jack atley 17/3/24 jack atley 17/3/24

TWO FROM TWO FOR TAUBITZ AT WINTON

After waiting over 10 years for his first victory in the 944 Challenge series, Mark Taubitz only had to wait less than 24 hours to get his second, as he made it two from two as he took a lights-to-flag victory in Race 2 of the 944 Challenge series at Winton Motor Raceway.

Taubitz leads Lewis Williams, Brewer and the rest on lap 1. PIC: Phil Wisewould

Following Taubitz across the line again was defending series champion Chris Lewis-Williams in the Tyrepower Benalla machine, though he didn’t appear to be able to mount a serious threat to challenge for the victory. Chris had to keep one eye on his mirrors from the mid point of the race on, as they were filled by the charging Cameron Beller in the rapid #55 machine as he came from the back of the pack after his Race 1 dramas to round out the podium with a fantastic third place finish.

Taubitz, Lewis-Williams and Beller in close proximity in the final stages of the second race. PIC: Phil Wisewould

Mark Verdino and Adam Brewer had an exciting tussle with Beller before the aqua car broke clear, to leave them to fight amongst themselves, with Verdino prevailing to secure fourth place from Brewer.

Lyndon Watson & Michael Westaway had relatively lonely races to come home in 6th and 7th places respectively, ahead of new drivers Nick Carpenter and Andrew Goldman who finished in 8th and 9th positions.after Dick Howe, who crossed the line in 8th, was relegated to 10th place after receiving a 15 second post-race penalty for crossing the Pit Lane Blend Line, with John Vainoras classified in 11th position.

Jamie Westaway took over behind the wheel of Tony Westaway’s #50 car, but slipped off the track at the sweeper, receiving a puncture which caused some damage underneath the car, ending the weekend for both cars #50 & #1. for the weekend early.

Also not making the finish were Josh Brisbane and Manny Mezzasalma, with some unlucky contact as Mezzasalma spun exiting turn 9, and just tagged Brisbane as he attempted to sneak past, ending the weekend early for both cars, while Jim Mitchell also pulled off the circuit early after 3 laps

jack atley 16/3/24 jack atley 16/3/24

TAUBITZ TAKES MAIDEN VICTORY - 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING

An emotional MARK TAUBITZ has taken out his first race win in the Porsche 944 Challenge Series, claiming victory in Race 1, of Round 2, of the 2024 944Challenge Series at Winton Motor Raceway.

An emotional MARK TAUBITZ has taken out his first race win in the Porsche 944 Challenge Series, claiming victory in Race 1, of Round 2, of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at Winton Motor Raceway.

Taubitz leads Lewis Williams and Brewer PIC: Phil Wisewould

Taubitz has raced in the category for 10 years and claimed his first victory driving the No. 66 Pipecraft car.

The race was initially led by pole sitter and 2X champion Jamie Westaway, however he would suffer a clutch failure mid race and Taubitz seized his opportunity, having earlier claimed second spot in qualifying.

Mark Taubitz 13/3/24 Mark Taubitz 13/3/24

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 2 PREVIEW

17 Cars have entered for Round 2 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series returns to Winton Motor Raceway for its annual outing at the technical rural Victoria circuit. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by Don Watson Transport.

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 2 PREVIEW

Jamie Westaway leads the field at Sandown Raceway

While the 2024 season has largely been billed and expected to see a battle to see who can be ‘the first to five’ with our two 4-time champions, Chris Lewis-Williams and Cameron Beller locking horns once again to see who can come out on top at the end of the year, at Round 1 at Sandown - Jamie Westaway (#28) threw down the gauntlet in his intention to be the next to get the three titles as he took a clean sweep of victories at the Melbourne circuit in February. Back in his championship winning car for this round, will Jamie be able to continue his winning ways this weekend?

Cameron Beller leads Chris Lewis-Williams in Race 1

Unveiling a new look at Sandown was reigning 2023 champion Chris Lewis-Williams (#37), with Chris coming out second overall for the weekend after improving a position each race, taking 4th, 3rd and 2nd place in the final race, the Baron of Benalla will be looking for a hometown advantage to put himself to the top of the points table at the end of the round.

Finishing third for the round was Cameron Beller in the familiar #55 car, and Cam will be eager to continue his incredible streak of 12 straight championship point race wins at the Benalla track, dating back to June 2019 when mechanical issues prevented him from completing a race that year.

