Season Review: Porsche Motorsport in Australia

Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship

Harri Jones raced his way into the record books in 2024, claiming his second Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship in style, two years after claiming his first.

Returning from a season in Europe, competing in Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and Carrera Cup Germany, it was a different Jones racing in 2024 to the one who claimed his first title two years earlier: while he was still the same consistent and professional driver, his one-lap pace was transformed and so was his aggression. Here was the complete race driver.

A strong start at the Grand Prix in Melbourne was followed up by an inconsistent weekend in Taupo, New Zealand, but it was in Darwin where everything gelled. He won round three, won round four in Sydney with a sweep and by the time he claimed his record-equalling seventh straight race win at Sandown Raceway in September it looked very unlikely he was going to lose it.

Four round victories in a row ensured that by the third and final race of the Gold Coast’s penultimate round in October, Jones had more than enough points in hand to ensure that he wouldn’t be beaten for the championship in the Adelaide finale’.

Jones’ title was significant, becoming just the second ever driver to claim more than one Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship, Porsche legend Craig Baird the first. It was also the first title for the rebuilt Porsche Centre Melbourne Motorsport team that has been transformed over the last two seasons into a powerhouse squad.

Second in the championship would go the way of David Russell, driving for the single-car TekworkX squad following a relatively late deal prior to the start of the season. The epitome of consistency as always, Russell’s highlight came early in the year when he finally claimed his maiden Carrera Cup round victory, winning the weekend at Taupo to break his streak of having the most Carrera Cup trophies without any of them saying Number 1 on them. Further race wins at Bathurst entrenched him into the runner-up spot, the second time he’s achieved that in Carrera Cup.

Third went down to the wire in Adelaide’s finale; Dylan O’Keeffe (GWR Australia) and Jackson Walls (Objective Racing) sparring over the final spot on the podium until the final race of the year. While Walls won two races to O’Keeffe’s none, it was the latter who came out marginally in front, breaking a run of fourth-placed championship finishes achieved in the last two years.

Walls’ could take strong consolation that he claimed the Michelin Junior championship and the Enduro Cup crown for the first time in his career, as the Sydney driver looks to move into Supercars racing in 2025.

There were plenty of other highlights, too. Bayley Hall finished fifth and repeated his 2023 Gold Coast success by winning the Surfers Paradise round again, this time winning all three races. Hall’s four race wins for the year were second only to Jones’.

Dale Wood claimed the final round in Adelaide, like Hall in Queensland backing up his own success at the venue a year prior. It ensured that outgoing drivers’ champions Earl Bamber Motorsport claimed at least one round win this year – though the team still claimed the team’s trophy.

Teenager Marcos Flack was a shock winner in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix, becoming the second youngest race winner in Carrera Cup Australia history when he was elevated to victory in race three.

In Pro-Am, Adrian Flack was the man to beat once again, but this time he took his winning to an entirely new level.

The Queenslander claimed every race bar three in 2024, dropping only the first race at the Australian Grand Prix, race two at Sandown and then race one on the Gold Coast. He won every round – the first time that had been done – and scored seven of the eight pole position awards on offer. All of them re-wrote existing championship records for the Pro-Am class in Carrera Cup Australia.

It was a bumper year for Porsche Motorsport in Australia.

Matt Slavin’s rookie season resulted in second place in Pro-Am, his consistency and growing speed throughout the year ensuring he edged out Rodney Jane on the podium in the final round. Slavin’s highlights included podium finishes at the final three rounds, charging home at Bathurst, Gold Coast and Adelaide, respectively, as his debut season concluded.

Rodney Jane finished third in the championship in his strongest year yet since his return to the championship, with wins at the Grand Prix and at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, key highlights.

The 2024 season was another large one for Carrera Cup Australia, with more than 35 competitors racing across the season. A 29-strong field in Adelaide was the largest of the year, while incredibly competitive racing was again a highlight.

The season also saw the championship race internationally for just the second ever time; shipping across the Tasman sea to compete at Taupo Motorsport Park in New Zealand in April 2024. The enormous logistical exercise saw 19 cars make the trip, to be joined by locals Sam Fillmore and Rick Armstrong at the event.

The 2024 season saw eight rounds across the two countries, and races in five Australian states as the continued strength of one-make Porsche racing was demonstrated again and again throughout the season.

Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia

Oscar Targett's pathway to the 2024 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series title didn’t begin at the start of the season – it began a full twelve months earlier.

Laying in a hospital bed, aged just 16 and recovering from open heart surgery, Targett had to miss the opening round of the 2023 championship. He made his debut at Round 2, won later in the year and ultimately finished runner-up to Marco Giltrap in the series race – a feat that set him up to win the ultimate prize a year later.  

Targett became the youngest ever Sprint Challenge Australia champion via a year that was both consistent and fast, with an incredible win on the streets of Townsville – the series first street circuit race – anchoring his season.

Targett’s closest rivals came from a pair of New Zealander’s in the form of Brock Gilchrist, who finished second, and Clay Osborne who was third. Both were race winners across the season, with Gilchrist’s persistent hassling of Targett in Tasmania a clear highlight.

The Pro-Am title went the way of Lachlan Harburg, who sealed his second one-make Porsche title (he won Class B two years ago) by a consistent season that saw him win the title without claiming a race win. He led home Andrew Georgiadis, who finished second in his rookie season, and the ever-quick Ramu Farrell.

Class B went the way of Jacque Jarjo, who claimed his championship with a round to spare, enabling him to step up a category in the Sydney season finale.

The 2024 season will be remembered for large grids, highly competitive racing at every round and another year where Porsche’s second-tier series in Australia provided first-class racing.

Monochrome GT4 Australia   

THE Porsche Cayman 718 GT4 was the car to have in the ever-expanding Monochrome GT4 Australia ranks this year, Shane Smollen and Lachlan Mineeff successfully defending their 2023 title this year.

Driving a bright yellow and blue example entered by Method Motorsport, the pair claimed the Pro-Am Cup in style for the second year running, claiming four of the 12 races contested.

A second-brand new car arrived in Australia for TekworkX Motorsport, who fielded Zoe Wood and Daniel Jileson in the car for the remaining two rounds – claiming one Pro-Am cup race win in style having upgraded from a previous generation Cayman.

Several more of the GT4-specification machines are expected to contest the 2025 series, which continues to grow apace.