Harri Jones has laid an early marker as the man to beat in the 2024 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, sweeping round three of the championship at Hidden Valley Raceway in one of his most dominant displays yet.
The 2022 Carrera Cup champion scored pole and all three race wins in commanding fashion in the Territory, powering his Hastings Deering CAT / Porsche Centre Melbourne Porsche 992 GT3 Cup Car to his second win of the season and third of his career.
It also extends his title lead after three rounds of the championship as the series heads to Sydney for Round 4 next month.
Dale Wood continued his strong territory run, backing up victories in 2022 and 2023 with second overall in his Connected Spaces / Earl Bamber Motorsport entry.
Jackson Walls finished fourth and third, respectively, in the Sunday races to ensure he walked away with a podium finish to continue his push towards the championship lead.
Flack swept all three races in SP Tools Pro-Am to claim his third round win in succession this year, while Rodney Jane returned to the podium with a strong second overall in his Bob Jane T-Marts Sonic racer.
Meanwhile, Matt Slavin stood on the podium for the first time in his career, scoring third overall in his Ares Porsche run by Ashley Seward Motorsport.
Sunday saw two highly competitive races that commenced with the 45-minute Enduro Cup race in the morning.
There, Jones launched from pole position and after seeing off Dale Wood at turn one, pulled away to execute a near-flawless performance to claim his second win of the weekend and fourth of the year in the Equity One Professional class.
Wood improved one further from his Saturday result to grab second and continue his strong recent form in the Top End, while Dylan O’Keeffe was third – having jumped Jackson Walls on the run to turn one only to spend the remainder of the race fending off the Objective racer in a fight for third.
Bayley Hall finished fifth having passed Fabian Coulthard for the spot mid-race, while Coulthard followed him home in the BWT Porsche.
David Wall was a solid seventh in front of Marco Giltrap, while the battle of the race waged behind for a coveted spot in the top-10.
Bottled up behind Nash Norris for much of the race, a furious fight saw the STM racer holding off Ryder Quinn, the Sonic duo of Angelo Mouzouris and Marcos Flack, Glen Wood and Tom McLennan in a huge six-car fight.
Quinn finally squeezed his way past to grab the spot and ninth at the line, while in a crazy series of laps Flack was able to work his way to 10th, with Morris slipping to 11th at the line – followed home by Mouzouris.
David Russell was a disappointed 14th having ran his car off the road at turn one – having run in the top five early.
In SP Tools Pro-Am, Adrian Flack continued his winning streak with a comprehensive performance, while Matt Slavin continued to gain ground to finish second.
Matt Belford finally had some Darwin luck go his way en route to third position, while Rodney Jane slipped from second to fourth at the line following a spin early in the race – Marc Cini completing the class runners.
The sprint race on Sunday afternoon was a more straightforward affair, Jones again powering away from pole position to sweep the weekend.
Wood and Walls followed, while Bayley Hall and Dylan O’Keeffe completed the top five.
David Russell completed a sound recovery to sixth position following his race two dramas while Fabian Coulthard and David Wall battled to the line – as they had done for much of the weekend.
Nash Morris and Ryder Quinn completed the top-10 finishers in a fast-paced race.
Flack claimed the Pro-Am win, while Rodney Jane, Matt Slavin and Matt Belford crossed the line locked together for second, third and fourth.
Following his clean sweep in Darwin, Harri Jones provisionally takes a 60-point championship lead into the next round of Carrera Cup, to be held at Sydney Motorsport Park in July.
Jackson Walls has climbed to second in the championship and Dale Wood to third, while Taupo winner David Russell leaves the Territory in fourth.
Dylan O’Keeffe holds down fifth in the championship, while Adrian Flack holds a commanding SP Tools Pro-Am lead, Matt Slavin now second in the standings and Rodney Jane third.
Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship returns at the Sydney SuperNight event on July 19-21.
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