THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 6 PREVIEW - PHILLIP ISLAND GP CIRCUIT

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

Tyrepower Benalla

Butchers Diner

L K Diesel Service

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

A smaller than usual field of 9 drivers are entered for the final round of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship - but with both championships up for grabs this weekend, there will be no shortage of excitement as the battle at the front promises to be hot at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the series’ only visit to the circuit for the year.  

Holding a narrow championship lead of just five points going into the finale is Adam Brewer (#81) - Adam took two victories at Sandown in Races 1 & 2 despite the challenges with some of the slower Historic Cars that were sharing the racetrack that weekend, however he slipped off the circuit at Turn 2 in the final feature race, dropping down the order. He was fortunately able to salvage a second place finish as he worked his way back up the pack, but still lost points to title adversary Jamie Westaway (#50) who took the race victory. 

Jamie's two second place finishes in Race 2 meant the damage was minimised for the round after his race 3 win, and tied the two with the points earned for the weekend in the Vic State Championship which Jamie trails Adam in by just 14 points. Jamie's MO for the weekend will be nothing short of victory in all three races – and three race wins this weekend will see him snatch the 944 Championship, even if Brewer finishes each race on his rear bumper. The 14 point gap means Brewer has a slightly bigger buffer for Vic State Points, but the higher points spread means those points can be caught quickly! 

Heading into the round fourth in points is Lyndon Watson (#51) though with third placed Chris Lewis-Williams not able to make his return for this round after the Winton accident, Lyndon only needs to finish a couple of races to move ahead of CLW – though he needs to ensure that he finishes and collects points in all three races to ensure he does not get vaulted by Cameron Beller (#1) who sits only 10 points adrift of Watson for the 944 Championship points.  

Reigning 944 Champion Beller will relinquish his crown this year - but he will want to also be at the front to ensure his streak of consecutive seasons with a race win does not end this year, as he has not yet visited the top step of the podium in 2026. Will Beller be able to disturb the championship battle between Westaway and Brewer – as with a bonus championship point awarded for a race win, if Beller was to take that away from Westaway, it makes his task for Championship victory harder as he will not be able to win the title purely by beating Brewer in all three races. 

Slipping back one spot in the points to seventh following Sandown after a Race 3 DNF is Josh Brisbane (#56) Josh was on track for another strong weekend before his failure, and he will be looking to regain that points position following the weekend in what has been a breakout season for him securing his first podium finish at Winton Festival of Speed. 

Driving his third different car for the year is Tony Westaway – after pedaling the Mark Taubitz owner Apple car at Winton, and the Andrew Jackman Poolmaster Bayside machine the rest of the year, this round sees Tony behind the wheel of the Dick Howe owned #8 944 for the final round at PI. A race winner at this circuit in the hands of racing royalty Howe, Tony will be on the pace if he can come to grips with the idiosyncrasies of another new machine quickly enough! Will he be able to help play spoiler to help son Jamie Westaway secure another championship, and move up a spot or two up from his current eight place position? 

A solid weekend last time out at Sandown for Andrew Goldman's Carpet Shed #333, and is sitting in tenth position in the points, though only 4 points adrift of Tony Westaway in eighth place. A good weekend may see the 2025 Rookie of the Year at Phillip Island may see him move up a couple of positions in the 944 pointscore which he should also be able to maintain, if not improve on in the Vic State Championship come the end of the weekend. 

Returning to the circuit for the weekend after having their 2026 debuts are Toni Andreevski (#27) and Antoine Chamoun (#95) - in the case of Antoine, his second race meeting in total, and first time at the famed Phillip Island circuit. 

For Toni, some of his best results have come at PI, especially when it's wet. While he admits to not especially liking the rain, he has always performed well in wet conditions, including a pair of fourth place finishes in the wet at Sandown last round out. Can he shake things up if the forecasts prove to be correct? 

Antoine meanwhile performed fantastically well in his debut race weekend on board the ex-Jamie Westaway championship winning #95 944. A solid, quick, and weekend free of trouble was a great debut for the youngster, and a welcome addition for the Chamoun family to the 944 family. The weather will provide a challenging inauguration at PI on his first visit, but if Antoine keeps his head as at Sandown, he will have a great springboard to start his full 2027 Championship.  

A number of drivers will be missing from the action this weekend, with Chris Lewis-Williams and Pat Klein both not having their repairs able to completed for this weekend following their Winton mishaps. 

Absent for the first time since 2019 is Mark Taubitz, with the President attending a family wedding overseas this weekend. Another expected to run who sadly had to withdraw is Sam Rofe, a fall down the stairs and a broken foot means Sam can't fit his race boot over his moon boot! We will see both Sam and Mark back for Round 1 next year. Carter Fox will also miss the round along with Andy Jones and Manny Mezzasalma, while Michael Westaway and Andrew Jackman are still out with recent operations, and Nick Carpenter has commenced repairs on his car after his Race 1 off at Sandown in preparation for 2027, and Winton FOS winner Ryan Woods is competing in his HQ in Western Australia! 

With some new drivers debuting this year, and some good strong vehicles on the market, the 2027 season could be one of the most competitive seasons to date! If you like what you see, get in touch and come and join in on the action for the 2027 championship season! 

