Jones claims win in dramatic, unpredictable Melbourne opener

ONE MAKE Porsche champions from both sides of the globe have battled for early supremacy as Round 2 of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship commenced at Albert Park today.

Reigning Carrera Cup Australia champion Harri Jones and Carrera Cup France and Asia champion Alessandro Ghiretti dueled for the lead in today’s 30-minute opener at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Harri Jones coming out on top in a thrilling one-lap dash to the line.

Ghiretti crossed the line first however a five-second penalty for weaving on the restart saw the Frenchman drop down the order to finish eighth, handing Jones’ his fourth consecutive race win on the hop this year.

In Pro-Am, Sam Shahin claimed a strong victory while a stout recovery drive from Adrian Flack saw the defending champion charge to second, with Rodney Jane third.

With the race held late on Thursday afternoon in bright sunshine, Jones leaped into a stunning early lead, making a perfect start and leading the first lap by more than two seconds.

Behind, Jackson Walls, Bayley Hall and Alessandro Ghiretti all battled for second place with Hall sneaking past the returning Objective Racing pilot. He was soon passed by his EMA Motorsport teammate who moved to second in pursuit of early leader Jones.

As the race settled down at the front battles built through the field with Clay Osborne a strong sixth in front of 2024 Grand Prix winner Marcos Flack.

The Safety Car was called at the half-way mark after Matt Slavin made heavy contact with the wall on the exit of Turn 2.

Slavin was passing a slow-moving Rodney Jane who was on the inside of the road, grabbing the marbles on the outside of the circuit and finding the wall.

That delivered the Safety Car to the circuit, closing Ghiretti to the back of leader Jones for a sprint to the finish.

Jones timed his restart to perfection and fended off his former Supercup rival, only for a Safety Car to be called for a second time after Indiran Padayachee found himself in the gravel trap at turn one following the restart.

That set up a thrilling one-lap dash to the line and while Jones judged his first restart to perfection, his second wasn’t quite as strong as Ghiretti slipped past at turn one.

However, stewards quickly imposed a five-second penalty on the EMA Motorsport car after he was judged to have weaved following the Safety Car extinguishing his Safety Car lights.

That allowed Jones’ to claim his fourth straight win, while Bayley Hall continued his strong start to the championship in second and Dylan O’Keeffe third.

After starting on the front row, Jackson Walls finished fourth while Michelin Junior Clay Osborne finished fifth in his best-yet Carrera Cup race.

Marcos Flack posted his best result of the season in sixth for Sonic Motor Racing, with Ghiretti, David Russell and Angelo Mouzouris rounding out the top-10.

Oscar Targett had looked a contender for a top six finish early however spun at turn three on the final restart, ultimately finishing down the order.

In Pro-Am, Sam Shahin had things his own way to grab his first win of the season before he jumps to a second Porsche Supercup campaign in Europe.

Adrian Flack recovered from an opening-lap spin to finish second in class in what has been a challenging start to his championship defense, while Sydney winner Rodney Jane finished third.

Further behind, an otherwise challenging day for Earl Bamber Motorsport was salvaged by recovery drives by two of their contenders: Marco Giltrap storming from the back of the field to 13th position after a throttle issue ruled him out of qualifying.

Dale Wood was another to storm from the back of the field, finishing 14th after a crash saw him also relegated to the back of the grid.