Russell cruises to Carrera Cup victory at Winton

David Russell has won Race 2 of Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia at Winton Motor Raceway, after a chaotic opening few laps.

Harri Jones started on pole after his race win yesterday, but Russell took the lead off the start and never looked back, leading all 25 laps of the race, with Jones in second and Dylan O’Keeffe finishing in third.

“Early morning it was obviously a nice cold start here, it’s really important to spend a bit of time getting the rears up to temperature,” said Russell.

“We got a good start, got on the inside of Dylan and then we had enough to get on the inside of Harri, he didn’t make it easy but we’re fighting for race wins here, so I expected him to shut the door.

“After that it was good, I could control the pace it was just unfortunate with the incidents in that race, as it was sketchy with all the coolant and you had to drive off the racing line to avoid sliding off the track.

“I’m stoked for the EMA guys, its only our second race meeting with the team and all the boys have been working extremely hard, so it’s good to get the win here in front of our major sponsor Dayco.

“It’s my first win in Carrera Cup since Bathurst 2015, so it’s been a while since I’ve been a permanent driver in the championship too, so it feels great to get the win.”

Multiple Pro-Am contenders were wiped out after a late first lap pile-up, which involved the likes of Geoff Emery, Stephen Grove, and Liam Talbot.

Several drivers in the 31-car field had off-road excursions in the laps that followed, after Talbot dropped coolant across the track due to the damage he sustained on Lap 1.

Sonic Motor Racing Services driver Simon Fallon was the big winner amongst the chaos, picking up 10 positions to finish in seventh.

Rookie Matthew Belford, who entered this round sitting in last place in the championship was able to grab the race win in the Pro-Am class, holding off veteran Rodney Jane in a close finish.

This was Belford’s second ever round in Carrera Cup, earning his first pole yesterday, and his first win today.

“That was a wild race I just missed the coolant, but got a good start and the guys in front tangled on the last corner, so I just missed them and managed to get in front,” said Belford.

“Rodney Jane was all over me twice and I gapped him a couple times and then he came back and we had a dice right to the finish, so it was a great race.”

Sam Shahin, who did not finish yesterday’s race, rounded out the Race 2 Pro-Am podium.

Carrera Cup returns for a third and final race of the weekend at 14:20 local time/AEST.

Results: Race 2