![thumb Andrew Thompson will line-up with Jamie Whincup in the Bathurst 1000](https://speedcafe.us/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/1_Thompson-344x224.jpg)
Andrew Thompson has led home David Russell in Race 2 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series at Mount Panorama.
Russell showed the way in the early laps after getting the jump on his Holden rival and aggressively chopping to the inside line entering Hell Corner – resulting in minor contact between the pair.
Thompson survived a further touch with Nick Percat on the exit of the first turn, before eventually taking the lead on Lap 6.
Russell kept the Monster backed Commodore in site to finish second, ahead of Jack Perkins and Paul Morris – with the top four covered by just 2.64s.
Scott McLaughlin and Tim Blanchard rounded out the top six, with the latter dropping outside the top 15 on the opening lap due to stalling at the start and then going off at The Chase.
Percat also fought his way back through the field after a troubled start, the Coates Hire Commodore finishing behind Chaz Mostert in eighth place.
The race was punctuated by two Safety Car periods, the first of which appeared courtesy of some opening lap mayhem at The Chase which left Todd Fiore stranded in the gravel trap.
Just two more laps of racing occurred after the restart before Aaron McGill had an off of his own at the same point of the circuit, bringing out the full-course yellow once again.
Tom Tweedie was also an early casualty, retiring with damage to the back of his Falcon after colliding with Chaz Mostert at Griffins Bend.
Mostert spent the majority of his race battling for sixth with Rodney Jane, whose power advantage made overtaking exceedingly difficult for the reigning Formula Ford Champion.
The battle ended when the pair made contact at the exit of Hell Corner after Mostert had made an inside pass but failed to leave room for Jane on the exit. Both cars briefly visited the sodden grass on the exit, causing Jane to spin to the inside and out of the race.
Mostert lost a position in the incident thanks to an opportunistic Blanchard, but regained seventh spot a lap later when Marcus Zukanovic slowed with damage from grazing the exit wall at The Cutting.
Colin Sieders failed to finish after hitting the wall on the way into Forrest Elbow, while David Wall was forced to pit his Wilson Security Commodore having run strongly inside the top 10.
Thompson now leads the series standings by 178 points over Russell with two rounds remaining. Perkins is a further 90 points behind in third, while McLaughlin and Blanchard round out the top five.
See below for the full race result
1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Andrew Thompson | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 36:34.6201 |
2 | Team Jayco | David Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 36:36.1807 |
3 | Supercheap / Bob Jane T Marts | Jack Perkins | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 36:36.9997 |
4 | Sargent Security Racing | Paul Morris | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 36:37.3131 |
5 | Fujitsu | Scott McLaughlin | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 36:45.5349 |
6 | Team Jayco | Tim Blanchard | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 36:45.8205 |
7 | Simpro Software/Master Elect. | Chaz Mostert | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 36:47.4238 |
8 | Coates Hire Racing | Nick Percat | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 36:47.9473 |
9 | ACDelco/Simworx/NDD | Geoff Emery | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 36:55.9142 |
10 | R&J Batteries/EarthEx/KingGee | Daniel Jilesen | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 36:56.6739 |
11 | CEG Rentals/Go Karts Go | Aaren Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 37:02.2043 |
12 | Carrington Eq/Go Karts Go | Drew Russell | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 37:04.1121 |
13 | Drill Pro Services/EarthEx | James Brock | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 37:10.1995 |
14 | Mad Croc Energy | Robert Cregan | Ford Falcon BF | 14 | 37:10.4305 |
15 | Formula Tech/Interquip Racing | Brett Stewart | Holden Commodore VE | 14 | 37:34.7164 |
16 | Flexi Staff | Todd Fiore | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 37:22.0891 |
17 | SOLO / NCSS | Aaron McGill | Ford Falcon BF | 11 | 38:21.2207 |
DNF | Freestones Roadhaven | Paul Freestone | Ford Falcon BF | 12 | 32:38.6843 |
DNF | Midway Concrete&Garden Supply | Marcus Zukanovic | Holden Commodore VE | 11 | 30:47.0214 |
DNF | Bisley Workwear | Colin Sieders | Ford Falcon BF | 10 | 29:28.2009 |
DNF | Bob Jane T-Marts | Rodney Jane | Ford Falcon FG | 9 | 25:45.9384 |
DNF | Wilson Security Team McGrath | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE | 9 | 26:04.0719 |
DNF | Warrin Mining Volvo Const Eq. | Adam Wallis | Holden Commodore VE | 4 | 12:51.2419 |
DNF | Favourit.com / AFS | Tony Bates | Holden Commodore VE | 3 | 10:26.8455 |
DNF | GARMIN | Tom Tweedie | Ford Falcon BF | 1 | 2:19.7555 |