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Tin Tops
Brad Schumacher beat Duvashen Padayachee to pole despite the latter looking the quicker of the two in qualifying for the Tin Tops category at Mount Panorama on Friday.
Schumacher scored pole in his #55 Audi R8 LMS with a 2:09.3158s, with Thursday fast man Padayachee (#34 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) baulked on a flying lap by heavy traffic heading into the Chase.
Padayachee would miss out on pole by just 0.14s, with Tom Taplin (#26 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup) third ahead of Andrew MacPherson and Birol Cetin.
The Tin Tops will roll out for Race 1 at 10:25 local time/AEDT on Saturday morning ahead of Race 2 at 14:40 local time/AEDT.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series
Aaron Borg claimed Friday honours in the Toyota 86 category at Mount Panorama with victory in Race 1.
Qualifying was heaped in drama as a heavy crash across Skyline for Alec Morse triggered local yellows, which ran for the remaining 13 minutes of the session.
As Morse’s car remained parked in the tarmac runoff near the entry of the Dipper, Tim Brook sealed pole with the 2:38.7288s set on his first lap, as his rivals failed to usurp his time despite many neglecting to adhere to the yellows for Morse’s stranded car.
Race 1 began in earnest as Lachlan Gibbons outdragged Brook on the run up Mountain Straight, with Borg following through at Turn 2. On the following lap, Borg snatched the lead at the same corner, with Brook in third ahead of Cameron Hill.
Once Borg set out to create a gap, a Safety Car was called midway through the eight-lap race after Jake Lougher pulled over with mechanical dramas at the exit of the Chase.
The race restarted at the end of Lap 5, with Gibbons and Brook shadowing Borg as tyres came up to temperature. A challenge from Brook on Gibbons allowed Hill to drive through into third at Murray’s Corner ahead of the pole man, before Brook returned serve on Mountain Straight.
The skirmish allowed Borg to skip away and run through to the flag, although Gibbons was just 0.23s off the win.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia 86 Series will return on Saturday for Race 2 at 12:50 local time/AEDT before Race 3 at 15:20 local time/AEDT.
Historic Touring Cars
Friday belonged to Brad Tilley, who won the opening Combined Historics race from pole position.
Tilley was unchallenged into Turn 1 off the start after fellow front row starter Steve Webb drove into the lane on the warm up lap.
Tilley’s #28 Ford Mustang was shadowed by Jamie Tilley’s #29 Mustang, with the father-son duo leading a Tilley Racing one-two ahead of Terry Lawlor’s #17 Ford XD Falcon.
Webb scythed through the field to finish 11th of the 30 cars.
The category will hit the track for Race 2 on Saturday at 08:35 local time/AEDT ahead of Race 3 at 14:05 local time/AEDT.
