THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 3 PREVIEW

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 3 PREVIEW

17 Cars are entered for this round, the third round of the 2023 944 Challenge Championship at the famed Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

The first round of the 2023 944 Challenge season featured one of the most dramatic races in 944 Challenge history, with Adam Brewer (#3) leading into the final corner of the race from Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) and Cameron Beller (#55) just behind having come from the rear of the grid – only for Brewer to run wide, allowing Lewis-Williams and Beller through, with Beller using the momentum to edge ahead by the smallest of margins at the chequer.

At Round 2 held at Winton Raceway 4 weeks ago, Beller continued his recovery as he made it a clean sweep with 3 wins from 3 races as he moved himself back up the championship Points ladder to 2nd and 3rd in the State Championship and 944 Challenge Championships respectively.

Finishing the Winton weekend in third overall was Lewis-Williams, which was enough to keep him at the top of both Championships heading to Phillip Island this weekend, a position he will be hoping to maintain by the end of the weekend.

Adam Brewer continued his consistent start to the season as he finished fourth outright for the Round at Winton as he sits in 3rd and 2nd positions n the State Championship and 944 Challenge Championships respectively.

Moving up to 4th in the 944 and State Championships after also having another strong round at Winton is Mr Lasagne, Joey Kellock (#77). Fifth for the weekend helped him move up one position on the points tables, as he moved just ahead of his stablemate Mark Verdino (#44) Mark had a good first two races at Winton before it came undone in Race 3 with a couple of spins that put him to the back of the pack which cost him the fourth position in the series points to Kellock as he slips to 5th.

Moving up to sixth position in the 944 points after Winton is Mark Taubitz (#74) despite another frustrating round, after another good qualifying position in 6th, a spin in Race 1 dropped him to the back before recovering to 10th, a few spots gained to 8th in Race 2 but a neat stall at the start of Race 3 saw him have to recover again to move back to 8th by then end of the race and finish 9th for the round.

Making his return to the 944 Challenge for the first time since 2017 was Ryan Woods (#17) – and a triumphant return it was, with Ryan stringing together a weekend of second position finishes in qualifying and all three races in the newly acquired ex Peter Doherty car. This collection of results sees Ryan vault up to 7th in the State Championship, and 9th position in the 944 Championship points despite missing the first Round.

Another solid round at Winton for Keith Marriner, (#64) a trio of solid races in the thick of the action earning him enough points to move him up to to 9th in the State Championship, and 7th position in the 944 Championship points after the second Round.

Having a career best weekend by virtue of scoring his best race and round results to date at Winton was Carter Fox (#7) finishing 8th outright for the round, his performance moves him up to 8th position outright in both championships and full of promise for more to come heading back to the Phillip Island circuit.

Slipping back to 10th position in the points by virtue of a DNF in Race 2, and being unable to take the grid for Race 3 is Andrew Jackman. Alternator issues curtailed his weekend as he failed to finish the final lap of Race 2, the loss of points dropping him back from 5th going in to the round, he will look to get back on track with some good results at the track he enjoys so much in Phillip Island.

Returning to the track after being absent while partaking in some overseas venture when Round 1 was held, is series stalwart Tony Westaway (#50). Tony was in the thick of the battles all weekend with a 6th position in Race and a pair of seventh places despite stalling on the grid in the final race saw him classified 6th outright for the round and just outside the top ten in the series points in eleventh position.

Making the trek back over to the Eastern side of the country is West Australian Tim Wolfe (#66) – fresh from competing in the Sprint Challenge series at Symmons Plains last weekend. Tim returns to the site where he earned a third place finish for the round at Island Magic last year, and will be looking to pick up that pace again on his return to Phillip Island in the wheel of his 944 and move into contention in the points battle after missing the last round at Winton.

Also making his second appearance of the year is Josh Brisbane (#56), with the Viper Green 944 returning to Phillip Island where he was unfortunately involved in contact following a spin at MG corner last year at Island Magic. Josh was able to bank some good points at Round 2 and Winton and like Wolfe will be looking to gain some more good points this weekend and move up the points ladder.

Another troublesome weekend was had by veteran Dick Howe (#8) whose season hasn’t gotten off on the right foot, only finishing 1 race over the Winton weekend as he struggled to find a misfire on his car that hampered his weekend. At Phillip Island where horsepower matters, look for Dick to return to the pointy end if he has solved his engine issues.

