jack atley 16/10/24 jack atley 16/10/24

BELLER CLAIMS TREASURE ISLAND BUT CHAMPIONSHIP REMAINS TIGHT AT THE TOP

Beller Motorsport driver Cameron Beller has cemented his position at the top of the 944 Challenge Series after taking out two race victories, during Round 5 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Cameron Beller is seen ahead of Jamie Westaway at Phillip Island

2 time champion Jamie Westaway claimed the remaining race win of the 3 race weekend, as competitors faced tough weather conditions at the southern Victorian circuit.

Importantly for the championship, Beller was followed home by AVI Technology driver Adam Brewer, who now moves up in the points standings too.

4 time champion Chris Lewis-Williams had a solid weekend and remains close behind in third position with one round of the Victorian State Race Series to be completed and two rounds of the overall national 944 Challenge Series remaining.

Sidelink driver Mark Verdino also had another strong round performance and he too remains in the hunt for both championships, just 23 points off the lead of the overall national series with 100 possible points on offer, per weekend.

Round 6 will see the series head back to the historic circuit of Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne on 24 - 26 October.

jack atley 7/10/24 jack atley 7/10/24

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 5 PREVIEW

17 entries for Round 5 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its first visit for the season to the famed Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

Porsche Cars Australia

Butchers Diner

Campione Electrics

EJM Advice

Stratton Finance Hobart

AVi Technology

L K Diesel Service

Don Watson Transport

Trico

888 Home Loans

Pit Lane Clothing

17 entries for Round 5 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its first visit for the season to the famed Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by Butchers Diner, and with only thirty points separating the top five in the points going into this round, all eyes will be on the front of the field to see if any of the top three on the ladder will move clear with a some wins, or will the party be spoilt by others ready to pounce and close the gap to those up front?

Westaway, Beller, Brewer, Verdino and Lewis-Williams are seen racing at Sandown

Moving to the top of the 944 Championship pointscore for the first time this season is Cameron Beller (#55) as a result of his Sandown second place finished at Sandown behind Jamie Westaway. Cameron is sitting in second place in the Vic

State Series behind Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) in the Tyrepower car who leads the Vic State Championship, but has slipped to second in the 944 Championship by virtue of the results at the Bend.

Sitting in third position in both points tables is Adam Brewer (#3) after taking a race win for the season in the final race at the last round at The Bend in June, Adam’s consistency has him only 5 points behind Lewis-Williams in the 944 points as he has finished every race of the season so far in the top 5 positions.

Moving up to fourth in both championships is Mark Verdino (#44) now sitting only two points behind Adam Brewer after gaining three points on both Brewer and Lewis-Williams at Sandown to keep him well and truly in the points hunt.

In fifth position in the points after debuting his new Apple Car at Sandown is Mark Taubitz (#71) after struggling a bit at the home of horsepower as he came to grips with the new car, though being slightly off the pace has caused him to slip 18 points behind Verdino in the points championship.

Vaulting up to sixth position in the 944 Championship – and 5th in the State Championship is Jamie Westaway# (28).

Jamie has won every race that he has finished this year, but a Winton round with no points, and a non –attendance at the Bend has put him behind the 8 ball for both championships. Could he pull of a miracle if he continues to finish and win? Time will tell...

Holding on to seventh position in the 944 Challenge points is Michael Westaway (#45), fresh with a new engine for this round Michael will be excited to see how far up the field some extra horsepower will see him go!

A late withdrawal due to contacting COVID during the week is veteran Dick Howe (#8) unfortunately Dick was entered but unable to make the trip – we wish Dick a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him at Calder Park!

Sitting in 9th position in his rookie season is Nick Carpenter behind the wheel of the #14 machine, as Nick heads to Phillip Island for his first race there also as he continues his initiation to all of the circuits! Nick will be looking to continue his learning and score some good points this weekend and see if he can move forward in the points battle.

An up and down weekend at Sandown for Tony Westaway (#50,) after spinning on his own oil at the end of race 2 while battling for 6th position gave him a DNF and a recovery from the back for the final race. A former Pole sitter at the PI circuit, Tony will be looking to get his season on track with a good result this weekend at the Island.

