Brook prevails in Trans Am crash-fest

Tim Brook has picked up a second win in Round 1 of the Turtle Wax Tran Am Series in a crash-fest at Symmons Plains.

Brook was leading when the field took the chequered flag under Safety Car conditions for the third time in as many races at AWC Race Tasmania, ahead of Nathan Herne, Lochie Dalton, Dalton Ellery, and Jett Johnson.

Only 18 of the 24 starters made the finish in a contest which ended after just 13 laps of a scheduled 22.

Race 1 winner Brook and Kyle Gurton shared the front row for Race 3 and while the former held the lead through the first two corners, the latter lost a spot when Herne went down his inside.

Just behind, Cody Burcher turned around fourth-placed Ben Grice, causing chaos as the following drivers scattered in a bid to avoid them.

Elliot Barbour was not so fortunate, sustaining damage when he spun in the pack, and he joined Grice and Burcher as retirements as the Safety Car was deployed.

Upon the Lap 4 restart, Owen Kelly launched all the way from eighth to fourth, and he was up to third when Gurton ran long at the Hairpin on Lap 6.

While replays did not fully capture the moment, it appeared that Gurton had jinked right under brakes in a bid to avoid nailing Herne in the braking zone.

Brook’s lead over Herne moved beyond a full second on Lap 8, while Kelly cycled through the pit lane and resumed in 19th, suggesting he was serving a penalty for the restart.

The Safety Car was called again on Lap 10 when Michael Rowell made heavy frontal contact with the barrier on the run to the Hairpin, with the root cause of the shunt unclear.

That would be the last action of the weekend for the Trans Ams, cementing Brook as the early series leader.

Brett Holdsworth ended up sixth in Race 3, ahead of Gurton, Edan Thornburrow, Nash Morris from 23rd on the grid after his Race 2 DNF, and Hugh McAlister in 10th.

Kelly took the chequered flag in 16th.

Round 2 takes place at Phillip Island as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships on March 18-20, with live streaming on Stan Sport.

Results: Race 3

Classes: O Outright, H Hoosier Cup, M Masters Cup