Craig Baird proved untouchable to win his second Carrera Cup Australia at the Reid Park circuit in Townsville.
Starting from P1 in the Jet Travel Insurance machine, Baird was never troubled to score another commanding win in the 14-lap race.
Nick Percat (Coates Hire Racing) had a battle early on before claiming second ahead of Warren Luff (No Second Chance).
Luff jumped into second place off the line in his pursuit of Baird however Percat was later able to wrest the position back to finish in the same order as the opening heat.
Baird nailed his fastest lap on the final tour, ripping a 1:14.98.53s lap to put a tight seal on another mistake-free charge.
“I was pleased to hear that Nick and Warren were battling and that allowed me to control things up front,” Baird told Speedcafe.com
“”We are very well placed with our tyre usuage and hopefully we can carry it through with another win later this afternoon.”
Shane Smollen lost control and tagged the wall at turn 11 on lap 2 forcing him back to last behind Renee Gracie (16th in the Fujitsu-backed Cup car).
Smollen (McGrath Estate Agents) was among three non-finishers along with New Zealand’s Paul Kelly and James Koundouris (Supabarn Supermarkets).
The third and final Carrera Cup race is scheduled for 13.20
See below for full Carrera Cup Race 2
| 1 | Jet Travel Insurance | Craig Baird (NZL) | 17:41.4371 | 1:14.9853 |
| 2 | Coates Hire Racing | Nicholas Percat (SA) | 17:42.2215 | 1:14.9560 |
| 3 | No Second Chance/Phase 8 | Warren Luff (NSW) | 17:45.1005 | 1:15.2694 |
| 4 | Ausdrill – Onsite Racing | Michael Patrizi (WA) | 17:45.6801 | 1:15.2886 |
| 5 | Laser Plumbing & Electrical | Steven Richards (VIC) | 17:47.6060 | 1:15.3235 |
| 6 | Davbridge Constructions | Shae Davies (QLD) | 17:48.4988 | 1:15.3905 |
| 7 | Team BRM/ Rentcorp Property Gr | Duvashen Padayachee NSW | 18:03.0786 | 1:16.2876 |
| 8 | Corporate Cleaning Services | Damien Flack (QLD) | 18:05.1192 | 1:16.3894 |
| 9 | Permagard Automotive | Max Twigg (VIC) | 18:19.0181 | 1:16.5288 |
| 10 | Alternative Freight Services | Tony Bates (VIC) | 18:20.7594 | 1:17.1758 |
| 11 | Grove Group | Stephen Grove (VIC) | 18:22.2297 | 1:17.3949 |
| 12 | Hallmarc | Michael Loccisano (VIC) | 18:22.7951 | 1:17.2496 |
| 13 | Hallmarc | Marc Cini (VIC) | 18:28.3466 | 1:17.7034 |
| 14 | Porsche Centre Brighton | James Bergmuller (VIC) | 18:31.3848 | 1:16.8943 |
| 15 | Objective Racing | Tony Walls (NSW) | 18:33.2125 | 1:17.3511 |
| 16 | Fujitsu Racing | Renee Gracie (QLD) | 18:33.4980 | 1:17.6019 |
| 17 | JMC Group | Martin Wagg (VIC) | 18:34.7512 | 1:17.6855 |
| DNF | Paul Kelly Motor Group | Paul Kelly (NZL) | 9:15.2817 | 1:17.2296 |
| DNF | Supabarn Supermarkets | James Koundouris (ACT) | 7:56.6456 | 1:17.2486 |
| DNF | McGrath Estate Agents | Shane Smollen (NSW) | 1:24.3366 | 1:24.3366 |
