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Guest driver Jayden Ojeda has won the first race of the 2023 Toyota GazooRacing Australia 86 Series in Townsville which became a one-lap dash after a late Safety Car. He had a thrilling dice with second placed Ryan Casha while Campbell Logan was third.
The fastest two from qualifying on Friday, Jayden Wanzek and Jarrod Hughes, were relegated to start from the rear of the grid for coming in underweight.
Ojeda won the start of the scheduled 12-lap event and led Casha until the latter pulled a successful outside move at Turn 3. Back in the pack there was drama with Brock Stinson turned around at Turn 2 which caused drama for several others as they negotiated the incident.
Ojeda retrieved the lead when he passed Casha on Lap 4, just after Wanzek went off at Turn 5 as he tried to make up places. He was able to get the car back to the pits without the need for a Safety Car intervention.
However, it did come out later when Cody Burcher missed his braking marker and he hit Max Geoghegan at Turn 2 on Lap 6. Geoghegan had started out of 14th and had worked his way to ninth.
Logan was third throughout and finished in front of Clay Richards, Lachlan Bloxsom, Jack Westbury, guest driver Lewis Bates, Reuben Goodall, Jordan Shalala and Jayden Hume in tenth place.
Outside the top 10 were Ben Gomersall, Michael Sherwell, Tom Davies and Marcus La Delle who clean swept the first round of the feeder Scholarship Series. They were followed by Mitchell McGarry, Ryan Tomsett, Jimmy Holdsworth and Bradi Owen.
It was not a great race for the Supercar-backed drivers. Tickford’s Rylan Gray and Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Matt Hillyer had contact on the opening lap and finished 19th and 30th respectively while Grove Racing’s Oscar Targett languished in 25th.
Race 2 takes place at 11:20 local time/11:20 AEST today, Saturday July 8.
