The final round of 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Series will see a record field of 31 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (Gen I & II) cars roll out at the 32nd running of Phillip Island Auto Racing Club’s (PIARC) Island Magic event at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this Friday and Saturday.

The 4.45 km Circuit will host the 78th round of Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge (formerly GT3 Cup Challenge) marking the 14th time the National Series has visited the track – which is also the most of any Australian track in Series history.

This weekend will also be the eight time in Series history that Phillip Island has hosted the series finale’, with the 2022 Championship set to go down to the wire in all three classes. Notably, five of the last six Pro round winners at the circuit have all gone on to progress to Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia the following year, including the most recent winner, Ryan Suhle.

With a welcome respite in the Victorian weather forecast for the Friday’s practice and qualifying as well as Saturday’s three sprint races, the introduction of the 991 Gen II models this year should see the 2014 lap record of Matt Campbell and 2015 pole lap record of Ryan Simpson be toppled.

The two most likely to achieve this are the Series Pro Championship contenders, Thomas Sargent, and Porsche Team New Zealand’s Ryan Wood. The pair have dominated 2022, with Sargent finishing either first or second in every race this year and the pair finishing 1-2 in four of the five rounds to date.

After finishing runner-up in the 2018 and 2019 Morris Pro-Am Championship, Brett Boulton will be hoping his 99-point buffer over Sam Shahin, is sufficient to see him through to his maiden Championship title this year. Another two notable Carrera Cup Australia regulars that may mix up the class results this weekend include Ben Stack and Adrian Flack.

Meanwhile, the battle in Class B for 991 Gen I cars is still wide open between Lachlan Harburg and Nathan Sticklen with only 38 points separating the leading pair. Round 5 winner, Jacob Li carries good momentum into the finale’ following Bathurst and lies a further 24 points back in third.

Along with various National and regional series at the Island Magic event this year, the German marque will also be well represented by the Endeavour Cup Porsche 944 Challenge with 18 drivers on track.

All three Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge races on Saturday 26 November will be livestreamed via the Blendline Tv channel on YouTube. For further event information, ticketing and streaming information, follow the PIARC website: piarc.com.au

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge, Round 6, Phillip Island Magic
ENTRY LIST:
# Name Surname Class Sponsor
2 Richard Cowen Pro-Am McElrea Racing
3 Jonathan Gliksten Class B Porsche Centre Melbourne
5 Nathan Murray Pro-Am Garage 1
8 Madeline Stewart Pro Bullrush Rally / EBM
13 Sam Shahin Pro-Am The Bend Motorsport Park
18 Travis Knipe Pro-Am Favrte Racing / Pinnacle Road & Race Works
20 Adrian Flack Pro-Am AGAS National / EBM
22 Andrew Goldie Pro-Am Cirrus Aircraft
23 Lachlan Bloxsom Pro McElrea / Team Navy
24 Pan Boyaci Pro-Am GRPB Racing
26 Tom Taplin Pro Taplin Real Estate
27 Sam Fillmore Pro-Am TekworkX Motorsport
29 Daniel Stutterd Pro-Am TekworkX Motorsport
32 Courtney Prince Pro Sonic Motor Racing / Local Legends
34 Nathan Sticklen Class B TekworkX Motorsport
35 Indiran Padayachee Pro-Am Hyundai Forklifts
40 Ryan Wood Pro Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM
47 Thomas Sargent Pro Tegra Australia
59 Jason Miller Pro Stokes Skis Australia
74 Ben Stack Pro-Am EMA / Dutton
81 Tom McLennan Pro Tom McLennan
84 Brett Boulton Pro-Am Bold Living
85 Bradley Carr Class B Car Mods Australia
87 David Greig Pro-Am DW Motorsport
88 Harrison Goodman Pro Bob Jane T Marts / True Grid
91 Lachlan Harburg Class B Autohouse Racing
99 Ross McGregor Pro-Am Southern Star Windows
100 Emanuel Mezzasalma Pro-Am EJM Financial Services
116 Aron Shields Pro McElrea Racing
131 Graham Williams Pro-Am Sonic Motor Racing / WRA
266 Jacob Li Class B ASM / Mars Performance

BROADCAST SCHEDULE: Blendline TV Livestream (YouTube)
Saturday 26 November
09:30 – 09:50 Race 1 (13 laps / 20min)
12:30 – 12:50 Race 2 (13 laps / 20min)
15:30 – 15:50 Race 3 (13 laps / 20min)

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Lap Record:
Matt Campbell (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car) 1m31.1140s – 2014