Boys clings on for Super2 Race 2 victory

Jordan Boys has withstood huge pressure from Tyler Everingham to win Race 2 of Round 1 of the Dunlop Super2 Series at Mount Panorama.

Boys wrested the lead from pole-sitter Jayden Ojeda as the field descended towards Griffins Bend on the opening lap of the 12-lap contest but had to cling on as a train formed behind him after a mid-race Safety Car.

The victory in the second encounter of the weekend also gives the Image Racing driver the round win on a countback over Broc Feeney, whose third place in Race 2 made his results a mirror of Boys’.

Zak Best finished fourth from Matt Chahda and Super2 rookie Jaylyn Robotham in the second Image entry, with Ojeda ending up ninth after a late off.

When the lights went out, Ojeda (#31 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima) and Boys (#49 VF Commodore) made an even start before running side-by-side all the way through Hell corner.

The latter pulled ahead as they closed in on Griffins Bend and Everingham (#27 MWM Altima) followed through the gap made by Boys to take up second.

That left Ojeda third while Feeney (#888 Triple Eight Race Engineering VF Commodore) held on to fourth despite a challenge from Matt Chahda (#18 Matt Chahda Motorsport FGX Falcon).

Boys was almost 0.9s to the good at the end of the standing lap although Everingham had brought the gap back under half a second on Lap 3, and Ojeda was close behind his team-mate.

The leader stretched his margin back to 1.3s after three laps more, but found himself under pressure from #27 again in the next 6.213km.

It was therefore something of a reprieve for Boys when a Safety Car was called on Lap 8 in order to have Nash Morris’s #67 Paul Morris Motorsport FG Falcon recovered after the Super3 Series debutant beached himself at Murray’s Corner.

At that point, the top five of Boys, Everingham, Ojeda, Feeney, and Chahda remained, while Zak Best (#78 Tickford Racing FGX Falcon) was sixth having inherited the spot after a mistake from Angelo Mouzouris at Hell Corner on Lap 5.

Robotham (#999 VF Commodore) was seventh, ahead of Matt McLean (#54 Eggleston Motorsport VF Commodore), Mouzouris (#10 Triple Eight VF Commodore), and Declan Fraser (#777 MWM Nissan Altima).

Boys waited a long time before he launched for the Lap 10 restart, but he could not shake Everingham.

The leader was wide exiting The Chase that lap and had to mid-track it into Murray’s Corner, which bottled the field up and enticed Ojeda to try and capitalise.

However, Car #31 ended up high and dry, with Feeney snatching third and Best fourth, while Chahda was a net unchanged fifth and Ojeda even lost sixth to Robotham as they ran into Griffins Bend.

Boys continued to struggle for grip and the split to Everingham was only 0.1651s with a lap to go.

He managed to hang on, however, for a third win in Super2 and his first since the 2019 finale in Newcastle.

Everingham and Feeney took the chequered flag within 0.8s of the winner, with Best and Chahda each only a few tenths further back again.

Robotham took sixth and McLean seventh, with Fraser eighth.

Ojeda ended up ninth, having sailed off at The Chase as he tried to put a move on Robotham on the penultimate lap.

Mouzouris followed him onto the green stuff at that moment, and at the chequered flag, in 10th spot, while Bathurst local Michael Anderson (#5 Anderson Motorsport FG Falcon) took Super3 class honours in 13th outright.

There were two DNFs in the Super2 class, after Zane Morse pitted before the end in the #11 Zane Morse Racing VF Commodore.

The other was Josh Fife (#28 MWM Nissan Altima), who was in a willing battle over seventh with Robotham before he found the wall at Forrest’s Elbow on Lap 5.

Boys and Feeney share the series lead with 279 points apiece, 39 up on Best, while McLean was top Super2 rookie for the weekend.

Round 2 supports the Winton SuperSprint on May 29-30.

Results: Race 2 Updated*

* Penalties for Car #49, Car #888

Series points: Super2 Updated

Series points: Super3