Steven Johnson has broken the lap record on his way to a comfortable win to open Round 7 of the Enzed Touring Car Masters at Bathurst.

Johnson took the lead from pole position while fellow front-row starter Glenn Seton was turned around by Andrew Miedecke at the opening corner.

More action followed just a few hundred metres later as Jason Gomersall shot off Mountain Straight and into the wall after side-to-side contact with Mark King on the outside of a three-wide run with Brett Youlden.

That incident necessitated a Safety Car, after which only two laps remained of a shortened race.

Johnson reset the lap record on each of those laps, moving John Bowe’s mark from 2:21.10 to 2:19.46 as he lead home the fellow former Dick Johnson Racing driver by 2s.

Eddie Abelnica placed third from Jim Richards and Brett Youlden, Glenn Seton salvaged 12th, and Andrew Miedecke was last of the finishers, one lap down in 20th.

Aussie Racing Cars

Maurice Masini won the opening race of Round 5 of the Aussie Racing Cars Series, withstanding Adrian Flack’s best efforts.

Masini lead the field away when James Abela suffered a failure from the outside of the front row, with Flack assuming second position.

The two waged a race-long battle for the lead, Flack managing to overtake at Griffins Bend on Lap 5 of 7 before the polesitter reclaimed the ascendancy at the Chase on that lap.

Brendon Pingel held a watching brief in third for the most part, but assumed second place when Flack made nose-to-rear contact with Masini at the Chase on the final lap.

A wounded Flack managed to make it home in third, with brother Damien fourth after breaking away from a vigorous stoush among the next half-dozen.

ARC rookie Ben Walsh was a season-best fifth despite a hair-raising moment in dropping a wheel onto the dirt at Skyline on Lap 5, and defending series champion Darren Chamberlin climbed to sixth after starting 12th.

Adam Uebergang, ARC debutante Jon McCorkindale, Tony Quinn, and Trent Young, rounded out the top ten.