Only six points separate new AU4 Gen2 championship leader Marco Manson and Jensen Marold after the fourth and penultimate round of the 2026 Championship last weekend at The Bend’s International circuit. In Gen1 the margin is finer still, with Jackson Culver leaving South Australia in front by a single point.
Jenson Marold again showed his strength in Qualifying 1 with a fastest lap and pole time of 1.49.618, but a set of shock post-qualifying penalties shook up the grid for race one, Marold, newcomer Joe Imbrogno, Brock Burton, Angus Baills, De’argo Stewart and Luca Cosolo all received grid penalties for failing to heed a double yellow flag in qualifying.
This promoted William Beck with a 1:49.9610, three tenths clear of Manson, who in turn edged Marold by a thousandth of a second, the two separated by 1:50.2610 to 1:50.2620.
Marold answered in the second session with a 1:49.3520, the fastest lap of the weekend, from debutant Joe Imbrogno by 0.2960 seconds, with Manson and Beck a further two tenths back.
The Gen1 sessions were just as close. Lewis Gotch took the class honours in the first with a 1:54.1680, holding off Koby Wilson by a mere 0.0170 seconds, with Rixon Salvino a further seven tenths back. Culver managed only one timed lap in that session and ended it seventeenth outright, then went out in the second and took the Gen1 pole with a 1:53.2400, 0.1880 seconds ahead of Gotch, with Wilson third.
A stall for Jamie-Lee Su and a miraculous save by Angus Baills that spared the race a red flag set the tone for a chaotic race one. Manson overtook polesitter Beck early on, and the two New Zealanders immediately stretched away from the rest of the pack, Xavier Babbage-Hockey more than a second behind in third. Into Turn 5, Imbrogno got past Marold for fourth, but the latter took the place back on exit.
A late off for Anton Du prompted a safety car period, and with the clock running the race was effectively reduced to a two-minute sprint over eight laps. At the restart, Babbage-Hockey took second place from Beck before spinning out after contact with Burton.
In the chaos, Burton and Marold both got past Beck. The New Zealander briefly went off the track, allowing Imbrogno to take fourth place just before reaching the start-finish straight.
Manson came home first 3.78 seconds ahead of Burton, with Marold third a further eight tenths back.
In Gen1, Wilson took the victory by 0.3270 seconds from Culver, who claimed the class fastest lap with a 1:55.17, with Gotch third.
Marold’s brilliant race two start saw him jump both Beck and Manson to take first into the opening corner and immediately stretch away, while in Gen1 Wilson overtook Culver for the early lead.
Imbrogno then overtook Babbage-Hockey for fourth at the beginning of lap two before Baills ran off the track. Wilson was forced to avoid a collision with Baills as he rejoined the circuit, and he eventually retired with an overheated car after collecting grass in the side pod from the altercation. Babbage-Hockey took fourth back from Imbrogno, as Burton pitted with a broken front wing.
The penultimate lap saw Babbage-Hockey snatch a hard-fought third from Beck, a position he maintained to take his first podium of the season. Marold took victory by 5.3100 seconds from Manson and set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:51.3210, extending his championship lead.
In Gen1, a black and white flag for Rugby Mangan for weaving down the straight hampered his defence, enabling Salvino to pass him for third in class, while Culver took the class win by 15.0890 seconds ahead of Gotch and Salvino.
Jensen Marold was forced to start Race 3 from the pit lane after his clutch failed less than an hour before the race start, promoting Imbrogno to the front of the grid next to Manson. The two immediately stretched away as Baills, Burton and Stewart traded places behind.
On debut, Imbrogno led the field before a small mistake sent him slightly off track, opening the door for Manson to take the lead. Beck and Imbrogno then narrowly avoided contact as Manson streaked away.
A charging Cosolo overtook Lana Flack and then Burton, while Baills passed Stewart for fourth before losing the front of his nosecone on lap five. From lap eight Marold began his charge in earnest, passing Flack, then Burton two laps later, Babbage-Hockey and Stewart on lap eleven, and following Cosolo past Baills a lap after that.
Stewart retired late with a mechanical issue as Imbrogno closed the gap to Manson to under a second. Manson held on for his second victory of the round by 0.4860 seconds, ahead of Imbrogno, who took the fastest lap of the race with a 1:51.1170, and Beck, with Cosolo fourth and Marold fifth, 19.5500 seconds down.
Meanwhile Wilson, with a new engine and floor after race two, overtook Culver and Gotch to take a two-second class lead. He cleared his Gen1 rival by 11.3870 seconds at the flag, and Gotch crossed the line third in class but was later disqualified for a tyre infringement, promoting Salvino to the position.
The round went to Manson in Gen2 with 68 points, ahead of Marold on 52 and Imbrogno, who scored 41 on debut. Culver took the Gen1 round with 64 points, from Wilson on 51 and Salvino on 38.
Manson’s haul moves him to 255 points and a six-point championship lead over Marold on 249, with Beck third on 111. Culver’s round win lifts him to 229 points and the Gen1 lead by a single point from Wilson on 228, while Gotch, who swept all three races at Round 3 and arrived in South Australia in front, leaves it third on 216 and thirteen points off the lead.
The AU4 championship returns for Round 5 at a new location, Queensland Raceway, on September 25 – 27.
Gen2 Championship Standings after Round 4
1/ Manson (255)
2/ Marold (249)
3/ Beck (111)
4/ Cosolo (107)
5/ Stewart (88)
6/ Baills (85)
7/ Burton (78)
8/ Flack (74)
9/ Babbage-Hockey (69)
10/ Imbrogno (41)
11/ Su (17)
12/ Lyzen (10)
13/ Du (1)
Gen1 Championship Standings after Round 4
1/ Culver (229)
2/ Wilson (228)
3/ Gotch (216)
4/ Dudley (122)
5/ Mangan (90)
6/ Salvino (80)
7/ Kazaglis (30)
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