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 5 PREVIEW - SANDOWN RACEWAY

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

Tyrepower Benalla

Butchers Diner

L K Diesel Service

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

PORSCHE 944 CHALLENGE - ROUND 5 2026 PREVIEW! 

Sponsors 

Porsche Cars Australia 

Tyrepower Benalla 

Butchers Diner  

L K Diesel Service  

AVi Technology 

Poolmaster Bayside 

888 Home Loans  

Pit Lane Clothing 

Bowdens Own 

This weekend sees a smaller field of 12 Drivers return to the home of horsepower – Sandown Raceway in Melbourne's East for Round 5 of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship. 

Holding a narrow championship lead of just three points is Adam Brewer (#81) after he was able to rebound after a Race 1 spin at Winton to come home with a pair of second places and a fourth as his best results from the four race weekend. Adam was dominant the last time we were at Sandown for Round 1, a clean sweep only being denied due to a delaminated tyre 2 laps from home in the final race. Will he be able to repeat his form as the stakes for the championship are higher than ever? 

Moving up the second in the 944 points after a Winton victory combined with a pair of third place finishes is Jamie Westaway (#50) Jamie Westaway started his Winton weekend off in the strongest way taking a Race 1 victory, but throttle failure while holding a comfortable lead in the second race put him on the back burner for the rest of the weekend, as he was unable to get higher than third place in either Race 3 or 4.  With only three points separating he and Brewer, it will be all out for both competitors this weekend to see who is on top come Sunday night. 

Returning after missing the Festival of Speed is Lyndon Watson (#5) - Lyndon showed good speed at Sandown on his return to the series at the start of the year, and sits fourth in points after taking the missed round at Winton out of the calculations. He will have to continue his good run of consistency to hold onto the position as others are hot on his heels in the points battle! 

Yet another difficult weekend for Cameron Beller, again rolling out the Red & White Beller Motorsport machine that he has raced since Sunday at Calder for Round 2. A spin to avoid the stranded Brewer in Race 1 put him on the back foot at Winton, he was able to snatch a second place in Race 2 but slipped back to fourth in Race 3 and fifth in Race 4. Beller was second in the first race at Sandown before engine failure in Race ruled him out for the weekend – will the red & white car have the pace down Sandown's long straights to take the fight to the top 3? 

A breakout performance at Winton for Josh Brisbane (#56) scoring his first podium finish in Race 2 of the weekend as well as a fourth and sixth places to move him up to sixth in the season pointscore. On the pace all weekend at Winton, Josh will be riding high on that momentum as he sets out on the Sandown circuit for the first time in 2026 having missed Round 1 at the start of the year, with his sights no surely set on a Top 5 position in the championship. 

A season of frustration for Mark Taubitz in the #22 machine, again showing good qualifying pace to start Race 1 from third, but a mechanical failure with a broken distributor rotor button ending his race on turn 3 of Lap 1. Taubitz fought back with a strong drive in Race 2 from the back of the pack to finish in 5th in Race 2, a feat he repeated in Race 3 but a coming together while diving off track to avoid a spinning car on Turn 1 of Race 4 ended his race with a severe tyre rub. Taubitz drops to seventh in the points and will be looking to have a weekend where nothing goes wrong, something that has eluded him this year.  

Back behind the wheel of the Blue Poolmaster Bayside #20 car is Tony Westaway. After Kerry Bright took the wheel at Winton while Tony steered the Mark Taubitz owned Apple car, Tony will be back in a more familiar machine as he chases down Taubitz, as well as tries to keep ahead in the Veterans Cup in his quest for back-to-back titles! 

An up and down Winton weekend for Andrew Goldman (#333) at Winton, though by finishing all four races he remains in touch with Tony Westaway in the veterans cup points only three adrift, as we head to Sandown where some power gains will hopefully help him move up the order as he takes the fight to Westaway.  

A good time was had for the first two days of the weekend for Sam Rofe in the #68 Porsche 944 at Winton, with a sixth place in Race 2 backed up by a seventh and ninth, before a touch in Turn one of Race 1 with Peter Grant, and the resulting crunch with Taubitz who was fleeing to avoid the scene put an early end to his weekend. He goes into this round tied with Goldman for tenth in points, with the battle between the two of them and the Westaway brothers only separating the four drivers by three points heading into Sandown. Sam was strong last time out, running as high as fourth before a mechanical failure ended his Race 3 early.  

Having his first Sandown outing will be Nick Carpenter in #14, where his refreshed engine will be more noticeable down Sandowns long straights than around the tight Winton venue. Nick will be able to move himself up significantly in the points with a decent reliable weekend.  

Welcome returns for their first outings for 2026 will be Toni Andreevski aboard the #27 machine, in what will hopefully be a renewed campaign for a full 2027 season.  

Another new entry joining the category this weekend is Antoine Chamoun in the #95 car formerly owned by Jamie Weswtaway. Antoine showed good speed during a test at Calder with Jamie giving him some tips, as Antoine makes the step up from Karting this weekend at Sandown for his debut race weekend. 

A few drivers will be missing form action this weekend, with Chris Lewis-Williams a sad withdrawal this weekend after a crash in the final race at Winton trying to avoid the incident unfolding in front of him, with Pat Klein, who was also unfortunately involved in the melee having to withdraw, with both drivers having to undergo repairs to ge their cars back on track. Hopefully we will see them back for Round 1 in 2027. Carter Fox will also miss the round along with Andy Jones, along with Manny Mezzasalma.  Michael Westaway and Andrew Jackman are still out with recent operations. 

