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

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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!