After a weekend to forget at Winton, the last two rounds have been more fruitful for Josh Brisbane (#56) who chalked up three finishes at Sandown and looks forward to returning to the island and getting amongst it, fresh from a successful test, Josh will have aspirations of some top ten results this weekend.

Having only his second outing with the 944 Challenge at The Bend was Peter Grant behind the wheel of the #84 car, though a head gasket failure in qualifying meant Peter missed Race 1. He had a good showing in the races on Sunday however, and will be looking forward to Phillip Island this weekend where he has plenty of miles, albeit these will be his first in a 944 this weekend.

A weekend to forget at Sandown for John Vainoras (#32) who was plagued with overheating problems all weekend. A suspect radiator found to be the cause of the problem, John will be hoping to have a good clean run this weekend and finish all three races at Phillip Island.

Back behind the wheel of his faithful #7 machine after stepping behind the wheel of the Poolmaster #20 of Andrew Jackman for the last two events, Carter Fox is looking forward to a good weekend with the aid of a fresh powerplant in his car and will have his sights on being entrenched solidly in the front half of the field after getting a taste of that at The Bend.

Back behind the wheel of car #20 for the first time since Island Magic 2023 is Andrew Jackman, armed with another Bathurst 6 Hour class victory the Poolmaster will be praying for plenty of water to help him return with a statement in the #20 machine, and his wet-weather prowess to be able to come to the fore.

Also returning to the series, after an even longer hiatus is Jack Atley – exchanging the microphone for the steering wheel, Jack will behind the wheel of the Pit Lane Clothing 944 this weekend, adorning #35 for this round. Having been away from the circuit for a couple of years, and driving a new carm Jack will be easing himself into the weekend but will be comfortable behind the wheel come Sunday and look forward to a good solid outing.

A last minute withdrawal also was Ryan Woods, we were hoping to see the #17 make a return to the series but a time ran out to get the car ready for the circuit and he will miss this event.

Also missing this weekend, but hopeful to see return soon we have Toni Andreevski, Joey Kellock, Andrew Goldman, Jared Campione, Lyndon Watson, Manny Mezzasalma and Sam Rofe.

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 29/8/24 jack atley 29/8/24

WESTAWAY WINS, BELLER CHARGES AND THE BARON STAYS ON TOP

2 time series champion Jamie Westaway has come through with a commanding ‘3 race wins from 3 races’ weekend, during round 4 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

Westaway, returning to the series after missing round 3 at The Bend in Sth Australia showed true dominance all weekend to claim the three race wins - but importantly, was followed home by Beller motorsport driver, Cameron Beller.

2 time series champion Jamie Westaway has come through with a commanding ‘3 race wins from 3 races’ weekend, during round 4 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne.

Significantly, the 3 second places by the 4 time series champion Beller was enough to see him charge to the lead of the overall National 944 challenge Series, with 3 rounds remaining.

A strong weekend by ‘The Baron of Benalla’, Chris Lewis-Williams also saw him move up a spot in the National title hunt to sit second and also cemented his spot at the top of the rankings in the State series over Beller and race winner at The Bend, Adam Brewer.

Brewer remains in a tantalisingly close third spot in both championships.

*The 944 Challenge Series field is seen at Sandown*

Round 5 will see the series return to the fast and furious Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit on 4th October 2024.

jack atley 23/8/24 jack atley 23/8/24

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 4 PREVIEW - STARS RETURN FOR ROUND 4 AS THINGS HEAT UP AT THE TOP

A healthy field of 18 Cars have entered for Round 4 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its return to the home of horsepower, Sandown Raceway in Melbourne.

This round of the Championship is proudly presented by Campione Electrics, and with only three points separating the top three in the points going into this round, all eyes will be on the front of the field to see if any of the top three on the ladder will move clear with some wins, or will the party be spoiled by others ready to pounce and close the gap to those up front?