With some new drivers debuting this year, and some good strong vehicles on the market, the 2027 season could be one of the most competitive seasons to date! If you like what you see, get in touch and come and join in on the action for the 2027 championship season!

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 4 PREVIEW - WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

Tyrepower Benalla

Butchers Diner

L K Diesel Service

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

This round of the series is proudly presented by TYREPOWER BENALLA

This weekend sees 15 Drivers head back to Winton Motor Raceway circuit, located on the fringes of Victoria’s high country for Round 4 of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship as part of the famed Winton Festival of Speed event for the second time. This time, the 944’s will be joined on track by their German cousins, the BMW E30 series who will share the circuit for 5 races this weekend with this round of the series being proudly presented by local business Tyrepower Benalla. 

Making up for the disappointment of Calder where he suffered a Gearbox failure in Race 2 while leading, Adam Brewer (#81)  was able to rebound to take the Round win at Winton for the Vic State Round Calder as he was able to take a Victory in Race 2, which was bookended by a pair of second places in Races 1 & 3 to put him back into a narrow championship lead in the 944 Championship Points.  

Continuing his strong and consistent 2026 season is Chris Lewis-Williams, with the driver of the #37 Tyrepower Benalla Porsche 944 able to improve his results as the Winton weekend wore on, starting with a third in Race 1, a second in a wet race 2 before triumphing with a victory in the sopping final race. Having finished on the podium position in 8 out of 9 races, Chris' consistency is bearing fruit as he sits just three points behind Brewer once factoring in the dropped worst round rule, but has a strong lead in the Vic State Championship with two rounds to go.  

Jamie Westaway started his Winton weekend off in the strongest way possible by taking a Race 1 victory, but suffered in the wet Sunday conditions. A third-place finish in Race 2 following a spin exiting Turn 7 while he was challenging Brewer for the lead, before a DNF after a second aquaplane under brakes for Turn 3 in Race 3 put an end to his race as he was stuck in the gravel, dropping him back to third place in both season pointscores as a result.  

Yet another weekend that showed good promise for Mark Taubitz in his refreshed #22 Pipecraft car with a fourth-place position in qualifying turning into third place on the heels of Brewer and Westaway before a delaminating tyre caused him to spin a couple laps from home dropping him back to eighth position at the finish. A flat battery in pre-grid saw him unable to grid up for the Race 2 start and resigned to commence from pit lane once the rest of the field departed, but a solid race saw him finish fifth before securing a fourth- place finish in the final race. He now sits in fifth position in both series pointscores.  

Another challenging weekend for Cameron Beller by his standards, with the #1 again adorning the Red & White Beller Motorsport machine that was called into action on Sunday at Calder for this weekend at Winton. Cam took time to adapt to the right-hand drive layout of this car and had a reasonable first race finishing in fourth position. An early spin in Race 2 dropped him to the back of the pack - but he wasn’t alone in doing this, and was able to pick off those who suffered similar misfortune to again finish in fourth place, before improving that position by one spot in the very wet final race, moving him up to sixth in the championship standings. He will again have the same car out for this weekend as the cyan machine undergoes a rejuvenation process! 

A tricky weekend for Sam Rofe in the #68 Porsche 944 at Winton, a decent Saturday yielded a 9th place finish, but issues in the wet, the most serious being his wiper working its way off the shaft so he had zero visibility in the final race 3 left him no option but to retire in the final race. Some updates to the car in the short break has Sam hoping that will result in a further improvement in performance, and to cure some of the braking issues that plagued him at Calder Park. 

Another having mixed fortunes at Winton was Andrew Goldman in the #333 Carpet Shed 944, a start line touch with Manny Mezzasalma saw him spear across the infield and into retirement in Race 1, before rebounding on Sunday and recording a ninth place finish in the wet before improving to a seventh-place finish in the very wet final race.  

Another strong outing for Josh Brisbane in the #56 Green machine, a sixth place on Saturday before slipping back to tenth in Race 2, and improving one position to ninth in Race 3, hampered by having to come to a complete stop to avoid the spinning Andrew Goldman in Race 2. Three solid finishes however moves him up to 8th position in the points after the correction for the dropped worst round. 

Returning to competition after spending the last round behind the microphone with the commentary team is Tony Westaway, this weekend jumping behind the wheel of the #71 Apple car owned by Mark Taubitz. Tony has run the #20 Poolmaster machine on his previous outings this year, so this will prove a new challenge in learning another new car as Tony will look to move back ahead of his brother Michael who will be missing the round after recent shoulder surgery in the Veterans Cup Championship. 

Welcome returns for their first outings for 2026 will be Nick Carpenter aboard the #14 machine fresh from an engine refresh, as well as Peter Grant in car #84 who will be doing double duty in the Fitzy cup aboard his 968 Club Sport. 

Another welcome return to the series is Ryan Woods in the #17 car, returning to the venue where he last performed so well back in 2023 aboard the car now owned by Carpenter. Ryan will no doubt be a force to be reckoned with this weekend as he has always shown plenty of pace right back as far as when he won on debut in the series at Phillip Island back in 2016. 

