PORSCHE 944 CHALLENGE - ROUND 2 2025 PREVIEW!
Porsche Cars Australia
Melbourne Paving
Butchers Diner
L K Diesel Service
Don Watson Transport
AVi Technology
Poolmaster Bayside
Bowdens Own Car Care Products
Trico
888 Home Loans
Pit Lane Clothing
16 Drivers have entered for the Second Round of the 2025 944 Challenge Championship, as the category returns to Calder Park Raceway, in Melbourne’s West for an earlier spot in the calendar than in previous years. This round of the series is again proudly presented by Melbourne Paving.
Kicking off his title defence with a perfect score at Sandown with 3 wins in the #1 car is Cameron Beller. Cameron also took victory in the final race at Calder in 2024, so he will be looking to continue that run of form and as we head to his home circuit this weekend.
Adam Brewer secured second position overall at Sandown in Car #3, though he was unable to snag a race victory despite showing great speed over the weekend, as well as the Pole Position. It could have been much worse however, as he was able to recover from a big moment in Race 2 when he had a slide while leading and was collected by Beller. A trio of third place finishes
The defending Calder round champion from 2024, Mark Verdino was off the podium at Sandown with three 4th place finishes in the #44 Sidelink Transport car, which places him in third position in the points at the end of the round. With Calder being the site of all three of Verdino’s race victories, he will be entering the Calder round as the firm favourite to repeat again.
Sitting in equal fourth place in the 944 Championship points is Mark Taubitz in the #71 Porsche. Mark was on for a good weekend until the closing stages of the final race where he came out on the wrong side of a late safety car restart, and then again when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a failure to Jared Campione’s steering led to contact with Taubitz, and he spun, striking the guardrail – though held onto fourth place by virtue of being able to cross the line in the final position to secure the points for finishing in last place.
In sixth position is the Poolmaster Bayside #20 car of Andrew Jackman, despite also suffering a last lap, last race drama tangle with Nick Carpenter, Jackman secured enough points to hold a one point margin over Peter Grant, who is in seventh outright in the #84 Auto Coupe 944. Peter scored his best race finish to date on the last visit to Calder with a fifth place in the second race, he will look to improve his points position this weekend with another strong outing.
Sitting in an unexpected eighth position is Jamie Westaway in the #28 car, despite a pair of second place finishes, a DNF in the final race hurt his championship pointscore. Jamie secured Pole position last time at Calder, so he will again be up at the pointy end this weekend and aims to get his Championship title bid back on track.
Nick Carpenter sits in equal ninth position in the #14 Melbourne Paving 944 – a position not representative of the positions he crossed the finish line in after he was slapped with a 15 second time penalty for passing under yellow flag conditions, in Race 2, and a 5 point penalty for the last lap clash with Andrew Jackman in the final race. Nick was sixth for the round at Calder Park last year, so he will be hoping to improve on his points position by the end of this round.
Sharing the ninth position in the points is Jack Atley in the #35 Pit Lane Clothing car, Jack coming away from the Sandown weekend feeling content with a straight car and solid points at a track he has traditionally not favoured, and a spring in his step as we head to Calder where he will look to score more top ten results.
Sitting in an uncharacteristic eleventh position following the round is 4-time champion Chris Lewis-Williams in the #37 Tyrepower car. Chris was hampered by a failure in the front suspension in the first race of the Sandown weekend which led to a DNF. He recovered well to finish the final race in second position, but with the 944 Championship points rewarding race finishes heavily, Chris will be looking for a consistent weekend to move up the points order after this weekend.
Sam Rofe had a much better result for his return to the series at Sandown, managing a top ten finish in the final race in his first hitout with his new powerplant. This weekend will be Sam’s first visit to the Calder Park circuit, as he will look to have another reliable weekend and add to his top ten tally.
Tony Westaway had a sub par weekend with the yellow #50 Porsche, a spin in Race 2 and then a suspension failure in the final race sees him also down in a lower position than he would be accustomed to. Tony missed the Calder round last year, so he will refresh his memory back to the previous outing in 2023 and hope to have a much less troublesome weekend and finish all three races.
Manny Mezzasalma sits in 15th position in the points in the #10 machine after his weekend was cut short at Sandown, and he was unable to complete Sundays races after an 11th place finish in Race 1. Also not finishing Sundays races on Sunday was Andrew Goldman in the #333 car, after suspension issues in Race 2 ended his race and could not be fixed for Race 3. The issues have now been sorted, and he will make his Calder Park debut this weekend.
Also entered for their first Calder Park event this weekend, and first event for 2025 are Michael Westaway in the #45 machine, and also a big welcome back to the series to Pedr James in his striking #98 PKJ Rural Fencing 944, after a four year hiatus from racing. No doubt there will be some cobwebs for Pedr to blow out, but he showed good pace when he last competed and will be back in the thick of the action in no time!
Unfortunately, we are missing Carter Fox in the #7 this weekend due to work commitments, as well as Jared Campione who was unable to finish repairs to his car in time for the event, likewise John Vainoras, with all three hoped to return for Round 3 along with a few other drivers expected to make their 2025 debut at Round 3 in May.
If you like what you see on the circuit and want to get on board with the Porsche 944 Challenge series, the series is enjoying a resurgence with a couple of cars available for purchase and others returning to competition, along with some freshly built cars being finalised with some of those for lease, or sale. Get in touch with the guys in the series if you would like to get on track and join in the action.
