Touring Car Masters
Adam Garwood has charged through the field in the opening Touring Car Masters race of the weekend to take victory over Cameron Mason.
Garwood claimed the win after passing Shannon O’Brien on the penultimate lap, before holding on under extreme pressure as the pair entered the final tour.
There was little between the duo until O’Brien made a mistake under braking at turn three to spin into the gravel and retirement.
Mason had headed the opening half of the race before ceding position to O’Brien, who had shaken an early challenge from Rusty French.
The top ten on the grid was reversed and sent to the rear meaning the morning’s fastest qualifier, Steve Johnson, started from last with John Bowe alongside him on the back row.
Bowe climbed to fourth, on the bumper of third placed Adam Bressington while Johnson ended the 10-lap race in fifth.
The race had been scheduled for 12 laps but was shortened after Bruce Williams’ Holden Torana suffered heavy front end damage as the field rounded the second corner.
Triggering the incident was the spinning Beale, the pack checking up and catching out Williams, who made contact with Eddie Abelnica before firing off the circuit and into the barrier.
Williams was an instant retirement and while Abelnica initially managed to continue he was ultimately forced out of the race.
Race 2 will see the grid form up in qualifying order and is set to get underway at 1005 AEST tomorrow with Race 3 scheduled for 1300.
V8 Touring Cars
Jack Smith has taken a comprehensive win in the Round 3 opener of the Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car Series.
The Brad Jones Racing driver, who qualified on pole, quickly pulled a one-second lead in just the first lap as a fight broke out for second, and continued to pull away before eventually winning by five seconds.
Tyler Greenbury ran in second from the fourth corner to the finish, snapping up the place after Thomas Randle had challenged Jack Smith through Turn 3.
Anton de Pasquale, who qualified second but was put back to the rear of the grid due to initially heading out on unmarked tyres during that session, fought his way up to third at the start of Lap 6 and ran alone thereafter.
Jordan Boys finished fourth, while Randle rounded out the top five in his first race in a Supercar.
Races 2 and 3 will be run tomorrow at 1035 and 1600.
V8 Ute Racing Series
Ryal Harris has prevailed in an elbows-out contest between he, David Sieders, and Mason Barbera in Race 1 of the V8 Ute Racing Series.
Harris got the better launch from the outside of the front row to lead pole-sitter Barbera through the first corner.
Barbera barged past his Peters Motorsport stablemate at Turn 6 at the end Lap 4, but Harris got a better run onto Dick Johnson Straight to reclaim the lead at the other end.
That set up a side-by-side run down the back straight, during which the pair bumped into each other as Harris drove Barbera all the way to the white line on the inside of the circuit.
David Sieders bought into the battle as they went three-wide into Turn 4, rounding up Barbera to take over second place.
Craig Woods briefly relegated Barbera another position, but the GRM Dunlop Super2 Series driver soon regained it.
The Safety Car was called on Lap 7 when Mick Sieders became buried at Turn 6 with an apparent brake problem, setting up a single-lap green flag run to the finish.
Harris went on to take his fourth straight race win and the overnight series lead, but faces an investigation for allegedly weaving after the Safety Car lights went out.
David Sieders held out Barbera to claim second, while Woods finished fourth ahead of previous points leader Kim Jane.
Another two races will complete Round 3 tomorrow from 0935 and 1225.
Formula 4
A strong start saw Nick Rowe sprint away from the pack at the start of the opening Formula 4 race of the weekend, holding his advantage to the flag.
Behind him, an intense battle for third broke out as Tyler Everingham, Zak Best and Liam Lawson went wheel to wheel.
Damage to Everingham’s front wing cost him in the closing laps as he fell to sixth at the flag, Lawson coming home fourth behind Cameron Shields in second and Sage Murdoch in third.
The result saw Rowe start tenth in the second race, which featured a reverse top six from the opener – putting Everingham on pole.
An incident on the opening lap for Jordan Mazzaroli saw the JRD driver beached in the gravel at Turn 3, drawing the Safety Car.
Everingham led the race throughout, though was handed a five-second penalty for a jump start which ultimately relegated him to seventh.
That promoted Shields to the win over Ryan Suhle and Rowe at the end of the second 13-lap encounter.
Formula 4 returns tomorrow morning for their final race of the weekend at 1105 AEST.
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