A new entry joining the category this weekend is Pat Klein in the #19 car formerly owned by Rob Holding. Pat is champing at the bit to begin his racing career having cut his teeth in sprints with Alfa Romeos, and will be easing himself in as he learns the ropes this weekend. 

Also joining for a guest drive with the 944 Challenge this weekend are a couple of seasoned competitors in Kerry Bright, and Dom Leo. Kerry is a regular in the Vic Saloon car series driving a VY Commodore and will be campaigning the familiar #20 Poolmaster Bayside car of Andrew Jackman, while Dom Leo, an experienced Historic Touring Car competitor who will be doing double duty this weekend behind the wheel of a 65 Mustang as well as the #74 Black & Gold 944 owned by Mark Taubitz. We wish both our guest drivers the best of luck this weekend and hope they have a great time on track! 

A few drivers will be missing from the action this weekend, with Lyndon Watson being a sad omission this round, while Carter Fox will also miss the round along with Andy Jones, with all three drivers expected to return Sandown in two weeks time. Michael Westaway and Andrew Jackman are out with recent operations, while Manny Mezzasalma is overseas and will miss the next two events  

With a number of more drivers debuting in the upcoming rounds of the championship, the 2026 season is shaping up to be a hotly contested one! If you like what you see, a couple of top level cars have come onto the market - come and join in on the action for the rest of the championship! 

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 3 PREVIEW - WINTON MOTOR RACEWAY

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

Tyrepower Benalla

Butchers Diner

L K Diesel Service

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

This round of the series is proudly presented by TYREPOWER BENALLA

12 Drivers are set to converge on the first visit for the season to the Winton Motor Raceway circuit, located on the fringes of Victoria’s high country for Round 3 of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship – with this round of the series being proudly presented by local business Tyrepower Benalla. 

Bouncing back at Calder Park after a lacklustre (by his standards) round at Sandown was Jamie Westaway, taking two wins and a second over the three races in the #50 Porsche at the Melbourne circuit to head both championship points tables going into Winton. Jamie has shown plenty of speed, but not much luck at the regional circuit, he will be looking for another strong weekend to retain his position at the top of the table.  

Starting his 2026 campaign in the opposite fashion to 2025 is Chris Lewis-Williams, with the driver of the #37 Tyrepower Benalla Porsche 944 keeping out of trouble at Calder while others faltered, a pair of third place finishes and a fourth good enough for second outright for the round, and secure second in both points tables as he heads to his home circuit where he triumphed at the last visit for the series during the 2025 Winton Festival of Speed event. 

Calder was another weekend where Adam Brewer was the pacesetter of the field, making it 2 from 2 pole positions and securing a Race 1 victory before suffering a gearbox failure while leading in the closing stages of Race 2. A replacement was sourced and installed for the final race, but with a fifth gear that was MIA, 6th position in the final race was the best Adam could manage in the #81 machine, suffering down the long Calder front straight. Adam has slipped to fourth position in the 944 points, but retains third in the State Championship standings heading into Winton, where he also recorded Pole position in the last visit before his weekend unravelled at Turn 1... 

Moving up to the alternative third and fourth positions in the championship standings to Brewer is Lyndon Watson in the #5 Porsche, with a third position and a pair of fourth places at Calder continuing his strong return to competition as he returns to Winton Raceway, the scene of his debut Pole position and race win in the category.   

Another weekend that started well for Mark Taubitz in the #66 car with a third-place position in qualifying turning sour on only lap two when he suffered a steering failure, putting him out of the race early. A good recovery drive back to fifth position in Race 2 was the highlight before slipping back to seventh after a mistake in the final race, the DNF dropping him back to fifth position in the State Points battle, and sixth in the 944 Championship. Mark will have the Winton event circled on his calendar as he returns to the site where he secured his first race win back in 2024, and is marking the occasion with a fresh revamp for the new #22 numbered Pipecraft car. 

Michael Westaway had another solid weekend at Calder, finishing fifth overall for the weekend which moves him up to fifth in the points ladder in the 944 Challenge Championship heading into Winton, a track where Michael has scored some of his best results, including a podium finish in the second race of the Winton Festival of Speed event last year, a feat he will be hoping to re-enact this weekend! 

More dramas at Calder for reigning 944 Challenge champion Cameron Beller, a great start to lead into the first corner after qualifying fourth before losing the lead, and then the engine as he pulled into pits with some extreme engine temperatures in the Cyan car. Cam returned on Sunday with a different car, his red & white lease car which he then used to move from the back of the field to second position in race 2, a position he maintained for the final race. Using the opportunity to give his trusty #1 steed a well overdue freshen up for body as well as the engine, Cam will again pilot the red lease car this weekend to see if he can find himself in victory lane for the first time this year and move up in the points where he finds himself in seventh position in the state pointscore.  

A solid weekend at Calder for Sam Rofe in the #68 944, but a couple of moments at the end of the front straight hurt his overall result. Nevertheless, he was able to move up to eighth position in the State championship pointscore behind Beller. Sam had some misfortune last time out at Winton so will be looking to get some redemption and some strong finishes and to move up in the pointscore. 

Another good weekend at Calder for Andrew Jackman in the #333 Carpet Shed 944, mixing it up with the Westaway brothers and Sam Rofe throughout the weekend. While slipping a couple of spots back in the State Championship, Andrew maintains eighth position in the 944 Challenge championships, a position he hopes to improve on with a good weekend at Winton. 