Adam Brewer pushing track limits to the extreme

Adam Brewer (#3) missed out on stepping onto the podium for the first time in a long time at Sandown. Although a 4th place finish with a pair of 5ths helped him to fourth outright in the season points following the round. Adam was also strong last year at Winton and will have his sights set on getting back onto the podium this weekend.

Sitting in sixth position in the championship heading into this round is club President Mark Taubitz, who will again be steering the #66 bright yellow Tim Wolfe owned Pipecraft machine this weekend. Mark took some time acclimatising to the unfamiliar right hand drive car at Sandown, with contact in race 2 hindering his progress as he limped home to the finish and started the last race from the back of the grid before rebounding to 5th position in the final race. Some familiarity with the car heading into thew weekend will see Taubitz looking to move up the order this weekend.

Returning to the circuit at Sandown after missing the second half of 2023 is series stalwart and 944 Challenge Life Member Dick Howe (#8) Having lost none of his enthusiasm in his time away, Dick struggled with some car issues in race 1 before improving in the other races to finish sixth in the final race, leaving him sitting equal 6th on points with Taubitz and Michael Westaway at the end of Round 1.

Michael Westaway (#45) was a welcome return at Round 1 at Sandown and had a solid if relatively uneventful weekend at Sandown, with a trio of top ten places helping him to also be sitting in equal 6th place heading into the second round with Taubitz & Howe.

Mark Verdino experimenting with new methods to increase tyre wear.

Sitting in 9th position entering the Winton Round is Mark Verdino (#44) - a position not representative of his pace at Sandown where he secured second place in both races 1 & 2. In Race 3 however, he unfortunately found the Turn 4 wall while he was again sitting in second place, but the resultant damage causing him to score a DNF in that race. Mark will be eager to put that pain behind him and look for a good weekend to make amends for the points lost in the last race at Sandown..

Hailing his first outing in the 944 Challenge at Sandown as a success was Andrew Goldman (#333) Andrew only took possession of the car two weeks before the event, but a solid improvement with 13th, 11th and 9th place finishes leaves him sitting in 10th in the points going into the Winton round. Andrew will have familiarity with Winton having been around the rural circuit track many times, and he will have his eyes on some more top ten finishes this weekend.

Venturing onto another new circuit for the first time is Jared Campione (#88) Some further mechanical gremlins hampered Jared’s progress at Sandown where he secured a 9th place in Race 2 before a DNF in the final round. He has been chasing the issues in the break, and hopefully has them solved for the round this weekend.

Jim Mitchell (#46) looked to have secured his issues after two finishes in Race 1 & 2 before a DNF in the final race at Sandown - Jim has got the issues sorted and will be back on the grid at Winton sitting in 13th in the season points after Round 1.

Returning to Winton for the first time since scoring his only Pole Position and race win to date back in 2019 is Lyndon Watson (#5) in the Don Watson Transport machine. Lyndon got himself up to speed in Race 1 at Sandown and finished Race 1 in 6th position, but a touch with the Turn 4 wall in Race 2 put an end to his weekend as a broken wheel and stub axle ended his weekend early. Can he channel his 2019 performance and score another Pole position or get himself onto the top step of the podium this weekend? Time will tell!

An encouraging Saturday at Sandown for John Vainoras (#32) was curtailed by clutch issues on the outlap for the start of Race 2 with him not completing a racing lap on Sunday. Repairs in between the two rounds sees John saying the car has never felt better, and hopefully he will show some form at the tight Winton circuit this weekend as he looks to move up from 15th position in the series points.

Taking back the keys from his round 1 winning car is Tony Westaway in the Yellow & Black #50 machine. Jamie dominated at Sandown, and Tony will be hoping to show that its like Son like Father at Winton this weekend as he has his first outing fore 2024.

Meanwhile, having his first race weekend in any type of car is Nick Carpenter (#14) driving the Red ex-Peter Doherty car that was steered to a trio of podiums by the very accomplished Ryan Woods at Winton in 2023. Nick won’t have expectations of repeating Ryan’s efforts this weekend, but his test speed showed he will certainly be expected to be dicing amongst the pack this weekend!

Also returning for their first events of the 2024 season are Josh Brisbane (#56) in the stunning Viper Green machine after he missed Round 1 due to travel commitments, while Manny Mezzasalma (#10) also return after missing round 1 due to a clashing date with a wedding. Both drivers will look to have a solid weekend as they start their campaign this weekend.

