Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Round 5

Sydney Motorsport Park

Published on Wednesday, 30th of September 2026

The awesome MR crew headed to Sydney Motorsport Park for the penultimate round of the Michelin Sprint Challenge season with plenty to play for.

Gilbo had the opportunity to wrap-up the Pro-Am championship with a round to spare, while Tim and Kent were both looking to build on their strong Townsville form. In Pro, Daniel and Kamal were both determined to turn their obvious pace into the results we know they are capable of.

Sydney Motorsport Park always produces incredibly close racing and qualifying proved exactly that, with the top four Pro cars covered by just 0.0605 seconds. Daniel was right in the middle of it in 4th, while Gilbo continued his season-long qualifying dominance with another Pro-Am pole.

McElrea Racing crew at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Daniel Quimby #24

Pro, Michelin Junior

Louis Kapitsas

Marc Jones

4^th

Daniel was properly on it from qualifying, putting the FCL Transport Porsche 4th and only 0.0605 seconds from pole in the closest top-four qualifying result in Sprint Challenge history. He backed that up with an excellent 4th in race 1.

Race 2 was a little tougher and Daniel finished 7th, but he saved his best drive for the 45-minute finale. He spent much of the race battling at the front of the Pro pack and was in podium contention before finishing a very strong 4th, another clear indication that Daniel has the pace to fight at the front.

Daniel Quimby #24 racing at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Kamal Mrad #7

Pro, Michelin Junior

Louis Kapitsas

Lewis Dickerson

9^th

Kamal qualified 8th in another incredibly tight Pro field and was right in the middle of the battle for the top 10 in race 1 before a puncture on lap 10 forced him into pit lane and dropped him off the lead lap.

Race 2 was a much cleaner run and he brought the car home 9th. In the 45-minute final race Kamal was again fighting inside the top 10 before he got touched by Avern and they had almost identical spins at turn 4. Kamal recovered well and worked his way back to 9th in Pro by the finish.

Kamal Mrad #7 racing at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Anthony Gilbertson #19

Pro-Am

Leigh Geyer

Stewart Notley-Smith

DNF

3^rd

Gilbo kicked off another weekend in familiar fashion with Pro-Am pole, more than a second clear of his nearest class rival. He controlled race 1 from lights to flag and finished an impressive 9th outright for another Pro-Am win.

Race 2 looked set to be more of the same until a right-rear wheel bearing failure forced him into pit lane and ended his race.

Starting the final race from the rear, Gilbo produced one of his best drives of the year, starting with a blinder start then charging all the way back to 9th outright and taking another Pro-Am victory. Despite the race 2 DNF he salvaged 3rd for the round, and won his second Pro-Am championship in Sprint Challenge.

Anthony Gilbertson #19 racing at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Kent Leicester #14

Pro-Am

Hayden Morris

Zac Schwalm

DNF

7^th

Kent qualified 5th in Pro-Am and drove a solid race 1 to move forward to 4th. He continued that progress in race 2, keeping his nose clean while others had trouble and bringing the car home 3rd in class for his third Pro-Am podium of the season.

Kent was looking to finish another strong weekend in race 3 but unfortunately his run ended early with a wheel bearing failure causing a DNF. It was still another weekend where his pace and consistency showed just how far he has come since starting circuit racing last year.

Kent Leicester #14 racing at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Tim Farrell #51

Pro-Am

Hayden Morris

Jeremy Mattea

DNS

8^th

After his outstanding first Sprint Challenge podium in Townsville, Tim again showed his improving speed by qualifying 3rd in Pro-Am. Unfortunately race 1 unravelled early when he found the gravel at turn 1 on lap 2, bringing out the safety car and dropping him to the rear of the field.

He was classified 8th in Pro-Am, but due to engine issues, unfortunately did not take part in either of Sunday’s races, making it a frustrating end to what had started as another promising weekend.

Tim Farrell #51 racing at Sydney Motorsport Park 2026

Team Corner

Summary

Sydney was certainly a weekend of mixed emotions for the MR crew, with Gilbo winning MR’s 25th championship the absolute highlight.

Daniel was the standout on the Pro side of the garage. Qualifying just six hundredths from pole and finishing 4th twice showed again that he now has genuine front-running pace. Kamal had another weekend where the final results didn’t tell the full story, with his race 1 puncture and race 3 spin taking away opportunities to move further forward.

In Pro-Am, Gilbo’s weekend was almost the complete story of his season - fast, consistent and very hard to beat when the car stayed underneath him! Pole and two more race wins were outstanding, while the wheel-bearing failure in race 2 unfortunately cost him a shot at another round victory. Even after starting race 3 from the rear, he drove all the way back to the class win, which was a mighty impressive way to finish the weekend.

Kent grabbed another well-deserved podium in race 2 and continues to show impressive development but he was robbed by the mysterious rear wheel bearing failure in race 3 which also befell Gilbo in race 2. Tim’s weekend was frustrating after his great Townsville result, with his engine issues ending any chance of carrying that momentum through the rest of the round.

Not everything went our way in Sydney, but once again all five drivers showed enough pace to give the awesome MR crew plenty of confidence heading to the final round at Sandown. Bring it on!