A healthy field of 18 Cars have entered for Round 4 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its return to the home of horsepower, Sandown Raceway in Melbourne.

Topping the Championship pointscore for tor the first time in his career is Adam Brewer (#3) after taking his first race win for the season in the final race at the last round at The Bend in June, Adam’s consistency has put him at the top as he has finished every race of the season so far in the top 5 positions.

Two wins at The Bend helped Cameron Beller (#55) move up to second position in the points, now sitting only 1 point behind Adam Brewer in the tally after three rounds, Cameron making a great recovery after being spun around at the start of the final race to charge back to second position in the final race.

After a lackluster round by his standards, Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) slips to third in the points from the lead after the Tailem Bend round.

Chris, however, again showed his ability to make the best from a weekend where things aren’t going his way to still come fifth for the round after he found himself on the back foot after a component failure during qualifying curtailed his running and chance to get some much-needed laps at the new circuit.

He will look to return to familiar territory this weekend at Sandown and to move back to the top of the points.

Now tied for fourth position in the points after The Bend is Mark Taubitz – a decent running with a collection of fourth positions all weekend was ruined in the last race when he spun in oil on the last lap of the last race which relegated him to tenth position for the final race. Handing back the keys to the Yellow #66 machine he has campaigned this year, Taubitz has entered with a new number and a new car ready to debut this round, he will hope it will help him stay add to the wins he scored at Winton earlier in the year.

Tied with Taubitz on points, only 21 points adrift on the points leader Brewer is Mark Verdino (#44) fresh from finishing third for the round at the Bend, Verdino was on the podium for all three race at The Bend and had two second place finishes last time at Sandown in February. Can he go one better and add to the debut race win that he scored last year and close the gap to those at the top of the points tally? He will certainly be doing all he can to do so.

Sitting in 8th position in his rookie season is Nick Carpenter behind the wheel of the #14 machine, as Nick heads to Sandown for his first race there after missing the first round at the start of the year, Nick will be looking to continue his learning and score some good points this weekend and see if he can move forward in the points battle.

Ninth in points despite missing the round at the Bend is veteran Dick Howe (#8) Dick is keen to return to the track with his rapid #8 machine at a track he has always been competitive at, and look to make up for missing the event with a strong points haul this weekend.

Also returning to the track after missing The Bend is Jamie Westaway aboard the #28 machine. Jamie scored a clean sweep with three victories when we visited Sandown in February, and he will have intentions of a repeat performance this round and look to make up for not scoring any points in the past two rounds and to move solidly back into the top ten in points.

A solid weekend at The Bend was just what Tony Westaway needed to get his season on track, sixth position for the round with the #50 car will be a result he will hope he can improve on this weekend as he competes at Sandown for the first time this year after missing Round 1 earlier in the year.

Ruing a distributor failure at the third race at The Bend when he was looking to inherit the lead is Joey Kellock in the revamped #77 1800Lasagne machine. Joey will be looking to consolidate and secure three solid finishes and clean races this weekend, and begin the recovery of his 2024 season and to move into the top ten in points by the end of Sunday.

Currently sitting in 14th position in the points is the #88 of our round sponsor, Jared Campione. Jared performed well at the Bend but unfortunately broke a driveshaft off the start line for the final race which left him with a DNF that would have otherwise likely seen him in the top ten in points going into this round. Jared will be looking for a strong performance at his second visit to Sandown this weekend and to move up to the pointscore with some strong finishes.

After one of his most encouraging rounds to date at Winton on his last race weekend at Winton, we welcome back the #32 of John Vainoras after he missed the cross-border journey to South Australia for the last round. John will be looking to replicate and improve on that performance at Winton and to get in the mix with the rest of the field this weekend.

Returning for the first time since Sandown at Round 1 is Toni Andreevski in the purple #27 entry where he had a strong weekend just off the lead battle pack all weekend. Can Toni edge closer to the top group this weekend to add another driver to the already strong lead battle pack? Time will tell, and Toni will be hoping so!