Missing this weekend is Toni Andreevski (#27) who also has travel commitments preventing him from attending this round. This is a huge shame as Toni had a fantastic round at Sandown, his fuel issues largely solved, he finished the event sitting in 5th position in the Championship points. Toni will be back on track for Round 3 at the Bend in June.

A round to forget at Sandown for Joey Kellock in the #77 machine, contact in Race 2 with Mark Taubitz dropped him down the order but he regrouped to finish in 10th position, before a mistake coming on to the front straight in Race 3 ended his weekend early, with the right front wheel plucked out of the car, the repairs still requiring completion means Joey will be sorely missed from the grid this weekend but will surely be back form The Bend.

Making a very welcome return to the 944 Challenge grid at Sandown was Sam Rofe (#68) for the first time since 2017, however his return was met with teething issues, with the car overheating all weekend. A teardown in between rounds has uncovered some engine damage, resulting in Sam having to withdraw from the round to focus on repairs in time for Round 3 at the Bend.

Three more competitors missing from this round who will be in Adelaide this weekend are Andrew Jackman (#20) Carter Fox (#7) and Keith Marriner (#64) we expect to see all three at the Bend for Round 3 along with the returns of Ryan Woods (#17) and Andy Jones (#33)

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.

jack atley 22/2/24 jack atley 22/2/24

WESTAWAY TAKES ROUND 1 HONOURS AT SANDOWN

James Westaway has claimed full points on the opening round weekend, with three race wins from all three races, during Round 1 of the 2024 season, at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

Westaway saw off strong oppostion from Sidelink driver Mark Verdino who claimed 2 second place finishes, fellow former champion Cameron Beller who grabbed podiums and reigning champion Chris Lewis-Williams who secured podiums - along with earlier pole sitter, Adam Brewer, home in fifth.

James Westaway has claimed full points on the opening round weekend, with three race wins from all three races, during Round 1 of the 2024 season, at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

jack atley 17/2/24 jack atley 17/2/24

WESTAWAY WINS SEASON OPENER AT SANDOWN

2X Porsche 944 Challenge Series champion James Westaway has taken out the opening race of the 2024 season at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

Westaway saw off strong opposition from Sidelink driver Mark Verdino and fellow former champion Cameron Beller who rounded out the podium, during the first race on Day 1.

Reigning champion Chris Lewis-Williams had to settle for fourth with earlier pole sitter, Adam Brewer, home in fifth.

2X Porsche 944 Challenge Series champion James Westaway has taken out the opening race of the 2024 season at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

Westaway saw off strong oppostion from Sidelink driver Mark Verdino and fellow former champion Cameron Beller who rounded out the podium, during the first race on Day 1.

racing underway in the 2024 season at Sandown
pic by PHIL WISEWOULD

Reigning champion Chris Lewis-Williams had to settle for fourth with earlier pole sitter, Adam Brewer, home in fifth.

Race 2 and 3 begin at 9.10am and 1.05pm respectivelyon Sunday to round out the weekend

All races can be seen live and free to air here.

Mark Taubitz 14/2/24 Mark Taubitz 14/2/24

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 1 PREVIEW

17 Cars have entered for the first round of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series once again returns to Sandown Raceway to kick off the season around the historic Melbourne circuit. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by one of the new sponsors for the season, in LK Diesel Service. Welcome LK Diesel Service, and thank you for your support for this season which is shaping up to be one of the best and closest for many years!

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 1 PREVIEW

17 Cars have entered for the first round of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series once again returns to Sandown Raceway to kick off the season around the historic Melbourne circuit. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by one of the new sponsors for the season, in LK Diesel Service. Welcome to LK Diesel Service, and thank you for your support for this season which is shaping up to be one of the best and closest for many years!

The 2024 season will see a battle to see who can be ‘the first to five’ with our two 4-time champions, Chris Lewis-Williams and Cameron Beller locking horns once again to see who can come out on top at the end of the year. They might not have things all their own way however, with plenty of other drivers looking to prevent either of them from moving onto 5 titles in 2024.

Unveiling some new colours this weekend is the reigning 2023 champion Chris Lewis-Williams, who has decided to stick with his tried & true #37 for his defending season. Chris has decreed that the #1 has only once served him well (in his 2014 title defence) therefore the #1 will be vacant for this year.

His natural chief rival for 2024 will again be Cameron Beller in the familiar #55 car, and Cam will be eager to take another championship and beat CL-W to number 5. Cam hasn’t finished lower than second in the championship since 2014, an amazing statistic but he will be looking for his first post-COVID championship in 2024.

