It ensured he took out the opening round of the Trico Trans Am Series at the Hi-Tec Oils Race Tasmania from Symmons Plains. Ahead of trouble that caught out many, TFH’s Hazelwood scooped the points poll from fellow Mustang drivers Ben Grice and Tom Davies.
“That’s the perfect weekend, four wins, pole position, the championship lead, I don’t think I’ve done that in a while,” said Hazelwood.
“Every session we are tuning this car, whether it is a little bit of ride height, a little bit of spring . . . That last race we weren’t quite happy with the car, we made a couple of changes, and when you’ve been leading all weekend, the last thing you want to do is make changes.
Meanwhile Mark Bailey took Pro-Am honours with three out of four class victories in his Camaro, ahead of John Holinger (Mustang) and Graham Cheney (Camaro).
The final day began with the second race of the weekend. Hazelwood led from the pole. Fellow front row starter Nathan Herne (Mustang) was forced wide at Turn 2 and dropped to sixth behind James Golding, Davies, Lachlan Evennett and Nash Morris in their Mustangs.
When Josh Webster spun his Mustang near Turn 4, the safety car was deployed. When race pace resumed, Hazelwood won from Golding with Morris third after he passed Davies. Evennett had already dropped spots when he erred at Turn 6.
Herne had recovered to fifth before he was ultimately passed by Grice. Adam Garwood (Mustang) was next across the line in front of Evennett, Jordan Cox (Mustang) and Jack Smith (Mustang). From 26th on the grid, James Moffat (Mustang) charged to 12th which became 10th with post-race penalties to Garwood and Cox.
The opening lap of the third heat featured a multi-car accident that effectively blocked the track and result in a red flag situation. After it was restarted, Hazelwood won from Grice, Davies, Moffat, Herne, Evennett, Smith, Jarrod Hughes (Camaro), Bargwanna, Garwood and Cox.
In Race 4 there was contact between GRM Mustang stablemates Moffat and Evennett on the first lap where the latter was shunted rearward in to the concrete wall.
After the safety car, the restart had Hazelwood in the lead from Grice and Davies. Herne lost pace and dropped down the field as he laboured on seven cylinders.
Robbie Farr (Camaro) spun at Turn 6 on Lap 8, two laps later Smith and Garwood spun at the Hairpin. Another two laps elapsed, and Morris was able to pass Davies for third.
Des Collier (Mustang) and Domain Ramsey (Camaro) spun at Turn 4 and 6 respectively, before Webster spun under brakes before the Hairpin and was unable to resume.
In the one-lap sprint to the finish, Hazelwood won again as Grice was able to hold off Morris for second. Moffat was fourth ahead of Cox, Bargwanna and Josh Haynes (Mustang). Young Gun award winner Davies lost ground on the final circuit but finished ahead of Elliot Barbour (Camaro) and Jackson Rice (Mustang).
The next Trico Trans Am Series round will be on Mount Panorama where they will be joined by the TA2 Muscle Car Series at the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour on April 18-20.
RACE TASMANIA SUPPORTS
Wins were shared between Jason Makris (Wolf Extreme F1) and Phil Hughes (Radical SR8) with the former able to take the overall Round 1 victory. After his crash in Race 1, John-Paul Drake jumped in a Wolf Thunder for the remainder of the round and finished third overall.
The Hyundai Excel ACL Race Series completed another three races. With victory in two of them, Jackson Shaw finished on top of the points, ahead of William Twining who won Race 3, and Connor O’Shea in third.
Brad Sherriff (Nissan Skyline R34) continued his Sparco Tassie Tin Tops winning run with victory in Race 2. However, retirement from Race 3 gifted Tim Mann a pair of triumphs and the overall victory in his Ford BF Falcon. Honni Pitt in her Lotus Exige was second in the weekend’s points, ahead of Dave McCullagh (Falcon AU).
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