Morris wins, Kelly unloaded in Trans Am Race 2

Nash Morris has won Race 2 in the National Trans Am Series at Phillip Island after Owen Kelly was unloaded while battling for the lead.

Kelly was pressuring Morris for first spot when he spun into the tyre wall as a result of nose-to-tail contact with Garry Rogers Motorsport team-mate Edan Thornburrow.

UPDATE: Thornburrow 30sec penalty, drops from third to 13th in classification

The race stayed green then but would end under a late Safety Car after Jaylyn Robotham stopped just on the inside of the Southern Loop.

Morris was thus locked into a career-first National Trans Am victory in the #67 Supercheap Auto entry, with Thornburrow provisionally second and James Moffat third to the chequered flag from the very back of the 17-car field.

At the start, Morris swept around the outside of the first corner and into the lead, from Race 1 winner Kelly and Thornburrow.

Ben Grice passed Brett Holdsworth for fourth at Miller Corner (Turn 4) while Moffat had climbed from 17th to 12th and Lochie Dalton from 16th to 13th by the end of Lap 1 after their mechanical black flags on the afternoon prior.

Moffat gained another two positions on Lap 2 as Kelly pressured Morris for top spot, allowing Thornburrow to also keep in touch.

With Morris continuing to defend, and Kelly continuing to nudge the back of the #67 entry, Grice caught up and briefly made it a four-way battle at the head of the field.

Kelly muscled alongside ‘Flash’ at Southern Loop on Lap 8 but the youngster held tough on the outside and had the line for Miller Corner, notwithstanding that he locked the inside-front in the braking zone.

Half a lap later, it appeared that Kelly propped exiting MG given Morris had been slow to exit off a shallow line.

Thornburrow ran into the rear of the #73 entry and tipped Kelly into a spin which saw him back into the tyre wall on drivers’ right.

Grice nicked second spot in the drama and Moffat was up to fifth, before passing Holdsworth on the next lap.

When Grice slid wide of the line at MG on Lap 10, Holdsworth got back ahead of Car #03 and Moffat would also follow him by through Turn 12.

That came just as the Safety Car was called for the stricken Robotham and may well also be reviewed by stewards.

For now, though, the preliminary classification is Morris, Thornburrow, Moffat, Grice, Tom Hayman, Elliot Barbour, Holdsworth, Dalton, Cody Gillis, and Elliott Cleary, with DNFs for Robotham, Tyler Everingham, and Kelly.

The third and final race of Round 2 is scheduled to be run over 13 laps from this afternoon at 15:35 local time/AEST.

The Shannons SpeedSeries action is streaming live and ad-free on Stan Sport in Australia, and on Speedcafe for international viewers.

Results: Race 2 Updated

Classes: O Outright, H Hoosier Cup, M Masters Cup