Tom Alexander was the beneficiary of a Ben Walsh error as he won the SuperUtes reverse grid race at the Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.
Despite the full grid inversion for Race 2, Alexander and Race 1 winner Ryal Harris again finished in the top two, but this time in the reverse order.
Walsh started at the front and led Tomas Gasperak and the rest of the 11-car field into the first corner.
Just behind, Matt MacKelden got inside of Steve Wilson (Steve Wilson Racing Isuzu D-Max) before they made heavy side-to-side contact into Turn 2, tearing the left-rear wheel off the former’s Sieders Racing Team Toyota Hilux.
Harris made four positions at the start, two more through the first two corners, then passed Christopher Formosa (Ranger Racing Ford Ranger) to run fourth at the end of Lap 1, behind Walsh, Gasperak, and Cameron Crick.
Crick got under Gasperak at Turn 4 on Lap 2, making room for Harris to follow, but it was Alexander who was on a charge and he took up the runner-up position on Lap 6.
Walsh ran his Western Sydney Motorsport Hilux wide at Turn 3 next time around, giving the lead to Alexander and the Ross Stone Racing Holden Colorado.
The moment also caused Crick and Harris to check up, and the former spun Walsh at Turn 4.
Crick continued in second position before the #87 SRT Mitsubishi Triton was issued a black flag for the contact.
By then, however, Harris wasn’t going to catch Alexander and the series leader finished a couple of seconds back in his Peters Motorsport Mazda BT-50.
Mick Sieders (SRT Triton) took third from Walsh and Gasperak (Team 18 Colorado), the latter of whom had an impressive battle with Craig Woods.
Formosa finished sixth, ahead of Wilson, Crick, Woods (WSM Hilux), and Aaron Cameron, whose Peters BT-50 appeared to have a turbo-related problem.
ECB SuperUtes Race 3 starts at 1230 local time/AEST.
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