Also coming across from WA is Andy Tudor (#15) as he returns to the site of his unfortunate spin and contact with the tyre wall at the Southern Loop corner on his last visit to Phillip Island at the final round of the Vic State Series last year. Andy also missed the Winton event due to work commitments and will look to get some good solid results this weekend and a nice straight car to put back onto the trailer!

A sigh of relief from everyone after seeing John Vainoras (#32) complete the weekends racing with his fuel issues seemingly behind him, and finishing the weekend 12th on points for the round With that issue now being solved, we expect to see John able to focus on continuing to improve his pace at the seaside circuit that he calls home. 

Last – but most certainly not least – we will see the familiar site of the Martini liveried #46 of Jim Mitchell on track – but with a different, yet familiar name on the window and behind the wheel. Reigning champion Jamie Westaway returns for a cameo appearance this round and will no doubt be looking to throw a cat amongst the pigeons that is the 2023 championship – and he will have his eyes set on wins, rather than points. Can he take another win in a third different 944 Race car this weekend?

Toni Andreevski (#27) & Lyndon Watson (#5) are both sadly missing from this round also, as well as Vlad Kennedy (#23) Unfortunately, we won’t see the return of Michael Westaway (#45) and Andy Jones (#33) who are still finalising their car repairs to make their series returns, as well as Manny Mezzasalma (#10) who has a conflicting engagement this weekend preventing him from making his return.

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'd like to get on track and join in the action.

3 FROM 3 - BELLER BACK ON TOP AT WINTON

Beller Motorsport driver Cameron Beller has dominated Round 2 of the 2023 944 Racing Association championship at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria.

The 4 time champion took 3 wins from 3 races over the weekend, seeing off a strong challenge from Ryan Woods, who returned to the series and immediately left his mark.

Woods claimed 3 second places in the three races whilst the remaining podium spots were shared by Chris Lewis-Williams and Adam Brewer.

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Cameron Beller took 3 race wins from 3 races at Winton

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 2 PREVIEW

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 2 PREVIEW

18 Cars are entered for this round, the second round of the 2023 944 Challenge Championship, though unfortunately, there have been two last minute withdrawals with Andy Tudor and Vlad Kennedy both unable to make the round.

The first round of the 2023 944 Challenge season featured one of the most dramatic races in 944 Challenge history, with Adam Brewer (#3) leading into the final corner of the race from Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) and Cameron Beller (#55) just behind having come from the rear of the grid – only for Brewer to run wide, allowing Lewis-Williams and Beller through, with Beller using the momentum to edge ahead by the smallest of margins at the chequer.

As a result of a victory & 2 second place finishes, CL-W leads the points after the first round as he returns to the Winton circuit to race his 944 in anger for the first time in a number of years and will hope to leave the circuit retaining the championship points lead.

Adam Brewer got his season off to a great start with a second and a pair of third places from the three races to be second in both championships after being in contention throughout the weekend at the pointy end with Beller and Lewis-Williams. Some testing last week fortunately uncovered a gearbox issue that would likely have curtailed his results this weekend had he not tested in preparation, thought it curtailed his attempts to get a jump on being track-ready ahead of his chief rivals!

Sitting in third position in the championship after his best race, and round result to date is Mark Verdino (#44) The Sidelink Transport car performed fantastically and Mark secured a 3rd place finish in Race 1, with a 4th and 6th to go along with it as he had a great showing all weekend, and is motivated to have a stronger result on his first return to Winton after making his only start at the circuit to date last year.

Sitting in 4th in the 944 Championship after also having a great first round is The Lasagne man himself, Joey Kellock (#77). Joey secured a 4th, 5th and 6th place finishes as he battled all weekend long with stablemates Mark Verdino & Tim Wolfe. While experienced at Winton, this will be his first race weekend at the regional circuit as he will no doubt have a baptism of fire as he goes into battle with a bunch of contemporaries in their 944’s!

Sitting in 5th position in the 944 Championship points is Andrew Jackman (#20)– still on a high after taking the Class E victory at the Bathurst 6 hour two weeks ago with Cameron Beller and Mark Taubitz,

Andrew will no doubt be reminding everyone he is the highest place of the trio in the pointscore going into Round 2. A strong weekend results rise at Sandown saw him have his best start to a season to date and he will have intentions of continuing that this weekend at Winton.

