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Aaron Cameron has secured victory in a thrilling reverse grid Race 2 for the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at AWC Race Tasmania.
Cameron (Peugeot) took the chequered flag in the 20-minute race at Symmons Plains Raceway, ahead of Lachlan Mineeff (Audi), who claimed his personal-best result and maiden TCR podium, as Jordan Cox (Peugeot) scored his third career TCR podium.
Carl Cox Motorsport driver Michael Clemente (Audi) started on pole ahead of Mineeff, Cameron, Tom Oliphant (Alfa Romeo), Josh Buchan (Hyundai), Cox, Ben Bargwanna (Peugeot), Kody Garland (Peugeot), Tony D’Alberto (Honda), Bailey Sweeny (Hyundai), Iain McDougall (Audi) in the reverse grid top 10 race, with Will Brown (Audi) and Zac Soutar (Audi) starting from the rear of the field after a driveshaft issue in qualifying ruled the pair out of Race 1 – which was won by Sweeny.
A great start from Mineeff saw him take the lead of the race from Cameron and Oliphant, as Clemente dropped back to fourth, with Brown up three spots to ninth.
Fired up after the start Clemente was intent on holding fourth from Cox, with Garland up two spots to sixth by Lap 2.
Clemente and Cox jostled for the position, with Cox diving down the inside of Clemente at the hairpin on Lap 3 to claim fourth position.
The following lap Garland attempted a move on Clemente, before running over the clean-up material at the hairpin, dropping back through the field as a result.
Brown took advantage of the chaos to find himself in fifth after Lap 5, up seven spots from the start of the race.
He claimed fourth position from Oliphant after diving down the inside of the Brit at the penultimate turn with 14 minutes to go in the race.
Meanwhile, at the front of the field, Mineeff held a 0.5187s advantage over Cameron, with Cox in third and Brown fourth.
Repeating the same move he did on Oliphant, Brown took third from Cox with a dive down the inside at the penultimate turn on Lap 8.
After 10 laps, it was Mineeff from Cameron, Brown, Cox, Oliphant, Clemente, Bargwanna, Sweeny, D’Alberto, Buchan, McDougall, Garland, with Zac Soutar back in pit lane.
Cameron dived down the inside of Cameron at the hairpin on Lap 10 for the lead, before Mineeff surged back into the lead, intent on bettering his best result of fifth, as Brown slowed and retired from the race for the second time this weekend.
A lap later, Mineeff ran wide at the hairpin allowing Cameron to take the race lead, before the former fought back running side-by-side into the final complex of corners, where the latter managed to control the lead of the race, remaining unheaded from there on.
The Garry Rogers Motorsport driver extended his margin to a touch over 3s over Mineeff, ahead of Cox and Oliphant as Clemente, Sweeny and D’Alberto engaged in a three-way battle in the mid-pack, before Bargwanna’s entry arrived to a stop ahead of the final lap.
Cameron remained in control to take the chequered flag ahead of Mineeff and Cox.
Oliphant was fourth, from Clemente in fifth with Sweeny in sixth.
D’Alberto was seventh, ahead of McDougall who recorded his best result with an eighth-place finish, as Buchan and Garland rounded out the top 10 and the field, with Bargwanna, Brown and Soutar not finishing the race.
Round 1 of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will conclude with Race 3 at 16:10 local time/AEDT.
The race will be shown live and ad-free on Stan Sport for Australian viewers, with live and free global streaming outside Australia via Speedcafe.com here.