Having his first 2026 outing at Calder was Josh Brisbane in his immaculate Green #56 944, and came away with a career best round result as he scored the fourth highest points for the round in the 944 Championship points. Another strong outing at Winton will put Josh in a strong points position once the worst round points drop rule comes into effect following the weekend. 

Also having his first hit out for 2026 at Calder was Manny Mezzasalma in the #10 EJM Porsche. A strong Race 1 finish in eighth position, but a Race 2 DNF with some overheating issues and a race 3 spin hampered his round result overall. With some tweaks to the car ahead of the weekend and with a Bathurst 6 Hour Class podium trophy now on the mantle, Manny will be eyeing a strong weekend this round at Winton. 

Having his first round of the season is Mark Verdino – having missed the first two rounds, Mark will have the #44 Sidelink Transport 944 back on track and will be a force to be reckoned with this weekend. 

A few drivers will be missing form action this weekend, with Tony Westway swapping the steering wheel for the microphone in the commentary booth, while Carter Fox will also miss the round along with Andy Jones, with all three drivers expected to return for the Festival of Speed and Sandown events later in the season. 

With a number of more drivers debuting in the upcoming rounds of the championship, the 2026 season is shaping up to be a hotly contested one! If you like what you see, a couple of top level cars have come onto the market - come and join in on the action for the rest of the championship! 

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 2 PREVIEW - CALDER PARK RACEWAY

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

L K Diesel Service

Butchers Diner

Tyrepower Benalla

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

This round of the series is proudly presented by BUTCHERS DINER - MEBOURNE.

A larger contingent of 14 drivers have entered for the second round of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship at Calder Park in Melbourne – with this round of the series being proudly presented by Butchers Diner.

Following on from a near perfect weekend at Sandown that was only derailed by a tyre delamination in the closing stages of the final race, Adam Brewer heads the 2026 944 Championship heading into Calder Park this weekend in the #81 AVi Technology Porsche.

Calder Park has been somewhat of a bogey track for Brewer, but he will be looking to turn that around and to extend his points lead by the end of the weekend over his rivals.

Capitalising on Brewers late race misfortune to take the Race 3 victory at Sandown was Chris Lewis Williams in his #37 Tyrepower Benalla Porsche 944. 

A trio of podiums over the weekend has CL-W sitting in a strong second position heading into Calder Park this week. With strong form at Calder Park on the first outing back at the venue in 2023, he will be looking to replicate that to move into his home race weekend at Winton in the #1 position in the points tally.

A challenging weekend at Sandown for Jamie Westaway in his first outing back behind the wheel of the #50 car belonging to Tony Westaway. Braking issues hindered his progress on Saturdays running before snaring a pair of podiums on Sunday on the heels of Lewis-Williams for both races. Jamie has shown good pace with a Pole at Calder in

2024, he will be looking to repeat that speed to move ahead of his rivals in the points battle.

Good initial pace was shown by Mark Taubitz at Sandown with a front row qualifying position in the #66 Pipecraft machine, though things went downhill slowly with a bad start in Race 1 and breaking a throttle return spring on Sunday hampering his progress, especially in Race 3 where he suffered a number of lock ups throughout the race. 

Heading into Calder in fourth place in the points, a strong result in his first outing in the yellow 944 will be his ambition for this weekend.

A solid return to competition at Sandown for Lyndon Watson in the #5 Porsche was exactly what he was hoping for after a couple of years out of the race seat. Lyndon improved a position every race at Sandown with a 6th, 5th and 4th finish to round out the weekend – if he continues that trajectory look forward to him taking the chocolates come the end of the final race this weekend!

Michael Westaway won the battle of the Westaway brothers at Sandown and thus leads the pair in the points heading to Calder this weekend, Michael snaring a trio of seventh place finishes for Michael int eh #45 car, with Tony on his heels for two of the three races in the #20 Poolmaster Bayside machine as he came to grips with a different car from his usual steed.

Andrew Goldman had a solid weekend at Sandown, improving his times by over 1.5 seconds relative to the front runners over the course of the weekend and recording three top ten finishes. A return to Calder this weekend will hopefully return a similar result for the #333 Carpet Shed machine.

A breakout weekend at Sandown for Sam Rofe in the #68 944, moving up to fourth position at the start of Race 3, where he was sitting comfortably before cruelly suffering from an isolator switch failure which stranded his car on the back straight in the closing stages of the race. 

Sam will look to bring that speed to Calder to continue the momentum this weekend.

Faced with an uphill struggle for his championship defense after losing an engine at the start of Race 2 at Sandown is Cameron Beller, the #1 machine scoring a second place finish in Race 1 before things unravelled. 

Cam will need to replicate his 2025 Calder form where he took a clean sweep to get his championship fight back on track.

A challenging weekend results wise for Carter Fox in his return to behind the wheel of the #7 machine, the bookends to Carter's weekend were the highlights with a 5th place finish in both qualifying and Race 3, though DNF’s in Races 1 & 2 hurt his overall weekend points haul. 

Calder will hopefully yield a better set of results for Carter this weekend.

Three drivers will be having their first hit out for 2026 at Calder Park, with Josh Brisbane #56 and Manny Mezzasalma (#10) both missing the Sandown round, but returning for Calder and the remainder of the championship.

