Ryan Simpson’s winning streak in the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series sits at a category record seven races after a clean sweep at Phillip Island.
Having taken out Race 1 from pole position on Saturday, the Sydneysider didn’t have it all his own way in Race 2.
Taking the flag third behind fellow Ford drivers Matthew White and Shae Davies, Simpson was elevated to the win after five second post-race penalties for both of his rivals.
White was deemed to have made a false start while Davies was judged to have lined up outside his grid box.
The final race too was a tightly fought affair, with Davies passing Simpson for the lead at MG Corner early in the going, only to give the spot back due to the presence of yellow flags.
Despite missing the opening two rounds of the season, Simpson now sits fourth in the standings, just six points behind third placed Evangelou.
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“We were a little bit stuck with tyres because we had flat-spotted two of them,” said Simpson after Race 3.
“We had no pace in Race 2 earlier today but I really enjoyed the last race with Shae.
“If we could finish anywhere in the top three in the series points after missing the first two rounds, that would be a great result.”
Second in the final race for Davies ensured that the Fernandez Falcon driver also took the second step of the podium for the weekend.
The 23-year-old now sits a comfortable 96 points ahead of Terry Wyhoon with two rounds remaining.
Wyhoon was fourth for the weekend at Phillip Island, best of the rest behind clear pace-setters Simpson, Davies and White.
White fell to the back on the opening lap of Race 3 due to a stall at the start, but was still able to claw through to shadow Wyhoon across the line in fourth.
Evengelou kept his slim title hopes alive with a solid fifth for the weekend, while Steve Briffa was the top Holden runner in sixth.
Nathan Assaillit was the hard luck story of the weekend, suffering a suspension failure while running fourth in Race 2.
Although lucky to escape with no further damage after a high-speed off at Turn 1, the issue was enough to sideline Assaillit from the final race.
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