Steven Johnson has taken his second win of the day with a stunning drive from 14th on the grid at Mount Panorama. The dark green and silver #33 Ford Mustang carved through the field, recording the fastest lap with the Queenslander in devastating form.
The race start saw pole-sitter Andrew Fisher and John Bowe side-by-side up Mountain Straight, with Fisher prevailing as George Miedecke passed Bowe before Griffins Bend to slot into second place. Bowe fell to fifth behind Adam Bressington in the second Camaro and Jamie. Tilley’s Mustang.
Steven Johnson, who won the TCM Trophy Race earlier in the day, had already jumped five places on the opening lap to sit seventh, before taking Pollicina’s Holden Torana A9X at Griffins Bend for sixth. Johnson then added to Bowe’s woes, storming past the Tasmanian’s Torana down Conrod Straight.
Lap 3 saw Johnson sidle up to the back of Jamie Tilley, both drivers gaining a position when Miedecke dropped back to fifth. Miedecke would eventually head back to pit lane and not finish the race.
Johnson then made shorty work of Tilley’s Mustang down Conrod, and then took Bressington at Murray’s Corner to sit only 2.7s off race leader Fisher.
Johnson chipped away at the lead, while further back Bowe staged a mini-comeback to climb into fourth after passing Jamie Tilley, before coming under attack from championship rival Ryan Hansford. Hansford out-dragged Bowe down Conrod on Lap 5 to take fourth, where he’d finish, with Bowe succumbing to Tilley again to come home sixth.
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The battle up front was yet to be settled. Johnson had demolished the lead to 0.4s, circulating in the 2:16s – the only driver to do so during the race – approaching the TCM race lap record.
Johnson passed the leading Torana on Lap 5, with Fisher putting up a gallant fight by heading into The Chase side-by-side with the Mustang. Johnson would lead the final of the six-lap race to take a dominant win from Fisher by 0.59s, with Bressington’s Camaro a further seven seconds adrift.
It was the second win of the day for Johnson, his dominance underlined by the race’s fastest lap.
The TCM field returns to the track for two more races at tomorrow, the first at 8:45am AEDT, with Bathurst residents enjoying free event entry.
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