Having his debut run with the 944 Challenge at The Bend was Peter Grant behind the wheel of the #84 car, after easing himself in during qualifying Peter showed impressive pace on his first outing at the tricky SA circuit and scored two top ten finishes, including am 8th place finish in the greasy second race. We look forward to seeing how Peter will fare as he visits each of the Victoria circuits for the first time.

Getting some points on the board to make a start on his 2024 campaign at The Bend was Josh Brisbane (#56), after a weekend to forget at Winton, Josh improved as the weekend went on, culminating in an 8th place finish in the final race.

Josh will make his first Sandown start for the year and will want to continue where he left off at The Bend with some strong Sandown results.

Carter Fox had his first round for the 2024 season at The Bend aboard the #20 Poolmaster Bayside car of Andrew Jackman as he awaited parts to complete an engine rebuild, and had his strongest performances to date, securing a Top 5 qualifying position and finishing races 2 & 3 in the top 5 also after not being able to start the first race with a mechanical issue. Carter will again wheel out the #20 car as the engine in his usual #7 ride isn’t complete yet, and will look forward to another strong result. Can he replicate the Pole Position that the #20 car scored at this round last year with Taubitz at the helm? We look forward to finding out come lunchtime on Saturday!

Also scoring his first points for the 2024 season at The Bend after missing Sandown at the start of the year and having a Winton to forget was Manny Mezzasalma (#10) A Race 1 DNF prevented him from scoring more points but a strong Sunday with a pair of top ten results was a good way to end the weekend and will have Manny looking forward to a strong round at Sandown to add to his points for the year with some more top ten finishes the aim for this weekend;

Making a very welcome return to the 944 Challenge field this weekend is West Australian Andy Tudor aboard the #15 car, now sporting a fresh new look thanks to Pit Lane Clothing.

Andy is fresh from a breakout weekend about his Audi R8 last weekend at Phillip Island and we hope this weekend is the first of many he has back on track with the 944 Challenge series!

Unfortunately we are missing our 6th & 7th placed drivers in the points chase, with Michael Westaway (#45) and Andrew Goldman (#333) both overseas and unable to participate this weekend, along with Lyndon Watson (#5) and Jim Mitchell (#46) while Sam Rofe (#68) is also unfortunately not quite ready with his new engine , and Andrew Jackman continues his shoulder recovery, both these drivers have Phillip Island earmarked for a return in October.

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

jack atley 9/6/24 jack atley 9/6/24

BREWER TAKES RACE 3 VICTORY AND CHAMPIONSHIP LEAD BUT BELLER ON TOP AT THE BEND

Avi Technology driver Adam Brewer has taken out victory in Race 3 of Round 3 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at Shell V Power Motorsport Park at the Bend in South Australia.

The win sees him now move to the top spot in the 2024 944 Challenge Series championship standings.

However, with his second place in race 3 and victories in races 1 and 2, and in claiming the overall round win, the 4 time series champion Cameron Beller has closed up to within 1 point, at the top of the leaderboard.

AVi Technology driver Adam Brewer has taken out victory in Race 3 of Round 3 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at the Bend in South Australia.

The win sees him now move to the top spot in the 2024 944 Challenge Series championship standings.

Following on from his second place in race 3 after victories in races 1 and 2, therefore claiming the overall round win, 4-time series champion Cameron Beller has closed up to within 1 point of Brewer at the top of the leaderboard.

*Cameron Beller takes the round win at The Bend*

The Championship Point Leader going into the round, Chris Lewis-Williams was on the back foot after a mechanical failure early on in qualifying minimised his track time and he was off the podium all weekend, an incident with Joey Kellock in Race 2 and a resultant spin put him down in 9th position for that race and sees him now drop back down to third in the standings, three points behind Brewer.

*Kellock and Lewis-Williams come together in Race 2*

Mark Verdino claimed third overall for the round, with a series of 3 podium finishes throughout the 3 races.

Round 4 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series will be back at Sandown Motor Raceway in Melbourne on the 23rd of August.

jack atley 8/6/24 jack atley 8/6/24

BELLER TAKES VICTORY IN RACE 1 AT THE BEND

Beller Motorsport driver Cameron Beller has come out with a strong victory in Race 1 during Round 3 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at The Shell V Power Motorsport Park in South Australia.

