CRUCIAL SURFERS FIGHT TO SET CHAMPIONSHIP TONE FOR CARRERA CUP SHOWDOWN

MEDIA RELEASE/Porsche Motorsport Australia – Photos: Velocity Magazine

– Gold Coast round to set the tone for title showdown in Equity-One Pro, Pro-Am classes
– Championship lead up for grabs in both categories this weekend
– Home-town hero returns home as top Michelin Junor with back-to-back Gold Coast wins

THE Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship returns to the streets of Surfers Paradise this week for perhaps it’s most consequential trip to Queensland’s Gold Coast in years.

Save for the seasons where the Surfers Paradise event served as the championship finale, the 2025 visit may prove to be one of the most important in years given the pulsating battle for both the Equity-One Pro and the Pro-Am championships unfolding this year, setting the tone for Adelaide’s championship showdown in late November.

It comes at a venue famous for its unpredictability and offering the finest line between success and the unforgiving concrete barriers that line its 3.2km.

Perhaps the driver most fired up to tackle the Surfers streets this weekend is home-town hero Bayley Hall, who has dominated the two most recent visits to the circuit he grew up at.

Porsche Motosport Australia Carrera Cupat Bathurst – click to see the full gallery

He won two of the three races to claim his maiden Carrera Cup round victory in 2023 before backing that up to claim pole and three wins to take the weekend again last year.

Recently named the Porsche Michelin Junior champion for 2025, Hall has added motivation for success having lost third place in the Pro class championship to Bathurst winner David Russell last time out.

Russell was runner-up to Hall last year offering the prospect of the two form drivers at the circuit – and two of the quickest in the championship – going head-to-head once again.

Rolled into that mix will be the battle for the outright lead between Dylan O’Keeffe and Harri Jones, who are engaged in one of the most unpredictable title battles in Carrera Cup’s 21-year history in Australia this year.

Jones led the title following round one, before O’Keeffe grabbed it for the first time in Darwin the next round.

Domination across Queensland Raceway and The Bend saw Jones reclaim top spot before a borderline disastrous weekend on the Mountain, coupled with O’Keeffe’s podium finish, returned the lead back to the GWR / RAM Motorsport driver.

The margin stands at 69 points with 181 up for grabs on the Gold Coast and the same in Adelaide’s season finale, meaning any result remains on the table.

Jones does, however, remain in control of the Equity-One Pro class Enduro Cup standings: holding a 10-point lead over O’Keeffe in the championship scored across the series’ longer, 45-minute races.

In Pro-Am, things are even tighter with Rodney Jane having watch his championship lead whittled down to just 37 points by the flying Matt Belford, who has claimed six wins in his last 12 races.

That margin becomes even closer when the Pro-Am category’s ability to drop their worst round of the year is considered; and brings third-placed Matt Slavin into the mix as well with all three covered by less than the value of one race win on corrected scores.

Belford also leads the Enduro Cup standings with two longer-distance races remaining this year.

The Gold Coast field is comprised of 24 cars, 16 in Equity-One Pro and 8 in the Pro-Am class.

Returning to the grid this weekend will be the DNA Autosport prepared entry of Sydneysider Jacque Jarjo – who burst onto the Carrera Cup landscape in the opening round this year by claiming a Pro-Am class win on his racing debut.

Dean Cook also returns to the GWR Australia / RAM Motorsport Dexion squad fresh from a Carrera Cup Asia Singapore podium finish.

Absent from the Gold Coast event will be Sam Shahin – who’s car was too badly damaged in his Bathurst accident to be ready in time for the round – and Scott Taylor, who has elected to remain on the sidelines while recovering from an accident in another category at Mount Panorama.

Action commences on Friday at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 with a pair of practice sessions, prior to qualifying and the opening race on Saturday.

Sunday morning will see the Enduro cup race wake the Coast in style before the final race later that afternoon.

All sessions from Practice two on will be shown on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports, while Races 1 and 3 will also be shown live on the Seven Network.

No.	Class	Car #	Sponsor Name	Driver		State
1	Pro	1	Jones Motorsport	Harri	Jones	QLD
2	Pro	2	Hire a Hubby / TekworkX Motorsport	David	Russell	NSW
3	Pro	3	EBM Australia	Oscar	Targett	QLD
4	Pro-Am	4	Grove Racing / Team MPC	Stephen	Grove	VIC
5	Pro-Am	5	Jacque Fine Jewellery/DNA Autosport	Jacque	Jarjo	NSW
6	Pro	7	Welder Rentals	Caleb	Sumich	WA
7	Pro-Am	9	Hallmarc / MPC	Marc	Cini	VIC
8	Pro-Am	14	I.D Land	Matthew	Belford	VIC
9	Pro	15	Power and Earth.com	Clay	Osborne	NZ
10	Pro	16	Melbourne Performance Centre	Hamish	Fitzsimmons	QLD
11	Pro-Am	22	Dexion / RAM Motorsport	Dean	Cook	VIC
12	Pro	23	Club LBR	Lockie	Bloxsom	QLD
13	Pro	28	EMA / HFI	Bayley	Hall	QLD
14	Pro	66	Team Porsche New Zealand / EBM	Marco	Giltrap	NZ
15	Pro-Am	77	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts	Rodney	Jane	VIC
16	Pro	81	McLennan Motorsport / TekworkX Motorsport	Tom	McLennan	QLD
17	Pro-Am	85	ASM / Ares Group	Matt	Slavin	VIC
18	Pro	88	Dexion / Ram Motorsport	Dylan	O’Keeffe	VIC
19	Pro-Am	95	MyConstruct.com	Brett	Boulton	QLD
20	Pro	99	TekworkX Motorsport	Marcus	Amand	FIN
21	Pro	777	Sonic Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Rosche Paper	Marcos	Flack	QLD
22	Pro	911	Embrey Attachments / EBM	Glen	Wood	VIC
23	Pro	992	Connected Spaces / EBM	Dale	Wood	VIC
24	Pro	999	Sonio Motor Racing Services / Bob Jane T Marts / Pitbox	Angelo	Mouzouris	VIC

 

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