JPlanteX converted D2 pole into victory in Australia and reached five IMS wins. Harv held second from the front row, while eetthedust advanced from P11 to complete the podium for Aston Martin.
The landmark opened a six-point drivers' lead: JPlanteX left Round 1 on 26, Harv on 20. Ferrari also led the D2 constructors' table by five over VCARB.
A milestone at the orderly end of a wild podium
First and second finished where they started; third did not. eetthedust's eight-place gain meant the same classification contained both a clean pole conversion and a recovery from outside the top ten.
JPlanteX's achievement needs no inflated mythology. Five victories is the historical marker, and Australia shows the direct route to the latest one: P1 on the grid, P1 at the finish, championship lead secured.
The defence begins with a target on it
Austria followed with the chasing order already defined. Harv had the nearest points total, eetthedust had the largest Australian recovery and JPlanteX carried both the lead and the weight of a career benchmark.
Five wins belongs in the career ledger. This one also belongs in the Season 4 plot: it placed Ferrari and JPlanteX at the front of both D2 tables before the calendar moved on.
