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In his spaceframe IRC SS GT, Taunton was the fastest qualifier in the multi-category field of 42 and led from the outset. Angus Fogg had a power advantage in his chassis Ford Mustang as they raced up Mountain Straight but not the braking prowess. Taunton regained the lead which he held to the end.
The race finished under safety car conditions with Fogg in second place. The pair had a sizeable lead on the field after third-placed Mark Duggan (Aston Martin/Chev V8) stopped on top of the mountain with a blown tyre.
That elevated Scott Cameron (Holden Commodore/Chev) to fourth place after an early dice with Paul Boschert (Chev Corvette/Dodge V8) who was next across the line.
Then came Rob Vanderkamp (V8 Touring Car Ford BF Falcon), John Ford (Mercedes/Chev), Michael Learoyd (Production Sports Z06 Corvette) and Michael King (Mitsubishi Evo 8 RS). Category manager Steven Lacey (GT SS) came from the back of the grid to 10th after a start issue on the dummy grid.
Just out of the 10 were Ben Kavich (Production Car BMW M2), Nick Mantikos (MARC II), Peter Dane (BA Falcon Turbo) and Mark Griffith (Mercedes C63). Inside the top 10 but DNFs were Greg Waters (Corvette) with an oil leak, and Mark Tracey (BMW/Chev) with no gear selector.
Fuel issues would affect some in the Group S outing as the race went longer than predicted. Terry Lawler (Shelby GT350) was the fastest qualifier but would start on the outside of the fifth row as the top 10 were reversed.
From the second row, David Cunneen (Carrera) went straight to the lead. He had a 5.2s advantage after two laps, but the quick cars were coming. Morgan, Doug Barbour (Carrera) and Lawler in particular, were closing.
The latter took the lead before the third lap expired and in the ensuing laps, skipped away until it began raining on top of the mount. He slowed and then ran out of fuel on the final lap. Morgan went past to take the win. Lawlor held onto second and Andrew Purvis (Carrera) assumed third when Barbour was also dry and stopped at the top of the Cutting.
Wayne Potts (Datsun 280Z) finished fourth while Spencer Rice (Alfa Romeo GTV) overcame a near race-long dice to finished ahead of Cunneen, Andrew Whiteside (Carrera), Tom Walstab (Porsche 928) and James Calvert-Jones (Carrera). They were followed by Michael McKelliget (260Z), and Joe Calleja and David Baker in their Corvette Stingrays.
