Paul Dumbrell returned to the lead of the Dunlop Series by defeating Ashley Walsh in Race 2 at Queensland Raceway.

The Eggleston Motorsport driver overtook Walsh for the top spot with just three of the 29 laps remaining, pulling away to win by an even second.

The result secured Dumbrell his second round win in five starts and puts him four points in front of the Matt Stone Racing Ford pilot heading to Bathurst in October.

Dumbrell had started the reverse top 10 grid Race 2 from 10th following his win on Saturday.

Holding 10th on the opening lap, he methodically climbed his way to third by the time the race’s one and only Safety Car was called on lap nine.

Easing by second-placed Paul Morris on the restart lap, Dumbrell then pressured Walsh for the majority of the journey before finally making an inside pass at Turn 3.

“What a great weekend to bounce back,” said Dumbrell, who had lost the series lead to Walsh when he missed the Sunday race at Barbagallo due to business commitments in Melbourne.

“We’ve had a few tough, inconsistent weekends but we’ve certainly shown this weekend that we’ve got the speed.

“We can’t wait to come to Bathurst for the big 250km race.

“There’s a couple of races still to go, (which is) a long way in the championship.”

Second in Race 2 was enough to ensure Walsh second for the round; a strong recovery after starting the opening heat from the tail of the field.

“We may have started today with the tyre pressures a bit high and I could not hold Paul out,” noted Walsh.

“The car wasn’t bad; we just did not have quite enough to hang on at the end.

“Bathurst is going to be tough with the longer 250km race, but we are right in this championship with only a handful of points between the two of us.”

The weekend podium was completed by Aaren Russell, who backed up his career best second place finish from Saturday with a solid eighth.

“I don’t think words can describe it at the moment,” beamed Russell post-race.

“We have worked so hard so to see the team on the podium is such a good feeling.

“I was so nervous standing at the podium I didn’t know what to do with the champagne. I was like ‘do I just shake it and it comes out’? I had no idea.”

Cameron Waters rebounded from his tough Saturday, cutting through from 19th on the grid to finish Race 2 in third.

Paul Morris took fourth after leading two laps early, while Ant Pedersen, Garry Jacobson, Jack Le Brocq, Russell, Tim Blanchard and Todd Hazelwood completed the top 10.

Blanchard and Hazelwood had maturely moved their way through from 21st and 23rd on the grid respectively.

The early Safety Car was called to retrieve Dan Day’s Holden from the front-straight after the youngster rear-ended fellow ex-Walkinshaw Racing Holden driver Josh Kean.

Early leader Marcus Zukanovic was also in the wars, stranded in the Turn 6 gravel after an incident involving Macauley Jones.

Twenty-eight cars started Race 2, with the two Dragon Motorsport entries of Ben Schoots and Kristian Lindbom having fallen by the wayside after engine problems and accident damage in qualifying and Race 1 respectively.

Result: Race 2, Dunlop Series

Round 5 result

Updated points after Round 5