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Tickford Racing’s Zak Best leads the Dunlop Super2 Series after winning a chaotic second race of Round 1 at a wet Sydney Motorsport Park.
Best led the field to the chequered flag under the third Safety Car period of the race, ahead of Grove Racing’s Matt Payne and Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Declan Fraser.
Angelo Mouzouris was among the DNFs due to damage which he incurred when he hit Cameron Hill at the first braking zone of the race, while the afternoons of Ryal Harris and Nash Morris ended in a crunch at Turn 05 just after the second restart.
There was carnage at both ends of the field as soon as the race got underway, triggering a Lap 1 Safety Car.
Hill had made a good start from Row 2 and challenged pole-sitting team-mate Fraser as they headed for Bond Bend (Turn 2), only to be punted there by Mouzouris (#6 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima).
Tyler Everingham (#27 MWM Nissan Altima) and Super3 driver Kai Allen (#26 Eggleston Motorsport VE Commodore) both failed to get away initially from Rows 2 and 3 respectively, but the contact on the main straight in fact occurred up the back.
The reason for the neutralisation was a tangle firstly between James Masterton (#219 Masterton Motorsports VE Commodore) and Tony Auddino (#4 Tony Auddino BF Falcon) as they left the grid, which caused to former to clatter into Paul Boschert (#25 Paul Boschert VE Commodore).
Hill and Mouzouris were both into the pits for running repairs and while the former was able to be dispatched while still on the lead lap, the latter would be forced to relent when he was into the lane a second time under Safety Car.
At that point, Fraser led Best (#78 FGX Falcon), Payne (#10 Nissan Altima), Thomas Maxwell (#3 MWM Nissan Altima), Aaron Seton (#30 Matt Stone Racing VF Commodore), Matt McLean (#54 Eggleston VF Commodore), Jaylyn Robotham (#999 Image Racing VF Commodore), Zane Morse (#11 Brema Group VF Commodore), Everingham, and Harris (#58 MSR VF Commodore), with Hill back in 26th.
The race restarted on Lap 5 and when Fraser was slow off Brock’s 05, Best was able to clear him down the outside of the track and drive into the race lead by the time they arrived at Turn 6.
Payne moved into second spot when he passed Fraser as they ran down Brabham Straight to commence Lap 6, before an almighty stoush broke out in the latter half of the top 10.
McLean was in the thick of it, eventually losing his rear bumper after copping a nudge from Everingham at the Turn 8 hairpin, although that was just one of several hits that the #54 VF Commodore took.
McLean’s Eggleston team-mate Cameron Crick ended up in the wall after a tangle with Morse at the Turn 8 hairpin on Lap 8, necessitating a second Safety Car period.
Best was leading by almost two seconds at that point, from Payne, Fraser, Maxwell, Seton, Everingham, Race 1 winner Robotham, McLean, Jay Hanson (#49 Image VF Commodore), Harris in 10th, and Morris (#67 Flash Bush Motorsport FGX Falcon) in 11th.
Another restart came on Lap 12, at which point Everingham went down the inside of Seton at Turn 3 and Robotham followed him through at Turn 4.
Behind them, Harris was forced wide and onto the wet grass at Turn 4, before sliding back across the track at 05 and taking out Morris.
The Safety Car was scrambled yet again and that would effectively be the end of the action, meaning Best won the race from Payne, Fraser, Maxwell, Everingham, Robotham, and Seton.
Matt Chahda Motorsport gambled on slick tyres for Matt Chahda (#18 FGX Falcon), making him the only driver in the field not on wets, and he drove from 12th to eighth in the final green flag period as the track continued to dry out.
Hanson finished ninth, McLean rounded out the top 10, Allen salvaged the Super3 win in 11th outright, his class rival Brad Vaughan (#5 Anderson Motorsport FG Falcon) took 12th, and Hill got back to 13th outright and 11th in the Super2 class.
Best has 288 points to Payne’s 258 at the head of the Super2 series standings after the first round of 2022.
Round 2, as the calendar currently stands, supports the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight at Wanneroo Raceway on April 30-May 1.