In 7th position in the 944 points after Round 1 is Mark Taubitz (#74) – after a promising 5th position in qualifying Taubitz struggled in the races with the long straights at Sandown and had to settle with a pair of 8ths and a 9th place from the weekend. A subsequent tear down of the engine post Sandown has revealed a broken Valve spring – hopefully an increase of engine performance will help Taubitz turn his fortunes as he hopes to repeat his performance last year at Winton where he scored a pair of podium finished behind Beller and Jamie Westaway.

Sitting in 8th position despite two victories at Sandown is Cameron Beller, showing just how much a DNF can hurt you in the championship pointscore after his gearbox issues in Race 1. An amazing drive from the back of the grid saw him snatch the victory in Race 2 along with in Race 3 – helping him salvage as good a result as possible and keep him in contention and ready to move up the points ladder this weekend at a track he has been virtually unbeatable over the past few years.

Also having a strong start to the season was Keith Marriner (#64) with a trio of 10th place finishes helping him to 9th position in the points entering Round 2, with Keith showing good pace to be able to stay firmly in the mid pack all weekend, a feat he will also be looking to replicate again this weekend!

A much more enjoyable weekend was had by Jim Mitchell (#46) than his previous visit to Sandown, three solid finishes and a lack of issues sees him placed 13th in points after the first round, with some further reliability this weekend will likely see him move further up the order and move up into the top ten with the absence of some of his rivals this weekend.

Having one of his most encouraging performances to date was Carter Fox (#7) highlighted by a fantastic qualifying performance which put him in the top half of the grid in 8th position. A great first race where he was on the heels of Taubitz all race garnered a 9th place finish, but a bad start in Race 2 dropped him down the field, with a failure on the startline and subsequent DNF in Race 3 ending his weekend earlier than he would have liked. He will be looking to also improve on his first foray to Winton last year as he makes his return visit to the circuit.

It was a weekend to forget for series veteran Dick Howe (#8) who finished 7th in Race 1, but a pair of DNF’s in the two Sunday races with mechanical issues sees him mired back in 16th position in the series points. He will be hoping for much more reliability this weekend as he looks to get his season back on track this weekend.

Fingers crossed from everyone in the paddock that John Vainoras (#32) will finally have his issues sorted after a long drawn out problem with fuel – the car had plenty of fuel at Sandown and kept running – only issue was half of it was being left on the race track! With that issue now being solved, we expect to see John finally finish all sessions this weekend and get some well deserved points on the board!

Returning for the first time this weekend after missing the first round due to other commitments are veteran Tony Westaway (#50), Toni Andreevski (#27) and Josh Brisbane (#56) along with returnee driver Ryan Woods – having purchased the car Peter Doherty has campaigned for the past 20 years in the series with Peter hanging up the helmet (for now at least!)

Tim Wolfe (#66) & Lyndon Watson (#5) are both sadly missing from this round also with conflicting work appointments preventing them from running as well as the late withdrawals of Kennedy (#23) & Tudor (#15).

Unfortunately, we won’t see the return of Michael Westaway (#45) and Andy Jones (#33) who are still finalising their car repairs to make their series returns, as well as Manny Mezzasalma (#10) as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.

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'd like to get on track and join in the action.

LEWIS-WILLIAMS TAKES ROUND 1 HONORS

Tyrepower Benalla’s Chris Lewis-Williams has come away leading the championship, after an action packed Round 1 of the 2023 944 Challenge series Australia at Sandown.

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Chris Lewis-Williams leads Adam Brewer into Turn 2 at Sandown

BELLER'S INCREDIBLE LAST TO FIRST VICTORY

Beller Motorsport’s Cameron Beller has already pulled off ‘one of the victories of the year’ with an astonishing ‘last to first’ race victory, during Round 1 of the 2023 944 Challenge series championships at Sandown.

Amazingly, Beller’s engine had to be rebuilt the night before after a gearbox issue caused the engine to seize.

And as if that wasn’t enough, he managed to grab the win by a mere ‘0.01 of a second’.

See the highlights via Blendline TV’s coverage.

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 1 PREVIEW

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 1 PREVIEW

17 Cars are entered for this, the first round of the 2023 944 Challenge Championship, proudly sponsored by Porsche Australia and 888 Home Loans, with 1800Lasagne coming on board as a sponsor for this Round.

The first round of the 2023 944 Challenge season opens with many questions to be answered - with reigning two-time reigning champion Jamie Westaway taking a sabbatical for the 2023 season - leaving the path open for a potential competitor to take over where Jamie left off, with his championship winning car currently advertised for sale on the 944 Challenge website and my105.

