The Porsche Sprint Challenge North European Zone (NEZ) season was opened in Pärnu’s Audruring at the Porsche Estonia Festival during 2.-3. July. The Estonian EST1 Racing rolled in as the biggest team with four drivers lining up in the starting grid. Their driver Ralf Aron dominated the weekend with victories in all three races and clocking the fastest ever lap time in an GT3 Cup car in Audruring.

Friday saw the full pack of drivers establish a grip on their cars during the free practice after the long winter break. In the qualification, Ralf Aron set the tone for the weekend by clinching the pole. The young Rookie Finn and Porsche Junior Program driver, Tuomas Pöntinen (Relaa Racing) secured the second starting place in his maiden qualification in a Porsche. The ever quick and reliable Jim Rautiainen (WR Racing) was third. As per the rules, for races 2 and 3 the starting grid was determined according to the fastest laps in the previous race.

Race 1 was the first showtime for Ralf Aron as he steadily built a gap of 5,590 seconds between him and the rest of the field. The rookie Pöntinen impressed the crowd by chasing Aron until the end and securing a solid second place. Rautiainen concluded the top 3. The other local heroes, Oliver Tiirmaa (EST1 Racing) and Raivo Tamm (EST1 Racing), finished 4th and 5th. Noteworthy is also that the second rookie and Porsche Junior Program driver of the series, Thomas Kangro, placed sixth in his maiden race in a Porsche even after an adventure on the gravel. The unfortunate Tommi Haru (THR Racing) spun off from the gravel on the track risen after Kangro’s incident, and was out of the podium fight, finishing 8th.

Having established their fastest laps, the starting grid for race 2 was equal to the first race: Aron-Pöntinen-Rautiainen. After a close fight - at times four cars wide in a corner - the drivers finished in the same order. Another win for Aron, and decent points for Pöntinen and Rautiainen. Raivo Tamm, the usual suspect for a win in Pärnu, who started from P4 to the race, unfortunately took the scenic route and got only half the points. Tommi Haru bettered his performance and finished fourth before another strong performance by Kangro.

Race 3 was the crown for Aron as he clinched the third win out of the day’s three races. The third podium of the weekend was concluded by Pöntinen (P2) and Haru (P3). The start of the race was usually eventful for Pärnu. Even though the weekend had seen clean but close racing, the first corner wasn’t wide enough for three cars: Tiirmaa, Rautiainen and Kangro touched, causing Kangro’s DNF and Rautiainen to veer off the pack. Tiirmaa’s damage control earned him a P4 finish - Rautiainen performed a heroic return from half a lap down to a P7 finish. Pöntinen truly challenged Aron for the win, but the Estonian showed his race craft by holding on to his position.

Unsurprisingly, Aron leads in points after 3 races with 105 points. Pöntinen is a close second with 96 points, followed by Rautiainen with 96 points. Haru (71 points) and Tiirmaa (70 points) complete the top in the championship table.

The season continues in Botniaring on July 31.