Adam Brewer (#3) returns for 2024 with a renewed vigor and hopes to see him add to his wins tally more than he did in 2023 where he finished in third position in the standings for the second straight year, with the single race win at the last round of the season at Island Magic.

After a fantastic season, Joey Kellock (#77) returns fresh from scooping the 2023 Rookie of the year award, in a year that saw him finish fourth overall in the 944 points and narrowly miss out on a race win after suffering mechanical failure while leading Race 2 at Calder Park. He will return with the 1800Lasagne machine looking to chalk one up in the W column in 2024.

Joey Kellock’s Calder misfortune brought good fortune to his stablemate Mark Verdino (#44) however, with Mark taking his debut race victory where he also took round honors at Calder Park, on his way to fifth position in the championship – a position that could have been higher if not for him missing a round during the year. Fresh from also securing the coveted ‘Most Improved’ award at the recent 2023 Awards night, Mark will also look to contend regularly for the podium this year in the Sidelink Transport machine.

Finishing in sixth position in the championship was club President Mark Taubitz. Mark struggled in the first half of the year before being handed the keys to Andrew Jackman’s Poolmaster machine while Andrew sat out a few rounds while recovering from shoulder surgery. Mark was able to run some PB times over those three events but couldn’t capitalise on a Pole Position at Sandown and was left wanting more. While he awaits his new car to be completed, Mark again gets behind the wheel of another car this weekend, as he steers the Bright Yellow #66 Pipecraft machine owned by Tim Wolfe, and will look to replicate the speed he showed at Sandown last year.

Hoping to start 2024 with a strong beginning is John Vainoras (#32) after seemingly putting his unreliability woes behind him, John will be hoping for three strong results and a good points haul to begin the year after just finishing outside the top ten in points in 2023.

Making what could be another cameo appearance will be two-time champion Jamie Westaway in the Yellow & Black #51 machine usually steered by Father Tony, who takes up crew chief duties this weekend. It’s yet to be determined how many rounds of the 2024 championship Jamie will run this year, with a 2024 Bathurst 6 Hour campaign alongside defending Class winners Andrew Jackman & Mark Taubitz in his calendar for this year, some extra 944 outings might help keep him match fit!

Returning to Sandown for Round 1 will be the very speedy Lyndon Watson (#5) who wheels out the Don Watson Transport machine in an attempt to make a good start to his 2024 championship campaign after only running a few select events in 2023, we will hopefully see Lyndon regularly on the grid in 2024.

Making his first start at Sandown this weekend is Jared Campione (#88) Jared joined after the halfway point of the 2023 season and quickly placed himself firmly in the midfield as he came to grips with the car and the circuits. Jared showed impressive debut speed and will look for a good result this weekend and will be a strong contender for Rookie of the year status in 2024.

A welcome return to the series is stalwart and 944 Challenge Life Member Dick Howe, back behind the wheel of the #8 machine after missing the last three events of 2023 as he underwent surgery. Having lost none of his enthusiasm in his time away, Dick will be keen to get onto the long straights of Sandown and score some good results to make up for missing the last few events.

Michael Westaway (#45) is also back to start the 2024 season after returning at the back of last year after repairs from the 2022 Sandown event kept the car off the circuit for 12 months. Always one to come on stronger throughout a race weekend, the familiar orange car will no doubt be up the pointy end of the field, especially at the end of the day on Sunday.

Jim Mitchell (#46) is back after a trying final few rounds at the back end of 2023 with a dropped valve in Calder Park followed by an electrical issue and engine bay fire saw him not even take to the track in the final two rounds. Always one to be contended with at Sandown the flying Martini livery car will be looking to make a good start this weekend, score some solid points and finish the race weekend without drama.

Toni Andreevski (#27) also is back on the grid to start 2024 after some fuel surge issues at the back end of 2023 hampered his efforts in the final rounds. A complete overhaul of the fuel system by the team at Jocaro should put an end to those woes, and Toni looking to get this season off on the right foot!

Making a very welcome return to the 944 Challenge grid is Sam Rofe (#68) for the first time since 2017. Sam has upgraded the car to the current spec and will be wheeling it out to resume the fun this weekend, which will hopefully yield a strong and reliable return to racing for the entire 2024 season!

Having his first outing with the 944 Challenge this weekend is Andrew Goldman. (#333) Andrew only took possession of the car two weeks ago and will have his first real laps in anger this weekend after competing in a Subaru WRX in 2023 in Sports Sedans. Hopefully, Andrew will flourish in the tightly contested one-make category this weekend as he comes to grips with his new ride!