A very popular returnee joining the rest of the field is at Calder Park is Andy Jones – returning to the series behind the wheel of his freshly built #33 Gulf liveried 944 for the first time since his roll-over accident at Sandown in August 2022. A shakedown run at Calder last week was the first time for Andy in his new car, and the venue, as he looks to ease himself back into racing this weekend.

With a number of more drivers debuting in the upcoming rounds of the championship , the 2026 season is shaping up to be a hotly contested one! If you like what you see, a couple of top level cars have come onto the market - come and join in on the action for the rest of the championship!

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 1 PREVIEW - SANDOWN

WITH THANKS TO OUR PRESENTING PARTNERS

Porsche Cars Australia

L K Diesel Service

Butchers Diner

Tyrepower Benalla

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Bowdens Own

This round of the series is proudly presented by L K Diesel Services.

11 Drivers have entered for the First Round of the 2026 944 Challenge Championship, as the category returns to the Home of Horsepower - Sandown Raceway, in the South East of Melbourne.

Returning to again defend his championship again is six-time 944 Champion, Cameron Beller, with the #1 again adorning the Beller Motorsport car. He will once again have to prove himself against a tough field of protagonists hoping to stop him going back-to-back. This will be led by 4-time Champion Chris Lewis-Williams aboard the #37 Tyrepower 944, and 2-time champion Jamie Westaway who sits behind the wheel of his Father Tony’s #50 Yellow & Black 944 following the sale of his championship winning car.

The strongest candidate to join the existing trio of competing championship winners will be Adam Brewer. A number change to #81 for Brewer for 2026 will hopefully provide the success that avoided the famous #81 McLaren driver last year as he aims to start the 2026 season swinging with a strong showing at Round 1.

Also looking to have a strong start to the season will be Mark Taubitz who is piloting the yellow Pipecraft backed machine to start the 2026 Championship. Mark, like Brewer, will want to have a strong Round at Sandown to start his 2026 season strongly and build from there.

Another pair of Westaways will be gridding up for Round 1, with Michael back behind the wheel of his orange #45 machine, meanwhile Tony Westaway takes command of the #20 Poolmaster Bayside car of Andrew Jackman after son Jamie has stolen the keys to Tonys regular ride.

Returning for 2026 is Sam Rofe, who with a full season under his belt, will have the chance to continue moving up the grid in his pristine #68 944, as will be Andrew Goldman, having missed the final round of 2025 to have some further upgrades carried out on the Carpet Shed #333 to help with his progression up the field.

Carter Fox is back behind the wheel of his regular #7 Porsche, fresh from repairs following his incident in qualifying at Sandown last year, and will be looking to showcase some of the speed shown driving the Andrew Jackman Poolmaster car.

Rounding out the field will be the returning Lyndon Watson in the #5 car – Lyndon missed the 2025 championship, but has aspirations of returning for a full 2026 Season campaign returning to the site where he had some strong showings in his last visit in 2024.

While there are some names missing from the first round, there will be additional runners expected to join the series in the coming months for Rounds 2 & 3 of the championship at Calder Park and Winton Raceway.

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 6 PREVIEW - ISLAND MAGIC

Porsche Cars Australia

L K Diesel Service

Tyrepower Benalla

Melbourne Paving

Butchers Diner

Don Watson Transport

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

Trico

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

Sponsors

Porsche Cars Australia

Butchers Diner

L K Diesel Service

Tyrepower Benalla

Melbourne Paving

Don Watson Transport

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

Trico

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

A smaller field of 13 drivers are entered for this, the final Round of the 2025 Porsche 944 Championship Season. This

round sees the field return to the majestic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the famed Island Magic event, and is

proudly presented by Butchers Diner.

What is missing in quantity, is made up for in quality with the majority of the front runners entered as they vie for the

best spot possible in the final championship standings.

Leading the points into the last round is 5 Time series and defending Champion Cameron Beller in Car #1, coming off

another good points haul at the previous round at Sandown, Beller has one hand on the trophy and only needs to score

a trio of fourth place finishes to secure a sixth title, but finishing and scoring points in all three races is key, as a DNF

could cost him the chance to secure the title.

Sitting in second position and ready to pounce is Jamie Westaway in the #28 machine. A couple of penalties at Sandown

prevented Jamie from perhaps being able to take out the round victory at Sandown, but as we return to the PI circuit

where Jamie took the round win earlier in the year, he will hope to repeat that performance and give him the best shot

to triumph over Beller for the season honours.

Bouncing back from his disappointing Winton round at Sandown was Adam Brewer in the #3 AVi Technology car,

securing the round win along with a strong victory in the final race of the weekend, Adam sits only 5 points adrift of

Jamie Westaway and is also poised to pounce if misfortune should strike Beller or Westaway.

Slightly adrift in fourth position is Mark Verdino is the rejuvenated #44 Sidelink Transport machine. Verdino is returning

to Phillip Island for the first time since last years Island Magic event after missing the mid-year round, but will surely not

take long to get back into the groove and will need a consistent weekend to hold onto fourth position, with a top three

position only mathematically possible if Verdino wins all three races with DNF's striking Westaway and Brewer.

In fifth position, and with sights set on stealing back fourth position from Verdino is Mark Taubitz in the yellow #66

Pipecraft 944. Mark had his strongest ever Phillip Island weekend on the last visit earlier in the year, recording his fastest

laps by almost two seconds and four good race finishes, despite suffering some downshifting issues. Taubitz will need to

replicate that performance if he wants to move up to fourth in the points by the end of the weekend.

