DAVID RUSSELL has ended the longest drought in Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia history, claiming his first ever round win in his 60th attempt.

Russell, who moved to TekworkX Motorsport this season, had finished second on six occasions and had 14 prior podium appearances without a round win in his otherwise successful Carrera Cup career; but ended that streak in style today in Taupo.

Russell claimed the Endurance Cup opener on Sunday morning then finished a safe second in Race 2 to claim the round over Jackson Walls and Nash Morris.

Walls won the final race of the weekend after erupting from the second row of the grid, while Morris claimed his first Porsche Carrera Cup podium with a strong and consistent weekend in his STM Porsche.

Russell was thrilled to claim the round victory, just the second ever contested outside of Australia. He also becomes the 8th different round winner from the last 8 events, equaling a category record.

“It’s a great feeling to come away with the round win,” Russell said.

“The AGP was down in the points so we’re looking at the long game but to get a round win is a bonus.

“To finally have it is good – we’ve had plenty of wins and podiums but to get the monkey off the back is good and hopefully we can continue to keep rolling with it now. Big thanks to the guys at TekworkX, they’ve given me a great car this weekend and I just had to execute as best I could.

“I just face-timed (Rob Woods, team owner) and he’s in great spirits.”

Walls’ runner-up finish was his strongest result since late last year and his race win was the third in his career – and first since the Grand Prix last year.

Morris’ podium finish continued his strong one-make Porsche form, scoring several round victories in Michelin Sprint Challenge last year.

The third and final race of the weekend was an intense sprint with Walls’ jumping polesitter Russell off the line and leading into the first corner.

He was able to pull away from the field, while Morris and O’Keeffe battled for third position for much of the duration.

Behind them was an intense fight for the back half of the top-10 as Bayley Hall charged his way to fifth position with a series of key passes, with Dale Wood, Angelo Mouzouris, Fabian Coulthard, Ryder Quinn and Marco Giltrap completing the top-10.

In SP Tools Pro-Am, Adrian Flack extended his considerable championship lead by sweeping the weekend and claiming the overall victory.

Kiwi debutants Rick Armstrong and Sam Fillmore finished second and third and were, appropriately, tied on points at the end of the weekend.

Russell’s stunning New Zealand weekend has seen him rocket to second in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship standings, Harri Jones clinging on to a now nine-point championship lead.

Jackson Walls has climbed to third in the championship, on equal points with Dale Wood with Ryder Quinn fifth.

Flack continues to lead SP Tools Pro-Am over Matt Slavin and Dean Cook.

The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship field will return to Australia for the next round of the championship, to be held at the Betr Darwin Triple Crown in June.

ENDURANCE CUP REPORT

DAVID RUSSELL claimed the first Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship Enduro Cup race of the season, sweeping from fourth on the grid to claim the 45-minute encounter on Sunday morning in Taupo.

In a chaotic start, Russell dodged a stalled Harri Jones to make early ground in the race, which commenced on a drying track that remained wet off line.

He then passed early leader and polesitter Dylan O’Keeffe to grab a lead he’d never lose, powering to his second win from as many starts in Carrera Cup’s first New Zealand round to take not only the Enduro Cup opener, but the Equity One Pro-Class too.

He now leads the standings heading into the final race and will start from pole position for the sprint race finale’ later on Sunday.

Jackson Walls charged from 12th on the grid to second to score a haul of championship points following a frustrating start to his 2024 campaign.

Nash Morris raced cleanly all race to score his first top three finish of his Carrera Cup campaign, running just two seconds behind the leaders for much of the race.

Dale Wood rebounded from a tough Saturday to finish fourth while O’Keeffe slipped to fifth position having led early.

He had to fend off Fabian Coulthard for much of the second half of the race with Bayley Hall, Marcos Flack, Glen Wood and Ange Mouzouris completing the top-10.

The drama commenced early as Harri Jones stalled at the start, forcing the field to take evasive action around the car starting from the outside of the front row.

Behind there was further chaos as Marco Giltrap also stalled, being clipped by Lachlan Bloxsom on his way through and removing both from the race.

Further behind, Dean Cook’s flying start resulted in a non-finish after he and Harrison Goodman bumped, forcing Cook across the circuit and into the fence.

The Safety Car was called early while the circuit was cleared prior to racing resuming.

Jones’ comeback trail resulted in 10th position at the line, however a 15-second penalty following contact with Ryder Quinn dropped him back to 13th at the finish – though he still scored the fastest lap of the race.

in SP Tools Pro-Am, Adrian Flack had things his own way on his pathway to a second win from two races, while Sam Fillmore raced his way though to second despite an early stop.

The IMS Racing driver had started on wets however switched to slicks during the early Safety Car to score second in class, ahead of Rick Armstrong.