Meanwhile, having his first race weekend in any type of car is Nick Carpenter (#14) driving the Red ex-Peter Doherty car that was steered to a trio of podiums by the very accomplished Ryan Woods at Winton in 2023. Nick is doing his OLT on Friday and will be lining up for his first car races this weekend after also just recently taking delivery of the car and is super excited to get the weekend underway! Best of luck to Nick, and all of the competitors this weekend!

We look forward to a bunch more competitors joining the series from Rounds 2 & 3 with Carter Fox a late withdrawal for this event, and due to return at Phillip Island in May, along with Andrew Jackman and Keith Marriner.

Josh Brisbane should be on track for Round 2, which will hopefully also see Ryan Woods re-join the series after his strong results there last year in the Red 944 now sold to Nick Carpenter. Manny Mezzasalma will also be back after a conflicting wedding date brought upon his absence for Round 1.

Tony Westaway will hopefully be back behind the wheel of his car for Round 2, hopefully with Jamie taking the wheel of his regular car – while we hope to also see the return of Rob Holding and Pedr James this season after being away from the circuit the past couple of years, along with the return of Andy Jones who will be back behind the wheel of his new car after his rollover at Sandown 18 months ago.

Finally, there are also rumblings of 2 past season champions thinking of dusting the cobwebs from their 944s and making a comeback to the track this year – we certainly hope that turns out to be the case!

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.

jack atley 5/2/24 jack atley 5/2/24

944 CHALLENGE SERIES WELCOMES LK Diesel Service Pty Ltd. as PARTNER

The 944 Challenge Series is thrilled to anounce that LK Diesel Service will become naming rights partner for Round 1 of the 2024 season.

Round 1 kicks off at Sandown International motor raceway on 16 February, 2024

The 944 Challenge Series is thrilled to anounce that LK Diesel Service will become naming rights partner for Round 1 of the 2024 season.

Round 1 kicks off at Sandown International motor raceway on 16 February, 2024

In 1967, LK Diesel Service began as a partnership between Lloyd Lang and Ted Kuhlwind – the L and K of LK Diesel Service Pty Ltd.

LK Diesel Service supply and service industrial diesel engines, generators and pump sets including, but not limited to mining, rail, construction and agriculture both within Australia and the Asia/Pacific rim.

To learn more about the benefits of the range of diesel engines for sale, customers from Braeside, Clayton, Dandenong, Moorabbin, Mordialloc, Oakleigh and all across Australia can contact a member of the knowledgeable team today.

Whether you need diesel engines in Brisbane or Melbourne, the team can help you.

Further information can be found at: https://www.lkdiesel.com.au/

jack atley 27/11/23 jack atley 27/11/23

CHRIS LEWIS-WILLIAMS CROWNED X4 CHAMPION OF PORSCHE 944 CHALLENGE SERIES

Tyrepower Benalla Rocket Digital driver Chris Lewis-Williams has been crowned the 2023 Porsche 944 Challenge Series champion for the fourth time, following the ‘Island Magic’ final round event of the 2023 season at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

story by PIT LANE MEDIA

Lewis-Williams previously took out the title in 2011, 2013 and 2014.

He now joins Robert Lange (2007-2010) and Cameron Beller (2016-2019) as the only other two drivers who have claimed four titles.

No one has yet achieved five.

*Chris Lewis-Williams fights with Cameron Beller*

Lewis-Williams finished the year on 447 points with Cameron Beller in second place on 415.

Adam Brewer rounded out the top 3 with 399 points.

*Chris Lewis-Williams leads Cameron Beller and Adam Brewer at Phillip Island*

On the championship victory, the man nicknamed ‘The Baron of Benalla’ said,

‘We had 6 good rounds, our worst round was Winton where we got a fourth and two thirds. But after that we sort of found some more pace and won three of the next four rounds.

I took some time away from racing for a while but when I got back into it, I found my old mechanic David Bath, rang him and said, ‘I'm going to race again, do you want to come and engineer it again’ and he said, ‘I’d love to’.

We originally built the car back in 2014 and it's such a good little series because it's quite controlled, the way we've kept the rules tight means that it's not about how much money you throw at it, it's about the driver.

So it's been a really good year.

To come back after being away for four years and to then be competitive has been kinda cool’.

The Porsche 944 Challenge Series 2024 season kicks off on 16 February 2024 at Sandown International Motor raceway.