After taking pole position in qualifying, the No 55 was never headed, coming home ahead of Adam Brewer and Mark Verdino who completed the podium

Races 2 and 3 for the weekend will be held tomorrow.

All races can be seen LIVE and FREE TO AIR on TV via: https://www.blendline.tv/

Beller Motorsport driver Cameron Beller has come out with a strong victory in Race 1 during Round 3 of the 2024 944 Challenge Series at The Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in South Australia.

*944 Challenge Series driver Beller leads Brewer and Verdino in Race 1*

After taking pole position in qualifying, the No. 55 was never headed, coming home ahead of Adam Brewer with Mark Verdino completing the podium.

Races 2 and 3 for the weekend will be held tomorrow, Sunday 9th June.

All races can be seen LIVE and FREE TO AIR on TV via: https://www.blendline.tv/

*Cameron Beller takes victory in Race 1*

Mark Taubitz 6/6/24 Mark Taubitz 6/6/24

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 3 PREVIEW

16 Cars have entered for Round 3 of the 2024 944 Challenge Championship as the series makes its second visit to the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend after first visiting the South Australian circuit soon after its opening in 2018. This round of the Championship is proudly presented by EJM Advice.

THE PRESIDENTS REPORT - ROUND 3 PREVIEW

Planting himself at the top of the 944 Challenge Pointscore after two rounds is reigning champion Chris Lewis-Williams (#37) in the Tyrepower backed 944, after taking round honors at the last round at Winton where he took two second places before securing his first race win of the year in the final race.

Adam Brewer pushing track limits to the extreme.

Consistency thus far has helped Adam Brewer (#3) to sit in the second place in the championship battle after snaring a pair of third place finishes at Winton, Adam has finished every race in the top 5 so far in the AVi Technology machine.

Sitting in third place in the points coming into Round 3 is our other 4-time champion, Cameron Beller (#55) Cameron has been on the podium four times from six races so far but yet to get onto the top step in 2024, a gearbox issue in the first race last time out at Winton allowing Brewer to move ahead in the points battle.

Moving up to fourth position in the championship points heading into this round is club President Mark Taubitz, fresh from his best ever weekend at Winton where he was able to secure two race wins, he will again be piloting the #66 bright yellow Tim Wolfe owned Pipecraft machine this weekend.

Mark Verdino experimenting with new methods to increase tyre wear.

Also moving up on the pointscore into fifth position is Mark Verdino (#44), a trio of fourth place finishes at Winton Raceway helping the Sidelink machine move up four positions after his Round 1 DNF in the last race at Sandown had him back in ninth place after Round 1. Mark will be jetting back and forth to South Australia over the weekend, so will be doing all he can to net some strong results from his commitment for his efforts this weekend.

Sitting just two points out of the top five in the points is Michael Westaway, (#45) having one of his best starts to the season Michael has finished every race in the top ten and also showing the benefit of consistency in the 944 Championship.

Also proving the benefit of consistency is Andrew Goldman, who sits in seventh position in the #333 Carpet Shed 944. Andrew has been on a solid improvement curve after finishing the Winton weekend with four consecutive ninth place finishes as he continues his acclimatisation to the 944.

Having his debut race weekend at Winton was Nick Carpenter (#14) driving the Red ex-Peter Doherty car, Nick had a solid weekend at Winton where he recorded a trio of eight places across the weekend as he had himself in the mix of the action across the weekend, and will look to take the opportunity of some of his rivals being absent this weekend and move toward the top ten in points.

Returning to the track after missing the round at Winton is Joey Kellock (#77), fresh with a new look to the 1800Lasagne machine this weekend, there will be no missing Joey as he looks to make up for the missing round and record a strong weekend to get his season back on track the weekend at Tailem Bend.

