Paul Dumbrell has secured the Dunlop Series crown with victory in the Wilson MedicOne Enduro at Bathurst as a crash ended Ash Walsh’s title hopes.
The Eggleston Motorsport driver led the 250km race in the early stages but was forced to overcome Cameron Waters in the closing stages to take his 20th race victory and second Dunlop Series.
A mistake from title rival Walsh saw him clout the wall hard in the early laps ending any hopes of taking the championship fight down to the final round at the Sydney 500.
Waters looked set to take the win after a slick strategy put him at the head of the field with just a handful of laps remaining.
However, a late Safety Car, caused by Geoff Emery, wiped out his lead placing him in the clutches of a charging Dumbrell.
Waters ran wide at Murrays corner once racing resumed which was just enough for Dumbrell to slip into the lead. The Red Bull Racing V8 Supercar driver held firm to take the chequered flag to claim his second title to go along with his 2002 triumph.
Chris Pither completed the podium in third ahead of Andrew Jones and Todd Hazelwood.
The race was not without drama and incident with the Safety Car being called on three occasions.
Separate incidents involving Marcus Zukanovic and Macauley Jones brought out the Safety Car on lap four before it was deployed again for Walsh’s accident just seven laps later. A hard hit for Emery at the Forrest Elbow saw the race neutralised for a third time.
As a result of the Safety Car interferences, the race was shortened to 38 laps.
Dunlop Development Series Wilson MedicOne Enduro Results
Position | Driver | Entrant | Car | Laps | Time |
1 | Paul Dumbrell | Eggleston MS/Royal Wolf | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:37:49.2872 |
2 | Cameron Waters | TEAM ENZED FPR | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:37:53.6145 |
3 | Chris Pither | Icebreak Racing | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:37:56.3723 |
4 | Andrew Jones | Freightliner Racing | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:37:58.6580 |
5 | Todd Hazelwood | Tecalemit Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:08.8675 |
6 | Aaren Russell | Plus Fitness/Go Karts Go | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:10.6777 |
7 | A.Heimgartner/S.Owen | Finance Ezi / MW Motorsports | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:10.8749 |
8 | Morgan Haber | Haber Xcavations/WM Motorsport | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:15.1821 |
9 | Ryal Harris | All Purpose Pest Control | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:20.3340 |
10 | Jack Le Brocq | JHB Shop Fitters | Ford Falcon FG | 38 | 1:38:22.0177 |
11 | Brett Hobson | Pacific Hoists | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:38:22.9056 |
12 | J.Kean/T.D’Alberto | Wynn’s | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:38:23.4021 |
13 | Macauley Jones | Rockstar Racing | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:38:28.0355 |
14 | Matt Hansen | Forpark/Aust Custom Moulders | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:38:38.8234 |
15 | Tim Macrow | Challenger | Holden Commodore VE2 | 38 | 1:38:40.9974 |
16 | Michael Hector | Gulf Western Oil | Ford Falcon FG | 37 | 1:38:43.8564 |
17 | Jim Pollicina | Mocomm Communitation | Ford Falcon FG | 37 | 1:38:59.6709 |
18 | Ant Pedersen | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore VE2 | 36 | 1:38:22.5965 |
19 | Dan Day | Street Fighter | Holden Commodore VE2 | 36 | 1:38:42.3797 |
DNF | Garry Jacobson | Eggleston Motorsport | Holden Commodore VE2 | 37 | 1:35:59.1549 |
DNF | Paul Morris | United Racing | Ford Falcon FG | 37 | 1:35:59.4542 |
DNF | Brett Stewart | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Holden Commodore VE2 | 30 | 1:20:43.0453 |
DNF | Aaron McGill | Battery World | Holden Commodore VE2 | 29 | 1:17:04.6431 |
DNF | Geoff Emery | R&J Batteries | Holden Commodore VE2 | 26 | 1:08:18.5845 |
DNF | Aaron Tebb | Voight Contracting | Holden Commodore VE2 | 17 | 48:03.8336 |
DNF | Ashley Walsh | Infants Friend | Ford Falcon FG | 9 | 26:45.6589 |
DNF | Marcus Zukanovic | Action Racing | Ford Falcon fg | 2 | 4:31.3455 |