OSCAR TARGETT and Brock Gilchrist are one-all following two superb Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia races today at Symmons Plains Raceway.

Gilchrist claimed his second win of the season after fending off the championship leader in the race one sprint, while Targett returned serve in race two in a breathless Jim Richards Enduro encounter to level the score.

It means the pair are tied on points for the round victory heading into Sunday’s Tassie decider.

In Pro-Am, a pair of first-time winners were welcomed into the Porsche record books with Andrew Georgiadis and Eric Constantinidis claiming the victories across the two races.

Race 1 started in dramatic fashion as polesitter Clay Osborne was slow away in wet conditions, being swamped by the field and allowing Gilchrist to pull away to an early lead.

A pair of Safety Car interruptions – including one that saw the race conclude under yellow – slowed the pace that otherwise saw Gilchrist and Targett running nose to tail while battling for the lead.

Gilchrist ultimately grabbed his second win of the season to remove six points from Targett’s championship lead, while Ayrton Hodson scored his second top three finish of the season by finishing third. Jake Santalucia was fourth with Tyler Greenbury completing the top five.

Osborne’s day went from bad to worse when he made contact with Aron Shields at the hairpin as he attempted to recover from his slow start on lap one – the contact ending Shields’ race and seeing Osborne take a drive through penalty for his efforts – ultimately finishing 12th.

A compelling Pro-Am battle saw Georgiadis take the win for the first time in his career, ahead of Jonathan Gliksten and John Papantonio, while Eric Constantinidis led the the class until lap 7, before he was caught out by the wet conditions.

The 45-minute Jim Richards Endurance Trophy race was a thriller and saw Gilchrist and Targett resume their hostilities from the outset.

The pair traded fastest laps early, Target re-setting the Symmons Plains lap record in his pursuit on lap 16 to a 52.5883s flyer.

The battle was paused momentarily for a Safety Car to recover a stranded Jonathan Gliksten, who was off the road at turn six, however on the restart Targett was on the offensive.

He launched an attack down the inside at Turn 4, only for Gilchrist to get the undercut and draw alongside – the pair running side by side down the back straight until a second Safety Car was called, this time for a stranded Tyler Greenbury who was out of the race with steering damage at turn two.

Greenbury and Ayrton Hodson had made contact on the restart, the impact spinning the latter off and breaking the steering on the former’s car.

Gilchrist was judged to be in front when the Safety Car was called and led the field back to green, only for Targett to launch another attack for the lead at turn six – though the Grove car ran wide and allowed his Kiwi rival to slip past once again.

The third time would prove to be the charm for Targett, re-passing Gilchrist at turn six two laps later and this time being able to make the move stick – ultimately edging away to record another win and level the score with his nearest title pursuer.

Gilchrist then switched to defence, holding off a charging Clay Osborne in a fight for second and third late in the race.

Caleb Sumich was another strong performer, recovering from an early incident to finish fourth, having passed Conor Somers late in the race.

In Pro-Am, Eric Constantinidis won the class following a superb drive that saw him running with the leading group of Pro drivers on the restarts.

He would lead Ben Taylor home for seventh outright and the class win, with Race 1 winner Andrew Georgiadis second in class and John Papantonio third.

One sprint race will complete the penultimate round the Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia series on Sunday at the Ned Whiskey Tasmania SuperSprint, starting at 1210pm AEST on Sunday – with live coverage on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.