Jones delivers own team debut victory on as champ comes out on top in Sydney

THE FIRST race of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship delivered a pair of first-time team winners in a short, sharp and unpredictable season opener at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday afternoon.

Defending champion Harri Jones delivered his own family team, Jones Motorsport, their maiden Carrera Cup win while series rookie Jacque Jarjo and DNA Autosport paired to win the Pro-Am class on their respective debuts in the championship.

The season opener was dramatic from the outset as Jones out-dragged Bayley Hall into the first turn to take the lead.

Behind them there was chaos as an unfortunate incident saw a slowing Sonic driver Angelo Mouzouris and Pro-Am contenders Adrian Flack and Sam Shahin tangle at turn two, the latter pair out of the race instantly.

Following a Safety Car, Jones led the field back to green and set about building a substantial margin while the remainder of the field battled behind.

With Hall second, Michelin Junior Oscar Targett ran third in the early stages before Dylan O'Keeffe pounced with a decisive move at turn two; the Dexion / GWR driver claiming third. The Victorian then set about chasing Bayley Hall for the remainder however was unable to catch the EMA Motorsport driver in his first race with the team.

Jones' comfortably claimed his 18th career win, however the bigger storyline was the maiden victory for his own Jones Motorsport squad in Carrera Cup - their program hastily assembled in just six weeks following the unfortunate closure of his former team, Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport.

With Hall second and O'Keeffe third, Targett's fourth made it four different teams in the top four.

Dale Wood wrestled his way into fifth position while Marco Giltrap survived a wild moment at turn two on the opening lap to finish sixth, one position lower than where he started.

David Russell took advantage of the lap one, turn two dramas to claim several spots - jumping from 12th on the grid to seventh at the finish in his TekworkX entry. Marcos Flack, Glen Wood and Michelin Junior Clay Osborne completed the top 10 in race one - the latter another to run wide on the opening lap, dropping spots in the turn two chaos.

With Flack and Shahin out of the race early, Jacque Jarjo was the main beneficiary and climbed from third to first on the opening lap.

The Michelin Sprint Challenge regular then managed a 1.5 second margin to category veteran Rodney Jane to claim his maiden Carrera Cup win on his series debut, and the same for his DNA Autosport team.

Jane's second commenced his championship in style while Danny Stutterd claimed third position in Pro-Am.

The opening round of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship continues on Sunday at the Thrifty Sydney 500 with a pair of races to complete the opening round.

Both races will be shown live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo, while Race 3 will also be shown on the Seven Network.