Hamish Fitzsimmons, Aron Shields and Nash Morris have combined to put together the strongest weekend for TekworkX Motorsport to date in one-make Porsche racing.

Round three of Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge took place at the Beaurepaires Sydney SuperNight, with Morris joining Shields and Fitzsimmons for his debut in the category. The debutant was quickly up to pace, setting the fastest time in practice one. Fitzsimmons followed up to lead practice two, leading a session for the first time just three rounds into his racing career.

In qualifying, it was a storming lap that earned Shields the first pole position of his career. Morris was just 0.0171 seconds back to qualify second on debut. Fitzsimmons was 11^th fastest, only half a second off the top.

Morris got the better jump in race one, with the pair off the front row running side by side for half a lap until the #67 took the lead and Shields settled in to second place. In just 13 laps, the pair pulled a 12 second gap over the battle for third to deliver TekworkX Motorsport their first ever one-two result. Fitzsimmons made good use of his speed as well, slicing through the pack to finish in seventh place.

In race two, Shields led all but one lap before a last lap pass from Morris sealed the debutant back-to-back victories in dramatic fashion. Fitzsimmons was in the thick of the action, battling back from a tricky opening lap to claim another top 10 result in eighth place. Underlining the trio’s speed, the fastest lap of the race from Shields was half a second quicker than the next non-TekworkX car.

Fitzsimmons enjoyed a breakout performance in race three, the 25 lap Endurance Cup race. The teenager stormed his way from eighth on the grid to take his first career podium with a third-place finish, and for the second round in a row, the fastest racing lap of the weekend. Shields took his second victory of the season, after fending off a challenge from Morris who spun and recovered to 12^th place.

For the round, Shields secured his first overall victory while Morris picked up second on debut, sealing TekworkX their best round result across both Carrera Cup and Sprint Challenge to date. The three drivers combined to lead every session and took the fastest lap in all three races in a dominating sweep of the weekend.

TekworkX Motorsport have now won five of the last six races across both levels of Porsche racing in Australia, after Max Vidau’s twin Carrera Cup victories in Townsville.

Sprint Challenge is back in action with a visit to the team’s home track at Queensland Raceway, from August 11-13.

Quotes:
Aron Shields
“Obviously it’s been a great weekend, to get my first pole and round win is really special,” said Shields.

“We had two good races, but we missed the start in race one and then just got pipped by Nash in race two. I was pretty determined to get the job done in the final race and it went to plan, we managed the gap and focused on looking after the front tyres for what was quite a long race.

“I really can’t thank the team enough, we’ve come a long way already from the start of the year and they have done an incredible job. We clawed back some points this weekend, but we still have a big gap to overcome, I’m just going to do the best I can to stay at the front every race and see where we end up.

“Going to Queensland Raceway next is exciting, we’ve done lots of laps around there. The team have been doing a great job setting up the car, so I’ve got no doubt we’ll have the speed to challenge at the front again next time out,” concluded Shields.

Hamish Fitzsimmons
“I can’t really ask for more, after getting my first podium to finish the weekend,” said Fitzsimmons.

“It would have been great to start the weekend how we finished, but I couldn’t quite get it together in qualifying. We’ve been strong in the Endurance Cup races year so I had confidence we could come forward again in that one. It was pretty tricky to pass, you had to really go for it, I just couldn’t get it up to that second spot, but I’m still really happy with the result.

“We’ve been getting better all year, and we have a home round next so we’ll push for a round podium up at QR and start the weekend with some good confidence,” concluded Fitzsimmons.

Nash Morris
“I enjoyed it thoroughly, I love the category,” said Morris.

“Everyone is in the same car which makes it a real drivers championship. Aron did a great job, we raced pretty hard in all three races. I made a little mistake in race three unfortunately, but it’s cool to still be second for the round,” concluded Morris.