Dale Wood and Roger Lago have claimed race one victory in an eventful start to the second round of the Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia championship.
While it was pole-sitter Nick McBride to lead into the opening corner, green flag running was short-lived as Cameron Hill failed to launch from the start line and Anthony Gilbertson rear-ended Hill’s #111 Porsche. The contact ended both their races and called to safety car to the circuit for several laps.
Upon the restart, McBride ran off the circuit at turn one, allowing Wood to inherit the lead from Michelin Junior drivers Jordan Love and Jaxon Evans.
Wood continued at the head of the field though was challenged late in the race by Evans, who pressured past Love in the closing laps. Evans finished a mere 0.27secs behind Wood in second from Love, reigning champion David Wall and James Moffat in fifth.
For Wood, the race one victory replicated his performance in Adelaide, where he was also victorious in the opening race of the event.
“That’s two race wins by round two, so I’m pretty happy with that. Jaxon once again put on a ton of pressure and was really strong all race. I’ve got to get my starts sorted and then get a nice and fast car in the race. It’s all looking good,†said Wood.
“We’re definitely starting where we want to tomorrow. We can’t get complacent as there are 25 blokes behind who all want the position I’m in. It’s a grouse way to start the weekend.â€
Meanwhile, TAG Heuer Pro-Am victory in the opening Albert Park battle extends Roger Lago’s win streak across the first four races of the season. Lago was the dominant Pro-Am racer in the season opener and, while he started second in class, the Queensland based driver was able to avoid the start-line drama to eventually claim race one victory.
“It’s obviously disappointing for the other boys not to finish the race; I’ve been on the receiving end of that a few times here. I just had to stay out of trouble. I had Pro drivers Peter Major and Josh Hunt behind me and I didn’t want to get involved with them so I let them go and cruised around to the finish,†said Lago.
Max Twigg placed second in class for the opening Albert Park race from Sam Shahin in the South Australian’s first visit to the 5.3km circuit. Tim Miles placed fourth in class from Dean Cook, Greg Taylor, Indiran Padayachee and John Steffensen.
The race is now on to fix the damaged race cars of Hill and Gilbertson, while Marc Cini, who was absent from race one, will return for race two after damaging his Porsche earlier on Thursday.
Porsche Wilson Security Carrera Cup Australia will hold its second race of the event at 2:55pm on Friday before the third and fourth race of round two is held on Saturday and Sunday. The remaining three races of the Albert Park event will be broadcast live on both Network Ten (Race 2, ONE; Race 3 & 4, Ten) and Fox Sports 506.
Race Schedule (local time)
Friday March 23, 2018
2:55pm – Race 2 (10 laps)
Saturday March 24, 2018
3:20pm – Race 3 (10 laps)
Sunday March 25, 2018
1:05pm – Race 4 (10 laps)
Broadcast Schedule (local time)
Channel: ONE & Fox Sports 506
Race 2 – 2:55pm, Friday March 23
Channel: Ten & Fox Sports 506
Race 3 – 3:20pm, Saturday March 24
Race 4 – 1:05pm, Sunday March 25
Results: Race 1
1. #100 Dale Wood (Pro) 10 laps, 26:04.6
2. #7 Jaxon Evans (Pro) 10 laps, 26:04.8
3. #777 Jordan Love (Pro) 10 laps, 26:05.8
4. #1 David Wall (Pro) 10 laps, 26:07.5
5. #18 James Moffat (Pro) 10 laps, 26:07.9
6. #888 Alex Davison (Pro) 10 laps, 26:08.2
7. #88 Dylan O’Keeffe (Pro) 10 laps, 26:10.4
8. #77 Michael Almond (Pro) 10 laps, 26:14.7
9. #14 Peter Major (Pro) 10 laps, 26:19.6
10. #15 Josh Hunt (Pro) 10 laps, 26:19.9
11. #23 Roger Lago (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:22.0
12. #80 Max Twigg (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:25.1
13. #13 Sam Shahin (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:28.6
14. #6 Tim Miles (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:28.9
15. #8 Nick McBride (Pro) 10 laps, 26:29.3
16. #22 Dean Cook (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:32.5
17. #5 Greg Taylor (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 26:33.2
18. #35 Indiran Padayachee (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 27:05.5
19. #808 John Steffensen (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 10 laps, 27:52.1
20. #12 Adam Garwood (Pro) 9 laps, 26:39.8
21. #20 Adrian Flack (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 9 laps, 27:44.7
DNF #131 Graham Williams (TAG Heuer Pro-Am) 6 laps, 18:33.4
DNF #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Pro-Am)
