VIP Petfoods Falcon driver Ryal Harris has continued his strong form in the Auto One V8 Utes Series, winning Race 1 on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Starting from pole position, Harris led every one of the 12 laps in the weekend’s opening race to lead home Bundaberg Racing’s Cameron McConville by 3.5s.
“This is my first win at home and I’m calm and focused,” said the Queenslander.
“Now I just want to bring it home and stay out of trouble.”
McConville had risen from sixth on the grid with some spirited overtaking manoeuvres.
It’s always good when you’re going forwards and not backwards,” he said post-race.
“I saw the opportunity with the passes and took them.”
Nathan Pretty (Monster Energy Holden) and David Sieders (AIS Ford) took third and fourth respecitvely, while front-row starter Chris Pither (Ice Break Holden).
Several drivers found drama over the 12 lap journey, with Peter Burnitt and Rohan Barry both crashing their Fords out of the race in seperate incidents.
A broken fan belt took care of Nadi Kiss’s chances, while a mistake a the first chicane also saw Jake McNally on the retirements list.
A further two races will complete Round 5 of the series tomorrow.
The Touring Car Masters also took the to Gold Coast circuit today for Race 2 of their weekend, with New South Welshman Tony Karanfilovski steering his battered Falcon XY to victory in a dramatic partial-reverse grid affair.
Andrew Miedecke (Chevrolet Camaro), John Bowe (Ford Mustang), Eddie Abelnica (Falcon XB), Jim Richards (Falcon Sprint) and Gavin Bullas (Ford Mustang) completed the top six at the conclusion of the 12 laps.
The star of the show however was Cameron Tilley, who led the way in his Valliant Pacer until spinning on his own oil following a spectacular engine failure on Lap 8.
The Touring Car Masters will complete a final race tomorrow.