Results: Race 2 Updated
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Cls | Laps | Race time |
| 1 | 78 | Best Leisure Industries | Zak Best | Ford Falcon FG/X | S2 | 13 | 30:47.3247 |
| 2 | 10 | Grove Racing | Matthew Payne | Nissan Altima | S2 | 13 | 30:48.4023 |
| 3 | 777 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Declan Fraser | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:49.0916 |
| 4 | 3 | MWM | Thomas Maxwell | Nissan Altima | S2 | 13 | 30:50.2029 |
| 5 | 27 | Blue Ribbon Legal / MWM | Tyler Everingham | Nissan Altima | S2 | 13 | 30:51.2013 |
| 6 | 999 | Erebus Academy / Image Racing | Jaylyn Robotham | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:51.8542 |
| 7 | 30 | Sherrin Rentals | Aaron Seton | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:52.4787 |
| 8 | 18 | Cavalier Homes | Matthew Chahda | Ford Falcon FG/X | S2 | 13 | 30:53.0608 |
| 9 | 49 | Image Racing | Jay Hanson | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:53.9032 |
| 10 | 26 | Eggleston Motorsport | Kai Allen | Holden Commodore VE | CH | 13 | 30:55.0837 |
| 11 | 5 | Anderson Motorsport | Brad Vaughan | Ford Falcon FG | CH | 13 | 30:55.3086 |
| 12 | 111 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Cameron Hill | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:56.4342 |
| 13 | 23 | RHM / Nulon | Ray Hislop | Ford Falcon BA | SC3 | 13 | 30:57.5626 |
| 14 | 77 | Mr HDT Race Cars | Blake Fardell | Holden Commodore VE2 | CH | 13 | 30:58.0496 |
| 15 | 11 | Brema Group Racing | Zane Morse | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 30:58.4939 |
| 16 | 8 | Steeline Racing | Elly Morrow | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 31:00.5187 |
| 17 | 7 | Mocomm Motorsport Comms | Jim Pollicina | Holden Commodore VE | SC3 | 13 | 31:00.8684 |
| 18 | 76 | Valmont Coatings | Garry Hills | Holden Commodore VE2 | SC3 | 13 | 31:04.3943 |
| 19 | 39 | Vectra Corp | Chris Smerdon | Ford Falcon FG | SC3 | 13 | 31:05.6398 |
| 20 | 46 | Turbo Brisbane | Jarred Danaher | Ford Falcon FG | SC3 | 13 | 31:06.3463 |
| 21 | 35 | Unit Racing | Jason Gomersall | Ford Falcon FG | SC3 | 13 | 31:08.2847 |
| 22 | 2 | Page Bros Jayco | Steven Page | Holden Commodore VE2 | SC3 | 13 | 31:09.6187 |
| 23 | 68 | Turbo Brisbane | Shane Beikoff | Ford Falcon AU | HC | 13 | 31:10.5488 |
| 24 | 54 | Eggleston Motorsport | Matthew McLean | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 13 | 31:27.5808 |
| 25 | 38 | Eggleston Motorsport | Cameron Crick | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 10 | 31:12.9929 |
| NC | 58 | EFS 4×4 Accessories | Ryal Harris | Holden Commodore VF | S2 | 11 | 26:05.4836 |
| NC | 67 | Flash Bush Motorsports | Nash Morris | Ford Falcon FG/X | S2 | 11 | 26:05.7762 |
| NC | 6 | MWM | Angelo Mouzouris | Nissan Altima | S2 | 2 | 7:08.0561 |
| NC | 4 | Crusher Parts International | Tony Auddino | Ford Falcon BF | SC3 | ||
| NC | 219 | Masterton Motorsport | James Masterton | Holden Commodore VE | SC3 | ||
| NC | 25 | Weldcraft Motorsport | Paul Boschert | Holden Commodore VE | SC3 |
Classes: S2 Super2, CH Super3 Championship, SC3 Super3 Cup, HC Super3 Heritage Class
Series points: Super2 Updated
| Pos | Driver | Pts |
| 1 | Zak Best | 288 |
| 2 | Matthew Payne | 258 |
| 3 | Jaylyn Robotham | 252 |
| 4 | Thomas Maxwell | 249 |
| 5 | Declan Fraser | 231 |
| 6 | Aaron Seton | 207 |
| 7 | Cameron Hill | 174 |
| 8 | Tyler Everingham | 171 |
| 9 | Matthew Chahda | 168 |
| 10 | Zane Morse | 162 |
| 11 | Jay Hanson | 147 |
| 12 | Cameron Crick | 147 |
| 13 | Matthew McLean | 135 |
| 14 | Elly Morrow | 126 |
| 15 | Ryal Harris | 72 |
| 16 | Angelo Mouzouris | 51 |
| 17 | Nash Morris | 0 |
Series points: Super3
| Pos | Driver | Pts |
| 1 | Kai Allen | 288 |
| 2 | Brad Vaughan | 288 |
| 3 | Ray Hislop | 249 |
| 4 | Blake Fardell | 249 |
| 5 | Jim Pollicina | 222 |
| 6 | Garry Hills | 198 |
| 7 | Jarred Danaher | 192 |
| 8 | Chris Smerdon | 165 |
| 9 | Steven Page | 162 |
| 10 | Shane Beikoff | 144 |
| 11 | Tony Auddino | 90 |
| 12 | Jason Gomersall | 84 |
| 13 | Paul Boschert | 78 |
| 14 | James Masterton | 0 |
