remains firmly in the hunt in third, the big mover in the Pro Championship is Aaron Love who has rocketed himself into contention with back-to-back round victories.

The West Australian has scored 460 points to Jones’ 212 across the last three rounds and despite missing a pair of events earlier in the season, now sits 92 points from the championship lead – with 6 races remaining and a potential 362 points still up for grabs.

EMA Motorsport’s David Russell also sits in striking distance, a further two points back in fifth place heading to Mount Panorama – a track he has a lot of experience on.
Dale Wood, Callum Hedge, Christian Pancione, Max Vidau and Luke Youlden complete the current top-10 championship standings. Big improvers across the last three rounds also include Jackson Walls (11th in the championship but fifth in points scored across the last 3 rounds), Brad Shiels (12th, but seventh in points across the last 3 rounds) and Simon Fallon (14th, but ninth in points scored across Townsville, The Bend and Sandown).

The remarkable battle for the Morris Pro-Am championship continues to impress with an incredible streak ongoing following Round 6 at Sandown last time out. The class has seen a different points leader following every event so far this season and Sandown was no exception. Geoff Emery’s clutch round win saw him return to the top of the standings, that were led by Sam Shahin following his victory at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Emery won the opening round of the championship before losing the lead following Round 2 at Winton. He then surrendered the lead to Shahin in Darwin, but quickly bounced back to the top following his win in Townsville a few weeks later.

Shahin struck back with his home-circuit victory at The Bend, reclaiming the points lead, before Emery’s counterattack at the weekend. Emery now leads the ever-consistent Dean Cook by just 4 points, despite the Zonzo Estate driver having not claimed a race or round victory this year.

Four drivers sit within quick striking distance of Emery: Liam Talbot holds down third position some 38 points from the lead, while two-time points leader Shahin is fourth, 66 points back. Rodney Jane sits fifth in the standings with three-time champion Stephen Grove sixth.

This year is the 18th time that Mount Panorama will have hosted a Carrera Cup Australia round. What is significant is that no Bathurst Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia round has ever been won by a driver that did not win a race in that weekend’s round.

Race 2 of this weekend will also be significant for two reasons. Marc Cini will mark his 350th Carrera Cup Australia race, while Race 2 of the round will be the 400th Porsche Carrera Cup Australia race – an amazing accomplishment for any national championship.

Round 7 of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship commences on Thursday with practice and qualifying, to be followed by one race each day across the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Repco Bathurst 1000 event.

Broadcast Schedule:
Thursday 06 October
Practice 08:55 – 09:45
Qualifying 17:10 – 17:30

Friday 07 October
Race 1 14:15 – 14:55 (15 laps)

Saturday 08 October
Race 2 15:20 – 15:45 (9 laps)

Sunday 09 October
Race 3 09:40 – 10:05 (9 laps)

Entry List:
# Name Surname Class
4 Stephen Grove Pro-Am Grove Racing
5 Ryan Suhle Pro SP Tools / EBM
6 Angelo Mouzouris Pro Sonic Motor Racing / PitBox
7 Tim Miles Pro-Am Miles Advisory Partners / N2C
8 Nick McBride Pro Porsche Centre Melbourne
9 Marc Cini Pro-Am Hallmarc
11 Jackson Walls Pro Objective Racing
12 Harri Jones Pro Hastings Deering / Mackellar Group
13 Sam Shahin Pro-Am The Bend Motorsport Park
14 Matthew Belford Pro-Am ID Land / Porsche Centre Melbourne
17 Callum Hedge Pro Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM
20 Adrian Flack Pro-Am AGAS National
22 Dean Cook Pro-Am Zonzo Racing
27 Liam Talbot Pro-Am Wash It / Paynter Dixon
28 Bayley Hall Pro Hall Finance & Insurance
38 David Wall Pro Monochrome / Paynter Dixon
45 Duvashen Padayachee Pro Rentcorp Hyundai Forklifts
48 Geoff Emery Pro-Am Force Accessories / MJR
53 Luke Youlden Pro TekworkX Motorsport / Hire A Hubby
72 Max Vidau Pro TekworkX Motorsport / Tyrepower
74 David Russell Pro EMA Motorsport / FRS
76 Christian Pancione Pro VCM Performance / HP Tuners
77 Rodney Jane Pro-Am Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts
86 Drew Hall Pro-Am Wall Racing
88 Dylan O’Keeffe Pro Dexion / RAM Motorsport
100 Dale Wood Pro Timken Racing
222 Scott Taylor Pro-Am Scott Taylor Motorsport
777 Simon Fallon Pro Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts / Bremtech
999 Aaron Love Pro Sonic / Bob Jane T Marts

Source. Porsche