The French-Finnish superstar started in sixth position but bided his time and made some spectacular, decisive moves to work his way forward onto the back of race leader Dylan O’Keeffe.

David Russell got away to a decent start from the second row, but was ultimately forced wide and through the grass, dropping him to the back of the field.

O’Keeffe worked his way past two-time champion Harri Jones on the opening lap and largely took control for the majority of the race while battles erupted behind.

Amand and Jones engaged in a vigorous battle for second position on the following lap, swapping positions three times in as many corners through the final complex.

Glen Wood fought his way into the battle with Jones, moving his way into podium contention following the battle with Amand.

Further back in the field, Angelo Mouzouris went for a dive on reigning Sprint Challenge champion Jake Santalucia.

The move forced Santalucia wide and slowed him up, causing Dale Wood to make contact with the rear, destroying the front right corner of his car and forcing him to stop.

Wood was able to pull his car off the track and the race stayed green.

Pro-Am contender Richard MacDonald ran too deep at the first corner, spinning through the gravel and back onto the circuit.

He was able to recover and continue with no damage.

Russell charged his way back through the field from the back, and despite a small moment at turn 12, managed to work his way back to 13th position.

In the closing stages, the leaders began to catch back markers, forcing O’Keeffe to slow slightly.

O’Keeffe caught a lapped car on the approach to turn 11, allowing Amand to dive late up the inside and take the lead, where he would remain.

Jones worked his way back past Wood to take third position.

Matt Belford again went largely untroubled through the duration of the race, taking the Pro-Am class victory in 15th position outright.

Porsche Equity-One Carrera Cup Australia returns for its third and final race of the weekend at 6:40pm AEDT.