The natural favourite for the championship thus would be 4 time series champion Cameron Beller in his Aqua #55 car, however with Chris Lewis-Williams (also a 3 time series champion!) committed to the full season in his #37 Tyrepower Benalla 944, it looks like Beller making it a fifth title is anything but a formality.

Proudly adorning the #3 for the 2023 season is Adam Brewer in the Matt Black AVi Technology car as a result of his third place finish in the 2022 Season. Adam has been looking at all avenues in his bid to move further up in the final championship score as he takes the fight to Beller & Lewis-Williams.

Another driver who will be wanting to join the others at the pointy end as he looks to also compete in the full season is Lyndon Watson - Lyndon showed his traditional strong pace in his 2022 appearances and will be looking to fight for a podium finish this round in the Don Watson Transport #5.

Returning for another season is the veteran Dick Howe - his venerable #8 car carried him to 4th position in the State Championship last year and Dick is always a force to be reckoned with at the home of Horsepower.

Also back for 2023 is Mark Taubitz in his Black & Gold Peter Brock Le Mans retro liveried #74. Mark secured 5th in the Vic State Series in 2022 and hopes that a new car coming on in the mid part of the year will give him the ammunition to fight up at the very front of the field.

Still on a high from his strongest run in the series to date at the last round of the championship at Island Magic is Andrew Jackman in the Poolmaster Bayside Miami Blue #20 car. Andrew is committed to a strong round this weekend before he focuses his attention on preparation on the Mazda 3 he has entered in the Bathurst 6 Hour at Easter

It was a strong debut season in 2022 for Mark Verdino, but the desire to move up the field further has led to some upgrades in the way of a new engine for the Verdino & Co Blue & White #44.

Another driver who had his best result in the series so far at the most recent round at Island Magic was WA native Tim Wolfe. Tim secured third outright for the round in his Pipecraft backed bright yellow #66 machine, and couldn't wipe the smile off his face as a result! If Tim can keep the same speed as he showed at Phillip Island, he will be a definite threat for the top 5 this weekend.

Keith Marriner is another who had a good weekend at Phillip Island and showed a good turn of speed, dicing with Taubitz and others over the weekend.A freshen up of the grey #64 Seat Time Race Solutions car in the off season will have Keith looking to continue his good form of late into 2023.

Beginning his second season in the 944 Challenge is Carter Fox in the yellow #7 car. Carter showed maturity during the 2022 season and largely kept himself out of trouble as he learnt throughout the year, and will look for further improvements as he further hones his craft during the 2023 Championship.

Vlad Kennedy is also back for another full year in his Dark Red Keyway Builders #23 car, and will hope that some reliability issues that hampered his results in 2022 will be behind him for this year as he moves himself up the grid in his second season.

Back on track for Round 1 after missing the Island Magic event after his crash at Southern Loop during the final round of the Vic State Championship, is West Australias Andy Tudor. Andy is super keen to get back behind the wheel of his #15 White Raglan Drilling car, which the Beller Motorsport crew only put the finishing touches to earlier this week!

Jim Mitchell is back behind the wheel of his Martini liveried 944 #46 racecar, and will be hoping to have a much more positive year this year after a 2022 Championship that was riddled with bad luck and resulted in a number of DNF and DNS results.

Also back for 2023 is John Vainoras in his Purple #32 944, and John will hope to finally have put the issues with fuel starvation and cut-out that plagued him throughout his 2022 season in his rear view mirror for good!

Also on the grid this weekend after only making the single round at Sandown last year is another of the series veterans, and new life member of the 944 Challenge series, Peter Doherty. Peter returns to the wheel of his Guards Red #80 Porsche this weekend and will consider it mission accomplished if he has a fun weekend of racing with some strong results and a straight car to drive back onto the trailer.

Rounding out the runners this weekend, is the sponsor of this round, Joey Kellock of 1800Lasagne. With the sponsor adorning all cars this weekend, Joey will look to improve on the results he achieved when he made his racing debut at Sandown in August behind the wheel of the leased Beller Motorsport car. Now in his own White #77 lasagnemobile, Joey was stoked to get his first top five last time out in the final race of Island Magic and has ambitions to improve on that this weekend.

Unfortunately there are a few cars that havent been able to return for this weekend, with Toni Andreevski, Michael Westaway, Josh Brisbane and Andy Jones on the sidelines, but hopefully we will see all four return for Round 2 @ Winton in 2 months time.

Also missing after an off season incident is Manny Mezzasalma who we will hopefully see back for Round 2 or 3, while Tony Westaway is overseas and will miss the first round also.

