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Jon McCorkindale took a maiden Aussie Racing Cars race and round win while Brendon Pingel extended his series lead in the penultimate round of the season at Phillip Island.
McCorkindale, who started off pole for the fourth and final race of the weekend virtue of earlier results, battled with Adrian Flack, Adam Uebergang, Trent Young, and Pingel early on.
The Scott Taylor Motorsport driver’s break came near the halfway point when Young’s pedal went to the floor resulting in contact with Flack at Lukey Heights, forcing Uebergang to the grass.
That handed McCorkindale a lead and despite Pingel reeling off a succession of fastest laps, he ran out of time in the eight lap journey.
Behind them, Craig Woods fended off Blake Sciberras and James Duckworth in a vigorous battle for third, while Uebergang recovered to seventh and Flack ninth.
Earlier, Young won a five-way fight for the honours in a spectacular third race.
The reverse top ten grid put Pingel on the front row and the series leader made the most of it as he led the field through the opening lap.
Ben Walsh shot past car Pingel to take the lead at the commencement of lap two, while Young was on a charge and soon joined them.
Walsh survived a scare on Lap 4 when he made contact with Young as the latter took the lead at Doohan Corner, catching car #2 but dropping to fifth.
Meanwhile, McCorkindale outbraked Young at the Hairpin a few corners later, but Duckworth soon became the fifth different race leader when he slipstreamed past those two at the commencement of Lap 5.
The youngster then ran wide at the Hairpin, forcing Young to do likewise on his outside and allowing McCorkindale to take top spot.
Young and McCorkindale traded the lead at the end of Gardner Straight for the next three laps. The former finally broke clear on the final lap when Walsh hit McCorkindale in the rear at the Hairpin.
Young took the victory and while Walsh crossed the line in second he was relegated to fifth as punishment for the shunt.
Duckworth was thus runner-up having out-dragged McCorkindale to the line, with Pingel fourth.
McCorkindale was the 14th different race winner and sixth round winner from as many meetings.
The Aussie Racing Cars head to the Coates Hire Sydney 500 from December 4-6 for the final round.
