The Bend OTR Supersprint Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Round 4

Published on the 22nd of August 2023 by McElrea Racing

Over the last 6 years we have had plenty of success but also some mixed results at The Bend, so being the optimistic folks we are, we were confident of more success for our drivers at the windy South Australian holiday destination.

Ryder's car had been repaired after it’s Darwin incident, so he had re-joined his MR teammates Jackson, Bayley, Christian and Tim for a test here earlier in the month.

Christian Pancione

4th, 4th, 3rd - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Jackson Walls

2nd, 2nd, 11th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Bayley Hall

6th, 7th, 5th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Ryder Quinn

16th, 14th, DNF - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro Class'

Tim Miles

6th, 7th, 6th - Porsche Carrera Cup Australia 'Pro-Am Class'

Summary

We are extremely proud of Christian, Jackson and Bayley for all qualifying in the top five, then taking 3rd, 4th and 5th for the round. This marked a long overdue podium for ‘Pancho’ and the beginning of a new era of racing luck. The pace that Ryder is showing with top 3 pace is extremely impressive in only his third Carrera Cup weekend. Tim had his best weekend for a while with the highlight being a fair but fierce battle with Belford in race 1.

Christian qualified 4th, unfortunately lost a spot to Hedge off the start before passing O’Keeffe for 4th in race 1 then he backed that up by scoring the third fastest lap-time in race 2. In race 3 he had an energetic dice with Vidau, eventually capturing 3rd and his first podium of the season.

Jackson qualified 3rd, and got by O’Keeffe in race 1 to take 2nd and chased Hedge till the end. In race 2 he got an even start but despite ultimately having a best lap quicker than Hedge, didn’t quite have enough pace in the early laps. In race 3 he took the fastest lap of the race on lap 6 before he went for a bold move on the last lap which dropped him from 2nd to 11th.

Bayley qualified 5th, had great starts but wasn’t able to capitalise to gain track position. He did a great job represented by the second fastest lap time in race 2 on lap 17 of a 20 lap race! In race 3 he had an epic battle with Supercars legend Garth Tander and he continues to show his talent and pace beating many far more experienced Porsche racers.

Ryder qualified 15th, he was the 3rd fastest car on track in race 1 and in race 2 proved his amazing evolution and progress to beat 2 former Carrera Cup champions Davison and Coulthard. In race 3 he got a good start and was looking to stay out of trouble before a pileup directly in front of him at turn 1 took him out with 5 other cars.

Tim qualified 5th before losing a place in race 1 to take 6th in race 1. In race 2 he sustained contact from Pro-Am mate Studdert, coming off second best in the encounter. Race 3 was a quieter affair chasing down Jane while staying clear of Hall and Belford.

Many thanks to the MR drivers, their families, sponsors and supporters and of course the AMRC (awesome MR crew). Next up is Porsche Carrera Cup North America at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Carrera Cup Australia at Sandown, both on the weekend of 16-17 September.