Also returning after missing the round at Winton is Jared Campione (#88) in the Campione Electrics car. Jared will be hoping that his engine misfire woes that hampered him at Sandown have been cured and that he can also record a strong weekend and score some top ten finishes over the weekend.

Back behind the wheel of car #50 is Tony Westaway, after letting son Jamie behind the wheel for Sunday at Winton after Jamie’s clutch failure in Race 1. With Jamie a late withdrawal and being away from the track this weekend, Tony should be able to finish all races behind the wheel of his own car, with his past experience at the circuit in his 944 something that will hopefully help him start the weekend on the right foot.

Looking to get their seasons on track after a point-less round at Winton are Manny Mezzasalma (#10) and Josh Brisbane (#56) after both drivers had the same misfortune befall them, with a Race 1 DNF for both culminating in contact when Manny unfortunately spun, just clipping Josh at the end of Race 2, ending both of their weekends early. They will both be wanting to finish all three races and get some solid points this weekend at The Bend.

Having his first venture out on circuit this weekend is Carter Fox, though he will be driving the #20 Poolmaster Bayside car this weekend instead of his usual #7 machine, as he waits for the final assembly of his engine which caused unreliability issues for Fox in the back half of the 2023 season. Carter will look to get some good results on the board this round as he prepares to get back behind the wheel of his regular mount at Sandown when Andrew Jackman will get back into his own car after some follow up shoulder surgery.

Two new entries for this weekend, with Damon Woods, nephew of Ryan taking over the #17 944 this weekend. Damon has proven his skill behind the wheel of Formula Fords over the last couple of seasons and will look to translate those to the 944 Challenge – while Peter Grant takes over the Red #84 944 as he ventures out for his first race weekend behind the wheel of his new car this weekend at the Bend.

A few drivers are missing this weekend, Jamie Westaway was a late withdrawal from the event , along with Dick Howe (#8) with both drivers expected to return at Sandown for Round 4 along with Andrew Jackman as Carter Fox gets back behind the wheel of his regular car, and Sam Rofe (#68) who just ran out of time to get the engine repairs to his car complete in time for this weekend.

Jim Mitchell(#46) and John Vainoras (#32) are also hopefully going to be back at Sandown, as well as Lyndon Watson (#5) Toni Andreevski (#27) and the return of Keith Marriner (#64) and Andrew Jones (#33) while the rumour mill is swirling that we may see the return of the West Australian cartel drivers in Tim Wolfe (#66) and Andy Tudor! (#15)

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

LEWIS-WILLIAMS WINS THE WEEKEND AT WINTON

Proving patience is important in racing, Chris Lewis-Williams capitalised on a good start to take the lead off the line in the third and final race of the weekend at Winton ahead of Mark Taubitz.

Chris stayed cool to hold his line at the track that is notoriously tricky to pass at, and was able to defend the lead from both Mark Taubitz, and then Cameron Beller after the former spun in his attempt to find a way through.

Chris Lewis-Williams gets the advantage on Mark Taubitz as the field negotiates Turn 4. PIC: Phil Wisewould.

Lewis-Williams secured the round win by virtue of his race 3 win after two second place finishes in races 1 & 2. while Taubitz recovered to 7th place after his mishap, which was good enough for him to come second for the round overall.

Beller looked high and low to get past Lewis-Williams, but had to settle for second place, narrowly ahead of Adam Brewer, with Mark Verdino a bit further back in fourth place after running wide on the exit of Turn 10.

Beller shadowed Lewis-Williams but could not find a way past. PIC: Phil Wisewould

Lyndon Watson was fifth in the Don Watson transport machine ahead of Michael Westaway, the recovering Taubitz, Nick Carpenter, Andrew Goldman and John Vainoras.

Lewis-Williams takes the points lead after Jamie Westaway scored no points for the weekend, with Adam Brewer second ahead of Cameron Beller in both point scores. Mark Taubitz moves to fourth in the 944 Series points ahead of Mark Verdino, with the two swapping positions in the ladder in the Vic State Series Pointscore.

Next Stop: Shell Motorsport The Bend Raceway in Tailem Bend, South Australia on June 7-9!