Hamish Hardeman has claimed an impressive clean sweep of Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Pirelli race wins at Winton Motor Raceway; while Jim Campbell scored his maiden Elite Class round victory and Danny Stutterd continued his Class B stronghold.
Hardeman followed his dominant Saturday performance, which included pole position and an 18.5 second victory in the opening Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race, with convincing victories in Sunday’s two 12 lap sprint races on a day that saw former points leader Jaxon Evans’ title prospects take a hit.
In race one, front-row starters Hardeman and Evans entered the opening chicane side-by-side; the pair touched and Evans spun and ultimately retired from the race after subsequent contact with following cars – an accident that also forced the retirement of Brian Finn, Ross McGregor and Anthony Gilbertson, handing Hardeman the upper hand in the standings.
Hardeman continued his streak in race three, taking victory over Evans in second, who executed an impressive charge through the field to place second from the rear of the grid.
Hardeman now holds a 36 point lead in the outright standings from Evans and Klarich.
“This was my best performance of the year so far. We worked out a really good set up and the car got better every race. I was really confident with what was underneath me,” said Hardeman, who set a new lap record in race three, improving on the previous best time he set on Saturday.
“I’m really happy to get the points lead; it really boosts my confidence. I’m stoked to be in this position and I feel I can continue this performance for the rest of the year.”
Jake Klarich, who scored a season-high result of second in race two, claimed his best round result of second at Winton from Evans in third.
Elite Class runner Campbell celebrated his maiden class round victory with a strong and consistent effort in all three Winton races.
After placing fourth in class in Saturday’s endurance race, Campbell took two class wins on Sunday to edge out class points leader Tim Miles and David Ryan for the top step of the Elite Class podium.
“It was great to get the two class wins today. Tim Miles was having a good go in race two and David Ryan was right behind me in race three so I couldn’t relax in either race today. I had to work hard for it, so it was good to get this result,” said Campbell.
Miles placed second for the round in the Elite Class from Ryan in third, with Sam Shahin narrowly missing out on his second class podium result of the season.
Stutterd continued his Class B dominance with a clean sweep of race wins; the series rookie claiming his fifth, sixth and seventh class race win of the season.
“I’m having a ball. There’s really good competition with the other guys. We’ve done some testing here, Richard Muscat has been helping me out and the track really suits us. I love Winton and it’s great to get another Class B win here this weekend,” said Stutterd.
Shane Barwood placed second for the round in Class B and was joined on the podium by Michael Tsigeridis in third.
While Hardeman moves to the outright and Professional Class points lead, Miles extended his Elite Class points lead at Winton, now sitting 45 points ahead of Shahin, with Anthony Gilbertson, Ryan and Brian Finn in a close battle for third, fourth and fifth in class.
Stutterd meanwhile holds a convincing 116 point lead in the Class B standings from Tsigeridis and Barwood.
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Australia presented by Pirelli will next race at Sydney Motorsport Park on July 01-03 for the fourth round of the six-round series.
Race 2 Results
1. #10 Hamish Hardeman (Professional Class) Sonic/Arris Property Group, 12 laps – 22:10.2511s
2. #95 Jake Klarich (Professional Class) Super Rooster, 12 laps – 22:21.2344s
3. #72 Jim Campbell (Elite Class) Power Street Racing, 12 laps – 22:26.0215s
4. #30 David Ryan (Elite Class) Wrightlands GAM Soltronic, 12 laps – 22:27.3232s
5. #6 Michael Stillwell (Elite Class) Logicar Australia, 12 laps – 22:35.9709s
6. 313 Sam Shahin (Elite Class) HTFU, 12 laps – 22:40.3457s
7. #16 Chris Stillwell (Elite Class) Stillwell Group, 12 laps – 22:46.0773s
8. #32 Daniel Stutterd (Class B) FREEM, 12 laps – 23:01.7363s
9. #21 Shane Barwood (Class B) Melbourne Orthopaedic Group, 12 laps – 23:03.0312s
10. #81 Michael Tsigeridis (Class B) Hunter French Real Estate, 12 laps – 23:30.6251s
11. #4 Tim Miles (Elite Class) CSF Radiators / Miles Advisory, 12 laps – 23:40.8759s
DNF #91 Jaxon Evans (Professional Class) Simulate-It/Willship
DNF #82 Brian Finn (Elite Class) Laser 3D/Force Accessories
DNF #19 Anthony Gilbertson (Elite Class) Motiv8 Racing / Hallmark Homes
DNF #99 Ross McGregor (Elite Class) Southern Star Windows
Race 3 Results
1. #10 Hamish Hardeman (Professional Class) Sonic / Arris Property Group, 12 laps – 16:40.3254s
2. #91 Jaxon Evans (Professional Class) Simulate-It/Willship, 12 laps – 16:44.2024s
3. #95 Jake Klarich (Professional Class) Super Rooster, 12 laps – 16:46.3840s
4. #72 Jim Campbell (Elite Class) Power Street Racing, 12 laps – 17:05.5674s
5. #13 Sam Shahin (Elite Class) HTFU, 12 laps – 17:08.6108s
6. #4 Tim Miles (Elite Class) CSF Radiators / Miles Advisory, 12 laps – 17:10.0770s
7. #19 Anthony Gilbertson (Elite Class) Motiv8 Racing / Hallmark Homes, 12 laps – 17:17.9804s
8. #6 Michael Stillwell (Elite Class) Logicar Australia, 12 laps – 17:18.3661s
9. #16 Chris Stillwell (Elite Class) Stillwell Group , 12 laps – 17:18.9286s
10. #30 David Ryan (Elite Class) Wrightlands GAM Soltronic, 12 laps – 17:31.2689s
11. #82 Brian Finn (Elite Class) Laser 3D/Force Accessories, 12 laps – 17:44.0690s
12. #32 Daniel Stutterd (Class B) FREEM, 12 laps – 17:57.9599s
13. #21 Shane Barwood (Class B) Melbourne Orthopaedic Group, 11 laps – 16:40.9233s
14. #81 Michael Tsigeridis (Class B) Hunter French Real Estate, 11 laps – 16:44.0973s
15. #99 Ross McGregor (Elite Class) Southern Star Windows, 11 laps – 17:06.8731s