Grant Johnson has continued his impressive form in the Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series by taking out Round 5 at Phillip Island.
The West Australian took victory in Races 1 and 3, and fought through to 12th in the (partial) reverse grid Race 2 to extend his series lead over Hi Tec Motorsport team-mate Jack Elsegood.
After second and third place finishes in the opening two races, Elsegood’s weekend fell apart in the final – finishing seventh after a poor start and a collision with Andrew Fisher.
The drama left Elsegood third for the weekend, eight points behind Johnson, and five shy of Ice Break Racing’s Chris Pither.
Pither appeared on course for the round victory as he leapt off the front row to lead Race 3, by was unable to resist the advances of Johnson who slipped past on Lap 4.
The Kiwi had earlier won Race 2 ahead of Fisher, Elsegood and a recovering Kim Jane, who finished 11th for the round despite qualifying 28th due to mechanical dramas.
The Ice Break team ended the weekend with two cars in the top four, as Gary MacDonald’s third in Race 3 saw him fourth for the weekend, ahead Kurt Wimmer (substituting for Brad Patton in the Wicked Ford), Rookie of the Year contender Jeremy Gray, and Sieders Racing team-mates David Sieders and Andrew Fisher.
Sieders dropped out of contention for the round win thanks to a post-race penalty for overlapping at a Safety Car restart during Race 2, which dropped the Nulon Oils Ford from fourth to 24th in the Race 2 results.
The order at the top of the points table remains as it was prior to Phillip Island, with Johnson (599 points) leading Elsegood (570), Fisher (512), Sieders (479) and MacDonald (465)
The 2010 Yokohama V8 Ute Racing Series – protected by Armor All continues at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in October.
