Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series
Ryan Wood has grabbed pole position for Round 4 of the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series at The Bend.
The Earl Bamber Motorsport driver blasted a 1:50.4916s on his final lap to grab pole position.
It was a busy 20-minute qualifying session, as 24 cars rolled out for Qualifying, with the majority of the field recording their fastest laps late in the session.
After spending the majority of the session at the top of the timesheets points leader Tom Sargent will start from second with a 1:50.8611s, set on his final lap as he aimed to displace Wood.
The Tegra Australia driver sat at the top of the order after his first flying lap, until Wood’s bolter on his eighth lap.
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McElrea Racing’s Lachlan Bloxsom will be joined on the second row of the grid by Tom McLennan who vaulted into fourth on his final lap.
Sonic Motor Racing’s Courtney Prince will start from fifth, with McElrea Racing’s Aron Shields in sixth.
Harrison Goodman lapped seventh fastest, while Pro-Am pole sitter Sam Shahin who ran as high as fourth at his home track, eventually finished eighth.
Earl Bamber Motorsport’s Madeline Stewart and Jason Miller completed the top 10.
Class B pole sitter Brad Carr set a 1:54.2142s in qualifying 13th outright.
The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will next take to the track at 10:10 local time/10:40 AEDT for Race 1.
Australian Production Car Series
Aaren Russell has qualified on pole for Round 4 of the Australian Production Car Series brought to you by Liqui Moly.
The Class X competitor clocked a 2:05.5477s in his BMW M3 to claim pole position ahead of Shane Smollen with a 2:06.6739s, while Grant Sherrin was third fastest with a 2:07.8962s.
Class A1 title contender Jimmy Vernon was fourth fastest in his Mitsubishi Evo X with a 2:08.0380s, while Karl Begg posted a 2:08.0700s in his BMW F80 M3 to qualify fifth.
Class A2 competitor Nathan Callaghan was sixth after setting a 2:10.0283s in his HSV Clubsport, while Paul Razum was seventh fastest with a 2:10.7220s
Class C pole-sitter Zoe Woods was eighth outright with a 2:11.4665s in her Hyundai i30N, while Mazda 3 MPS driver Jake Camilleri (2:13.8250s), and Cameron Crick (2:17.1327s) in his HSV Astra rounded out the top 10.
The sole competitors in their respective classes, Amar Sharma/Daniel Natoli qualified 12th outright in their Class D Ford Fiesta, while Allan Jarvis will start from the rear of the grid in his Class E Suzuki Swift.
In the lead-up to Qualifying, Class A1 title contender Dean Campbell, saw his chances of securing points in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo go out the window after a blown engine and subsequent fire in Practice 1 saw the entry forcibly retired.
An exemplary act of sportsmanship followed with Vernon, who leads the A1 standings with two rounds to go and had the chance to essentially lock down the title, allowing Campbell to be his co-driver to ensure he can remain in the title battle ahead of next month’s finale.
The Australian Production Car Series returns to the track tomorrow for Race 1 at 07:30 local time/08:00 AEDT.
GT World Challenge Australia
Garth Tander and Yasser Shahin have set the pace in Friday practice for Round 5 of the GT World Challenge Australia series.
The duo blitzed the field in their Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II to top the timesheets in the opening practice session with a 1:46.7761s ahead of Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT3 driven by Broc Feeney and Prince Jefri Ibrahim with a 1:47.1028s with the Wall Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 of Tony D’Alberto and Adrian Deitz in third with a 1:47.4762s.
In a wet Practice 2, Feeney and Ibrahim set a 1:58.9602s to lead home a Triple Eight Race Engineering Mercedes-AMG GT3 one-two.
Seven-time Supercars champion Jamie Whincup and Prince Abu Bakar Ibrahim, were second fastest with a 1:59.8229s, while Tander and Shahin also showed pace in the wet with a 2:00.1603s.
On combined times, Paul Stokell and Gary Higgon were the fastest of the Am Class, setting a 1:48.4402s, debutants Marcel Zalloua and Sergio Pires were the fastest of the GT Trophy Class in their Mercedes-AMG GT3 with a 1:51.8505s, while Christos Batzios and Sam Brabham topped the GT4 Class in their Mercedes AMG GT4 with a 1:58.3144s.
GTWC Australia is next on track tomorrow for the first of two 20-minute qualifying sessions at 09:15 local time/09:45 AEDT.
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