THE second round of the 2025 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series has ended delivering a weekend of firsts across three dramatic races at Sydney Motorsport Park.
James Lodge claimed his first Porsche round win in dramatic circumstances, also taking his maiden win in Sunday’s Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race – joining Kiwi Tom Bewley and Lockie Bloxsom as first-time Porsche winners this year.
There has now been five winners from the first six races in an already unpredictable season that is now two rounds in to a six-round campaign.
Lodge claimed the Sydney round ahead of Lockie Bloxsom and Tom Bewley, while Jacque Jarjo took his first Pro-Am round win over Ramu Farell and Eric Constantinidis. Daniel Quimby continued his perfect start to his Class B campaign, sweeping the round.
With two rounds complete, Lockie Bloxsom provisionally leads the Michelin Sprint Challenge standings with 282 points to Tom Bewley’s 273.
Lodge claimed the Jim Richards enduro after the driver first across the line – Kamal Mrad – was issued a five second penalty for a false start.
Mrad, who started third, launched from the second row of the grid and in a bold move around the outside of turn two managed to secure and then manage the race lead throughout the 45-minute encounter, only for the penalty post-race to drop him to third.
That elevated Lodge to the top spot in the Enduro race, the Ashley Seward Motorsport driver ultimately fending off Ryan Casha by just 0.1 seconds in what turned out to be a very consequential last-lap battle as the pair drag-raced to the line.
The result was something of a relief for Lodge who endured a brutal opening round of the championship at Phillip Island that saw him finish just one of the three races – the Toyota GR Cup graduate returning to his impressive prior form this weekend and resurrecting his title hopes in the process.
With Mrad third, Lockie Bloxsom finished fourth in the race and second overall for the weekend, though the Queenslander heads to the next round at his home circuit leading the Sprint Challenge standings for the first time in his career.
Jake Santalucia was fifth for Sonic while a remarkable performance from Class B leader Daniel Quimby saw the Cup Car Engineering contender charge through the field in his previous-generation Porsche GT3 Cup Car to finish an enormous sixth outright.
A struggling Tom Bewley, who battled Power Steering issues this weekend, led home the recovering Jackson Rooney, Willie Exton and Hunter Robb with all three making comeback performances today.
Speaking of comebacks, Ramu Farrell charged his way through the field to win the Pro-Am race, though the round overall went to Jacque Jarjo – who finished third, just behind Andrew Georgiadis.
Jake Santalucia sits third in the championship with Ryan Casha fourth and Round 1 winner Willie Exton fifth.
Ramu Farrell leads the Pro-Am class with Andrew Georgiadis second and John Papantoniou third while Daniel Quimby leads Stephen Moylan in Class B.
The Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series returns in just over three weeks alongside the next round of the Shannons SpeedSeries at Queensland Raceway in Ipswich.
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