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'd like to get on track and join in the action.

MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA SAFETY NET RULING

STATEMENT FROM MOTORSPORT AUSTRALIA

Motorsport Australia is providing further information regarding the 2023 changes to window net requirements for closed vehicles in a circuit race event.

Click here to view Technical Appendix Schedule I of the Motorsport Australia Manual.

The primary function of a window net is to protect the driver from having any body part protrude through the window opening during an incident.

The requirements are in place to ensure that all closed vehicles competing in a circuit race event have a window net installed capable of performing its primary function.

The changes will apply across the circuit race discipline and many vehicles that had previously not required a window net will now be required to fit one. 

For circuit racing, the fitment of the window net to the door frame of a production vehicle is no longer permitted and the window net must now be fitted to the safety cage structure.  

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Regulation Updates

Window Net

Window nets must only be securely fixed to the safety cage structure. Window nets mounted to the driver’s door frame or other vehicle components are not permitted.

The load requirement of 500N now includes the method of fixing to the safety cage structure. 

The window net when installed in the vehicle must be able to withstand this load when applied at any point.

The area of the driver’s window opening required to be covered by a window net has now been defined relative to the driver’s seat position, steering wheel position and safety cage structure.

A window net must cover the area within the following:
Forward from a vertical line drawn from the rear most point of the driver’s door window opening (i.e. original door frame) OR where the seat back is visible through the driver’s door window opening (i.e. the seat back can be seen through the window when the door is closed), this vertical line is to be drawn from the rear most point of the seat back.

Rearward of a vertical line drawn through the centre of the steering wheel rim

Below a straight line drawn between the intersections of the two vertical lines, being the rearward line and the steering wheel line as described above, with the upper most longitudinal or lateral half roll bar members of the safety cage structure. 

A Window Net is installed to cover the window opening, designed to protect the driver from having any body part protrude through the window opening in an incident.  It must be mounted to the safety cage structure and be capable of withstanding a load of 500N at any point.
 

Racing Net – FIA 8863-2013

In most vehicles a triangular racing net will not provide the required driver’s window coverage to comply with the requirements of a window net, and in that case the use of only a racing net is not permitted and a window net must be fitted.
 
A Racing Net, often referred to as a seat or triangle net is installed in contact with the seat to provide additional lateral support to a driver during an impact. Racing nets will meet FIA Standard 8863-2013
 
Where permitted, racing nets must be installed in compliance with FIA Installation Specifications.
 
A racing net is only permitted for use on the driver’s side door window under the following circumstances.
•    When permitted by category or classification standing regulations.
•    When competing in a vehicle which is compliant with Schedule I, Article 4.b
•    Where the racing net provides the required window opening coverage as detailed in Schedule I, Article 4.a.i and will provide the same function of a window net.

A racing net is permitted to be installed on the passenger’s side of the driver’s seat in compliance with FIA regulations (refer Article 6.).

All other event requirements remain unchanged.

1800LASAGNE JOINS AS ROUND 1 PARTNERS

The Porsche 944 Challenge is excited to announce a new partner  for the 2023 Championship with 1800Lasagne stepping up to naming rights sponsorship for the first Round of the Season.

944 Challenge Club President Mark Taubitz is excited about this latest of what is hoped to be numerous new sponsor engagements.

‘1800LASAGNE is an Italian restaurant located in Thornbury owned by new 944 Challenge competitor Joey Kellock that has just recently been awarded a prestigious ‘Hat’ award by Good Food. It is styled with a homage to old world Italy, has tunes spinning (on vinyl only) 5 nights a week, guest DJ’s three nights a week, with live Jazz on Sunday afternoons.

Do yourself a favour and check it out, tell them you saw them on the 944 Challenge cars to give Joey a thrill and you may even receive a Ric Flair-esque ‘Woooooo!’

Joey had this to say:

“I’m very proud to be sponsoring this Round of the Porsche 944 challenge. I’ve loved the 944 since I was a kid and I never thought that I would be able to one day fulfil my dreams of being a race car driver let alone be racing a 944! Furthermore – it’s a great class with great racing, great drivers, and great cars, it’s also relatively affordable so anything I can do to bring attention to the car and the class – I’m all about it!

1800 LASAGNE – BOOKINGS VIA 1800Lasagne.com.au and walk-ins welcome.
Open 5pm till late Wednesday to Sunday day with live jazz (1800jazzagne) Sunday Afternoons.