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

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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!