Sitting in sixth position on corrected points is Tony Westaway in the Yellow #50 car. Tony only needs to finish all three

races to hopefully secure the sixth spot in the final championship results, but is unable to move into the top 5 in points.

Tony will also secure the inaugural Veterans Cup Championship this year at the close of the weekend.

Having his best weekend of the year at Sandown was another yellow car, this one being Sam Rofe in his #68 PCM 944.

Sam will have aspirations of moving up 1 or perhaps 2 positions in points by the time the weekend is over if he can have

another strong weekend, but also will be looking to outscore Jack Atley to prevail in their year long points battle.

Poised to move back into the top 10 in points following this round is Jack Atley in the #35 Pit Lane Clothing car. Jack will

likely be battling for the eighth position following the weekend with Rofe who holds an 8 point advantage over Atley.

Will a second Pit Lane Clothing car bring team orders into effect to help Atley achieve his goal?

Having only his third outing for this year is Toni Andreevski in his beautiful purple #27 machine - though his previous visit

to the circuit in May yielded three top 5 finishes in a very impressive outing. Toni would surely be in a position to

challenge for the top 5 in a championship battle if he were able to contend the full season such is the impressive

performance he has shown.

Another driver virtually replicating Andreevski's performance this year is Josh Brisbane is his #56 Green 944. Josh also

scored his best ever race and round result last time out at Phillip Island, taking a superb fourth place in the first race

from the back of the pack. Josh has hopefully sorted out the engine issues that plagued him at Winton & Sandown, and

replicate his PI performance.

Back behind the wheel of the #20 Poolmaster Bayside machine he pedaled at Phillip Island earlier in the year is Carter

Fox. After an unfortunate crash in qualifying at Winton ruled him out for the weekend, and repairs not quite finalised on

his car, Carter will look to underline the speed he showed in those races last time out and to battle with the top 5 guys

this weekend and get a good preparation for the 2026 Season.

Manny Mezzasalma has had a troubled season this year int he #10 machine, and will also be looking for a trouble-free

weekend this time out at Phillip Island to also put 2025 to bed and ready himself for a good start to the 2026 season.

A very exciting returnee is Andy Tudor, who will this round be pedalling the #22 Beller Motorsport Red & White 944.

Andy hasn't pedalled a 944 in well over 12 months since his outing at Sandown in 2024 and will be the first time running

this car as he helps stable mate Jack Atley secure a top ten championship result. Welcome back Andy and we hope to

see you back next year for more events!

This round was supposed to see the debut of Nic Scarcella in his newly finished #87 car, however a heartbreaking fire

during a test event earlier in the month has left the car destroyed, and Nic's plans to debut taking a hit. We will

hopefully see him work with some new plans to join the field sometime next year.

We are unfortunately missing a few drivers due to some maintenance, either on their cars, or themselves! Nic Carpenter

& Andrew Goldman are both getting some vehicle upgrades in preparation for 2026, while Michael Westaway and

Andrew Jackman are recovering from some body upgrades! Chris Lewis-Williams is tied up with work commitments,

with a few drivers such as Peter Grant, Lyndon Watson, John Vainoras, Jared Campione & Pedr James all hopefully

rejoining for Round 1, as well as a few new names who are slated to join the ranks next year - 2026 is looking like being a

strong season!

If you like what you see on the circuit and want to get on board with the Porsche 944 Challenge series, the series is

enjoying a resurgence with a couple of cars available for purchase and others returning to competition, along with some

freshly built cars being finalised with some of those for lease, or sale. Get in touch with the guys in the series if you

would like to get on track and join in the action.

THE PRESIDENT'S REPORT - ROUND 5 PREVIEW - SANDOWN

Porsche Cars Australia

L K Diesel Service

Tyrepower Benalla

Melbourne Paving

Butchers Diner

Don Watson Transport

AVi Technology

Poolmaster Bayside

Trico

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

17 Drivers have entered for the Fifth Round of the 2025 944 Challenge Championship, as the category returns to the

Sandown Raceway for the first repeat track of the 2025 Season in their final round for the 2025 Vic State

Championships, with this round of the series is proudly presented by L.K Diesel Service.

Winton was a weekend to forget for Championship leader Cameron Beller in the aqua #1 car, a touch in turn 1 of Race 1

spun him to the back of the pack, followed by a DNF in Race 2 which was the first race of the year that he has not been

on the podium. Despite this, he is still sitting in a commanding position for the State Championship as the Winton Round

was not part of the State Championship, and using Winton as his dropped worst round allows him to maintain his spot

on the top of both Championship Points tables – although he now needs to ensure he does not suffer the same fate in

the final two rounds if he wants to have a chance to take a sixth 944 series championship.

Now second in both championships is Jamie Westaway in the #28 car, after a round where he had to fight his way

through the field in both races 1 & 2 at Winton, he was able to triumph with a victory in the final race which secured him

second in the round honours and move him closer to Beller in the 944 Championship points.

Another having a round to forget at Winton was Adam Brewer in the #3 AVi Technology machine. After securing a

blistering qualifying lap to give him a dominating pole position, it all went downhill at the first corner of Race 1 when

contact with Beller and a spin, and resultant penalty left him classified in 14th for Race 1. He was able to recover by Race

3 where he finished third, but dropped him a couple of points behind Westaway in the season points.

