Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia GR Cup
Emergency track repairs forced GR Cup qualifying to move onto the shorter Druitt layout and bypass Turn 5 to Turn 8.
Stinson took take pole position by the slimmest of margins over Jack Szewczuk, at just 0.0033s.
Stinson got the jump at the start and took the lead into Turn 1, never looking back.
The Safety Car was drawn at the end of Lap 1 as Pip Casabene was tipped into a spin by Romeo Nasr.
William Seal slowed and Fabian Coulthard was unable to avoid him, damaging the front right suspension on the invited driver’s Toyota 86.
Secure your spot today.
Disaster was narrowly avoided on the restart when Kade Davey, among others, were forced to take evasive action as Stinson held the pack back.
Third place starter Casabene struggled with a damaged car, falling through the field in various battles, and eventually finished ninth.
Ayce Buckley made big contact with Seal heading into Turn 1 on the penultimate lap, though both cars were able to continue.
Buckley experienced a near miss at the finish, with broken steering sending his car across the track, almost into the path of leader Stinson.
GR Cup returns for Race 2 at 9:10am AEDT on Sunday.
BushRanger Touring Car Masters
The track repairs forced the cancellation of the non-points Trophy Race on Saturday morning.
That left race one to be contested on the shorter Druitt circuit.
Touring Car Masters had previously raced on the short layout twice in 2013 and 2019.
Five drivers contested the last round on the layout – Steven Johnson, Ryan Hansford, Cameron Tolley, Marcus Zukanovic, and Tony Karanfilovski.
Scott Cameron’s promotion to the lead entry at Whiteline Racing paid off, with the TCM veteran taking his first championship race victory in the 349th start for the #95 1967 Chevrolet Camaro.
Andrew Fisher got the jump over Cameron at the start and led the opening laps, with Cameron re-taking the lead on Lap 4.
Johnson used the straight pace of his Ford Mustang to take second position away from Fisher in the closing laps, but was not able to catch Cameron.
Mark Duggan had a major moment at Turn 1 in his VB Commodore, sliding off the road sideways at high speed, but he was able to continue on damage-free.
Touring Car Masters returns for race two at 8:40am AEDT on Sunday.
Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes Series
Despite question marks over the Turn 8 surface, Race 1 and 2 were run on the regular Gardner layout of the circuit.
Brewczynski took the victory in race one on Friday evening in largely untroubled fashion.
Having qualifiedon pole, the Western Sydney Motorsport driver got the jump over David Sieders off the start and never looked back.
After gearbox issues plagued qualifying, 2024 champion Adam Marjoram set about a recovery mission, gaining four positions on the opening lap and cementing a solid top 10 run.
While Brewczynski ran away at the front, Sieders struggled to keep second position as Cam Crick and Rossi Johnson battled hard for the podium spots.
Sieders battled a bizarre issue where the steering column collapsed, forcing him to hold it up between his thighs, all while battling to keep Crick and Johnson at bay.
The reigning champion brought his BT-50 home in second position despite the struggle.
For the grid inversion ahead of Race 2, Brewczynski chose the top six, giving Marjoram the pole and rookie Ruben Dan a front row start.
Dan got away poorly, dropping him to fourth position and allowing Marjoram to run away at the front.
Richard Mork went nowhere off the start, a diff failure and punctured fuel cell forced his Triton off to the side of the grid, drawing the only Safety Car of the race.
Contact on the restart with Brewczynski damaged Sieders’ BT-50, taking him out of contention.
Marjoram held the lead for the entire race, taking victory and salvaging a tough start to the weekend.
Johnson pushed to catch the leader but was not able to, settling for second position, ahead of a charging Brewczynski.
Rookie Ruben Dan brought his new BT-50 home in the top five for the second race in a row, netting solid championship points.
Race 3 was run on the Druitt layout, a first for the category.
Adam Marjoram took his second victory in a row after Cam Crick was handed a five-second penalty.
Crick crossed the line first on the road but was relegated to fifth position on corrected results.
Tyre failures plagued key contenders, with WSM teammates Justin Ruggier and Cody Brewczynski suffering front tyre issues in the same lap.
Brewczynski did not enter the pit lane and paid the price, with the carcass of the tyre coming apart just past the pit lane entry, forcing him to contest the remainder of the race on a bare rim.
Chris Formosa blew a second right front tyre of the weekend, this time on the exit of Turn 1.
Jensen Engelhardt was another driver to lose a second front tyre in consecutive races.
The V8 SuperUtes Series returns for a fourth and final race at 11:30am AEDT on Sunday.
Discussion about this post