Perkins beats carnage to win Super2 Race 1 in Townsville

The Blanchard Racing Team driver had qualified on pole position for Race 1 of Round 3 and showed a clean pair of heels off the start, while Cooper Murray and Brad Vaughan tangled in a big way just behind him as they ran up Charters Towers Road.

With Zach Bates second but wounded after he was caught in the incident, Perkins took full advantage at the ensuing Safety Car restart and continued to gap the field.

He was almost six seconds to the good when a Safety Car was called again on Lap 22 in response to Dean Fiore going hard into the tyre barriers at Turn 1 in an AIM Motorsport Ford.

That locked Perkins into victory, with Kelly Racing’s Aaron Cameron finishing second Anderson Motorsport’s Max Vidau third when they eventually took the chequered flag after 24 laps.

Tickford Racing’s Rylan Gray got home fourth and series leader Kai Allen salvaged fifth from 13th on the grid in his Eggleston Motorsport entry, while Bates limped to 19th in a damaged Walkinshaw Andretti United machine.

Perkins had launched well and took a clear lead to the first corner in the #79 S550 Mustang, while Murray moved over from the other side of the front row to cover Vaughan as they approached the sweeping right-hander.

Their battle continued up and around the corner with disastrous consequences, Vaughan’s #5 Tickford S550 Mustang going across the nose of Murray’s #88 Eggleston ZB Commodore and putting both hard into the wall on drivers’ right.

Cameron McLeod speared into the wall on drivers’ left as a result of a shunt from Bates when he slowed to try and avoid the mess and he took Jordyn Sinni with him, with the incident to be investigated post-race.

Bates assumed second and Sinni initially continued in third until he stopped on-track on Lap 2 with damage to the #54 Eggleston ZB Commodore.

Cameron (#27 S550 Mustang) thus took up third position under the Safety Car, from Vidau (#17 S550 Mustang), Gray (#55 S550 Mustang), Cameron Crick (#38 Eggleston ZB Commodore), Jarrod Hughes (#118 Image Racing ZB Commodore), Cody Burcher (#15 MW Motorsport Nissan Altima, Super3), Matt Chahda (#18 Matt Chahda Motorsport ZB Commodore) from 24th on the grid, and Allen (#1 ZB Commodore) from 13th.

McLeod was able to drive his battered #92 RM Racing Cars ZB Commodore back to pit lane, but no further, while Murray was left stranded on track and Vaughan did not make it all the way back either.

Race Control then officially declared the session wet as the field continued to circulate a low speed, although serious rain would never come.

Green flags flew again at the end of Lap 5 and Perkins went early, at the exit of Turn 12, while Bates was a sitting duck in a #25 ZB Commodore which was badly beaten up from the collision with McLeod.

The WAU entry was rounded up by Cameron and Vidau as they sped towards Turn 2 and had plummeted outside the top 10 by the end of the restart lap.

That allowed Perkins to escape to a lead of almost two seconds and counting, while Allen was unable to make a move on Chahda for seventh stick when he went down the inside at Turn 2 on Lap 7, nor again on Lap 11.

It was third time lucky on Lap 13, with Allen stopping the #1 ZB Commodore well enough in the middle of Turn 2 to make the move stick, before and he gained another position when he went down the inside of Hughes exactly two laps later.

The next target up the road was team-mate Crick, who was kind enough to open the steering somewhat when Allen arrived at Turn 2 with the rears locked on Lap 17.

The series leader turned that into a pass for fifth at the other end of Charters Towers Road, before Crick ran wide a lap later at Turn 2 and ceded sixth to Hughes.

Meanwhile, Perkins had stretched his lead over Cameron to four seconds and was continuing to pull away.

When Fiore somehow ended up deep in the run-off area at Turn 2 in the #111 S550 Mustang, another Safety Car period was called.

Perkins had been almost six seconds up on Cameron and thus clinched victory in what is a cameo appearance to give him seat time before his enduro campaign with BRT.

Behind Cameron, Vidau, Gray, and Allen was Hughes in sixth, from Crick, Chahda, Burcher, and Lochie Dalton (#6 Tickford S550 Mustang).

Qualifying for Race 2 starts tomorrow at 09:30 local time/AEST.

Results: Race 1

Series points: Super2