Sitting in fourth position in the 944 Championship after dropping his missed round at Phillip Island is Mark Verdino in his

#44 Sidelink Porsche – with Verdinos weekend results improving after a bad start in the same way as Brewer, an

eleventh place Race 1 finish after a spin improving to a fourth place in the final race, enough for fifth outright in the

round points.

Moving one spot back courtesy of the dropped worst round taking affect is Mark Taubitz, now piloting the #66 Pipecraft

car. Taubitz had high hopes returning to the site of his two race wins last year for the first time, but had an up and down

weekend starting with a qualifying setup mistake saw him line up 10th on the grid. Despite making good progress he was

escorted off track while fighting for third position to be classified sixth. This improved to second in the second race, but

slipped back down in the final race after the car jumped out of gear at the start. Despite this, the misfortune of others meant he finished the round in third position and in position to capitalise if those in front of him falter.

Moving up to an impressive sixth position in the championship points after the dropped worst round is Michael

Westaway in the familiar orange #45 944, with Michael having a great weekend with a fourth, then a third position finish

in the first two races before getting tagged in the final race dropping him down the order.

Following in his brothers footsteps in moving up in the points to sit behind him in seventh in points is Tony Westaway in

the #50 car, Tony was sitting just behind Michael for the majority of the Winton weekend, however outscored him in the

final race after Michael’s last race misfortune which saw Tony take fourth outright in points for the weekend, moving

him to within 9 points of Michael by going into the Sandown round this weekend.

Slipping back a couple of spots behind the Westaway brothers after the worst dropped round comesw into play is Peter

Grant in the #84 Auto Coupe 944. Peter had his lowest scoring round for the season so far, a couple of spins hurting his

results over the Winton weekend, he will look forward to returning to Sandown where he scored some strong results in

the Sunday races earlier in the year.

Turning his 2025 Season luck around at Winton in the biggest way was Chris Lewis-WiIliams in the #37 Tyrepower

Benalla car – taking two race victories and a second as he also scored back-to-back round wins at his hometown circuit,

moving him up to ninth position in the 944 Championship season points. He recovered from a Race 1 DNF to a podium

finish last time at Sandown, and will look keep his Winton performance on board as we return to the Melbourne circuit.

Also slipping a few spots back after the dropped worst round is Jack Atley in the #35 Pit Lane Clothing car, with a Race 3

DNF also counting as Jack’s worst round of the season so far. He was able to end the earlier Sandown Round on a good

note in the final race with an eighth place finish, a result he will be looking to repeat, or improve on this weekend.

Bouncing back from his Phillip Island misfortune was Nick Carpenter scoring a trio of top ten finishes and kept himself

free from drama in an intense Winton round in his #14 Melbourne Paving backed 944. Nick scored his,i best race finish

of the season so far at Sandown at the start of the year so he will hope to continue on with that momentum from

Winton as the series returns to Sandown this weekend.

Another who had a weekend with drama was Sam Rofe in his #68 PCM 944, unfortunately for Sam he was the unlucky

recipient of a couple of tags that saw him spin, preventing him from scoring a stronger points haul for this weekend. Sam

will also be looking to improve on his results from Winton and improve on his best result of the season which also came

at Sandown earlier in the year and look to move back into the top ten in the season pointscore.

Andrew Goldman sits next in the pointscore with the #333 Carpet Shed 944, following on from a reasonable Winton

outing despite a spin in Race 2 into the Winton infield. Andrew had mechanical issues last time out at Sandown that

prevented him from running on Sunday, he will have his sights set on improving on his best results at the Melbourne

circuit this weekend.

A Winton weekend that again showed great pace for Josh Brisbane in the green #56 machine, but was hamstrung by

having to miss qualifying and start from the rear of the 19 car field for Race 1. Josh managed to rise up to seventh place

by the end of the weekend – showing sign of being able to place himself well inside the top ten all weekend if he is able

to have the luck and reliability to enable him to do so.

A character building Winton weekend at Winton for Carter Fox, some qualifying miscues led to him being hampered at

the back in Race 1, an off-track excursion mid race and a part failure ending his weekend early. Carter showed good pace

and scored good results at Sandown earlier in the year, he will be looking for a reset and revisit of that performance this

weekend, and start building momentum for a strong assault on the 2026 season.

Unfortunately there are two last minutes scratchings for this round with Manny Mezzasalma and Andrew Jackman both

unable to make the event - both are expected to return for the final round of the 2025 Season at Phillip Island for Island

Magic, along with Toni Andreevski, Pedr James, John Vainoras, Jared Campione, Lyndon Watson as well as some new

and returning faces that we anticipate joining the grid at Phillip Island to prepare for the 2026 Championship.

With a strong field in attendance, the future is looking even stronger with some more new competitors looking to debut,

or rejoin the series for the Sandown and Phillip Island rounds to round out the year.

If you like what you see on the circuit and want to get on board with the Porsche 944 Challenge series, the series is

enjoying a resurgence with a couple of cars available for purchase and others returning to competition, along with some

freshly built cars being finalised with some of those for lease, or sale.

Get in touch with the guys in the series if you would like to get on track and join in the action.