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17 entries for Round 5 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its first visit for the season to the famed Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by Butchers Diner, and with only thirty points separating the top five in the points going into this round, all eyes will be on the front of the field to see if any of the top three on the ladder will move clear with a some wins, or will the party be spoilt by others ready to pounce and close the gap to those up front?
Westaway, Beller, Brewer, Verdino and Lewis-Williams are seen racing at Sandown
Moving to the top of the 944 Championship pointscore for the first time this season is Cameron Beller (#55) as a result of his Sandown second place finished at Sandown behind Jamie Westaway. Cameron is sitting in second place in the Vic
Cameron Beller is seen at Sandown
State Series behind Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) in the Tyrepower car who leads the Vic State Championship, but has slipped to second in the 944 Championship by virtue of the results at the Bend.
Chris Lewis-Williams
Sitting in third position in both points tables is Adam Brewer (#3) after taking a race win for the season in the final race at the last round at The Bend in June, Adam’s consistency has him only 5 points behind Lewis-Williams in the 944 points as he has finished every race of the season so far in the top 5 positions.
Adam Brewer is seen at The Bend
Moving up to fourth in both championships is Mark Verdino (#44) now sitting only two points behind Adam Brewer after gaining three points on both Brewer and Lewis-Williams at Sandown to keep him well and truly in the points hunt.
Mark Verdino
In fifth position in the points after debuting his new Apple Car at Sandown is Mark Taubitz (#71) after struggling a bit at the home of horsepower as he came to grips with the new car, though being slightly off the pace has caused him to slip 18 points behind Verdino in the points championship.
Mark Taubitz
Vaulting up to sixth position in the 944 Championship – and 5th in the State Championship is Jamie Westaway# (28).
Jamie has won every race that he has finished this year, but a Winton round with no points, and a non –attendance at the Bend has put him behind the 8 ball for both championships. Could he pull of a miracle if he continues to finish and win? Time will tell...
Holding on to seventh position in the 944 Challenge points is Michael Westaway (#45), fresh with a new engine for this round Michael will be excited to see how far up the field some extra horsepower will see him go!
A late withdrawal due to contacting COVID during the week is veteran Dick Howe (#8) unfortunately Dick was entered but unable to make the trip – we wish Dick a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him at Calder Park!
Sitting in 9th position in his rookie season is Nick Carpenter behind the wheel of the #14 machine, as Nick heads to Phillip Island for his first race there also as he continues his initiation to all of the circuits! Nick will be looking to continue his learning and score some good points this weekend and see if he can move forward in the points battle.
An up and down weekend at Sandown for Tony Westaway (#50,) after spinning on his own oil at the end of race 2 while battling for 6th position gave him a DNF and a recovery from the back for the final race. A former Pole sitter at the PI circuit, Tony will be looking to get his season on track with a good result this weekend at the Island.
After a weekend to forget at Winton, the last two rounds have been more fruitful for Josh Brisbane (#56) who chalked up three finishes at Sandown and looks forward to returning to the island and getting amongst it, fresh from a successful test, Josh will have aspirations of some top ten results this weekend.
Josh Brisbane
Having only his second outing with the 944 Challenge at The Bend was Peter Grant behind the wheel of the #84 car, though a head gasket failure in qualifying meant Peter missed Race 1. He had a good showing in the races on Sunday however, and will be looking forward to Phillip Island this weekend where he has plenty of miles, albeit these will be his first in a 944 this weekend.
A weekend to forget at Sandown for John Vainoras (#32) who was plagued with overheating problems all weekend. A suspect radiator found to be the cause of the problem, John will be hoping to have a good clean run this weekend and finish all three races at Phillip Island.
Back behind the wheel of his faithful #7 machine after stepping behind the wheel of the Poolmaster #20 of Andrew Jackman for the last two events, Carter Fox is looking forward to a good weekend with the aid of a fresh powerplant in his car and will have his sights on being entrenched solidly in the front half of the field after getting a taste of that at The Bend.
Back behind the wheel of car #20 for the first time since Island Magic 2023 is Andrew Jackman, armed with another Bathurst 6 Hour class victory the Poolmaster will be praying for plenty of water to help him return with a statement in the #20 machine, and his wet-weather prowess to be able to come to the fore.
Andrew Jackman
Also returning to the series, after an even longer hiatus is Jack Atley – exchanging the microphone for the steering wheel, Jack will behind the wheel of the Pit Lane Clothing 944 this weekend, adorning #35 for this round. Having been away from the circuit for a couple of years, and driving a new carm Jack will be easing himself into the weekend but will be comfortable behind the wheel come Sunday and look forward to a good solid outing.
Jack Atley
A last minute withdrawal also was Ryan Woods, we were hoping to see the #17 make a return to the series but a time ran out to get the car ready for the circuit and he will miss this event.
Also missing this weekend, but hopeful to see return soon we have Toni Andreevski, Joey Kellock, Andrew Goldman, Jared Campione, Lyndon Watson, Manny Mezzasalma and Sam Rofe.
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.
