Tyler Greenbury has celebrated his first race at Eggleston Motorsport with victory in Race 1 of the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series at Phillip Island.
Michael Anderson and category debutant Garry Hill shared the front row after they gambled on slick tyres on a drying track during qualifying, and the former led the field away.
Geoff Emery made a strong start to run second out of the first corner, ahead of Greenbury, but the Safety Car appeared before a lap could be completed after Warren Millett ran off at Southern Loop and couldn’t recover.
Anderson held sway for just over another lap upon the restart before outbraking himself at the Hairpin and giving up two positions.
Greenbury took the lead on Lap 5 and gapped Emery to take his first ever race win in his second year in the series.
The remainder of the top 10 was Emery, Anderson, Jon McCorkindale, Jack Smith, Josh Smith, Jim Pollicina, Jordan Boys, Michael Caine, and Chris Smerdon.
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Hills gradually fell down the order to 12th.
Race 2 and Race 3 are run tomorrow at 1015 and 1600 AEST.
Toyota 86 Racing Series
Jimmy Vernon took a debut race win after Aaron Seton was issued a post-race penalty for turning around then-leader Cameron Hill.
Hill beat Trent Grubel off the front row of the grid, and Seton and Vernon soon took up the chase.
The race was then neutralised due to an incident involving Peter McNiven and Haydn Clark on Lap 1, the latter losing control exiting the Turn 4 Hairpin, spinning across the track, and taking Clark with him into the wall.
Hill came under heavy pressure immediately upon the restart, but Seton never quite had the legs to slipstream past despite multiple attempts.
The third-generation racer instead hit Hill in the rear corner through Southern Loop on Lap 7, and while Hill caught the moment, he lost two positions and his left-rear tyre.
Seton crossed the line in the lead but, in a repeat of what would have been his maiden win at Bathurst last year, the #30 driver was penalised after the fact.
Vernon thus took victory ahead of Grubel and invited driver Warren Luff, with Jason Bargwanna fifth and Seton 29th.
Hill dragged his 86, minus one tyre, to the last finishing position in 35th.
A further two races conclude the round tomorrow at 0940 and 1200.
V8 Utes
Ryal Harris led from start to finish in V8 Utes Race 1.
The pole-sitter got the jump as Kim Jane moved ahead of Mason Barbera from the second row.
Barbera regained second position on Lap 5 and pulled away before Jane, who set his tyre pressures with the end of the race in mind, reeled him in.
The former AUSCAR racer had a final-lap dive at the Hairpin, but slid in and out of the corner, allowing Barbera to resume the position for good on exit.
Former series champion Marcus Zukanovic managed to complete all nine laps as he persevered with ongoing throttle issues.
Another pair of 10-lap races will be held tomorrow at 0910 and 1130.
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