Thomas Sargent has won the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series season. Thomas Sargent has won the 2022 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series after a thrilling season finale at the Island Magic.
Entering the final round of the season with a lead over title rival Ryan Wood, Sargent did everything he had to do across both of the weekend’s races to claim the overall victory.
After six rounds, just 19 points separated the two drivers in the epic season-long battle that came to a close at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
Although he didn’t win the title, Wood battled gallantly until the very end with the New Zealander winning both races of the final round.
However, Sargent finished right behind Wood in both races to ultimately secure the title – the weekend of results highlighting an incredible season that included top two finishes in every race.
Having won seven races overall, Sargent was thrilled to leave Phillip Island with the title after an intense season with Wood.
“It has been a very, very hard-fought year, it was a late year due to COVID we started quite late and since then has been very awesome to have all this racing at the end of the year,” Sargent said.
“The racing has been awesome between Ryan and I and the rest of the field, so I’ve learnt so much about Porsche driving and race craft.
“I have had a great time and I’m super stoked to have wrapped up the championship, it’s something we want to achieve and it’s been amazing to do it with the CHE Racing Team again.
“This car has a lot of pedigree having won the Carrera Cup championship with Cameron and now the Sprint Challenge with myself.
“That was one good thing coming into this year. We knew where we stood with the car and the team, so it came down to me and it showed in the end. It’s great to add another championship to that car’s record.”
Rounding out the one-make series’ top three for the season was Aaron Shields, who enjoyed a tight tussle with Courtney Prince throughout the year as both drivers finished with a podium each.
In the Morris Finance Pro-Am Class, Brett Boulton ended up claiming the title over Sam Shahin by 123 points after an impressive P4 and runner-up finish capped off his strong season, while Andrew Goldie rounded out the top three.
“I had to bring it home in that last race, so the pressure was off and it was such good fun,” Boulton said.
“The guys just said go out and have some fun and that’s what we did, it was great.
“We knew we needed consistency to win the Championship, Sam (Shahin) is an awesome driver, does plenty of laps and racing, so for us it was just about being there, getting as many wins as possible, being consistent.
“I’m really proud of my driving considering I haven’t been in the car for two years. It’s great to get the championship third time lucky, I knew I had to get the job done otherwise it would have been a bit embarrassing, but it’s an awesome team and I couldn’t be happier.”
In Class B, it was a similar outcome to the overall title fight as Jason Li won the final two races of the year, but fell just short of eventual winner Lachlan Harburg by 25 points.
Having held a comfortable lead heading into the final round, Harburg’s two fourth places were enough for him to secure the title, while Li managed to leapfrog Nathan Sticklen by one point to finish second for the year.
Click here to view the full results from the weekend.
The calendar for the 2023 Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia Series will be released in the coming months.
Keyword: Sargent claims Porsche Series win