Woods takes V8 SuperUtes series lead after Round 1 in Tasmania

Craig Woods has left Round 1 as the Haltech V8 SuperUtes Series leader after securing another victory at Symmons Plains.

The Toyota Hilux driver won Race 3 before a sizeable incident ultimately caused the weekend finale to be declared without a result.

Woods thus finished the Tasmania round with almost as good a points haul as could be, having scored pole, third in Race 1, and then the two wins.

“A pretty good weekend,” he said.

“We ran away with Race 3, got out early and managed the gap and fastest lap.

“Overall, we’ve bumped out in the championship lead which is awesome. It’s great to repay the boys and girls who have set the team up in eight weeks.”

At the start of Race 3, Craig Dontas got the jump and led the opening salvos.

A slow-starting Woods dropped to third initially but was back into second spot before the opening lap was out.

He then made his way to the lead with a bold pass at the Hairpin, running Dontas high on the exit in what was an edgy manoeuvre.

George Gutierrez finished third and survived a wild moment on the first lap of the race when he made contact with Woods at high-speed down the back straight.

That third place was only decided by 0.01s after a side-by-side finish with Aaron Borg, who had shadowed the leading trio for the entire race.

Harry Gray was fifth from Jaiden Maggs and local driver Layton Barker, who endured a wild off-track moment at the first corner and dropped to last before fighting back.

The fourth and final race of the weekend was stopped barely after it started.

Barker and Gray collided on the run towards the Hairpin, pushing the former hard into the fence and instantly out of the race.

Richard Mork was also an innocent bystander, slowing to avoid the incident only to be slammed into by Rohan Barry, who was blinded by the incident up ahead by Mork’s car.

The race was red flagged while the barriers were repaired and, due to time restrictions, ultimately called after one more lap behind the Safety Car.

The non-result meant that Woods had done enough to secure the round win and an early series lead ahead of Dontas, Borg, the consistent Gutierrez and Maggs.

Round 2 of the V8 SuperUte Series supports the Bunnings Trade Perth SuperNight at Wanneroo Raceway on April 30-May 1.

In Round 2 of the Battery World Aussie Racing Cars Super Series, Tom Hayman made it three wins from four with another two victories to wrap up the weekend.

He drove from 10th to the win with the reverse grid in Race 3, and passed Josh Anderson for the lead midway through Race 4 on his way to taking the chequered flag five seconds up on the field.

Hayman leads the Aussie Racing Cars series standings on the way to Round 3 at Wakefield Park on April 22-24, in support of the Australian Superbike Championship.

Results: Race 3

Results: Race 4

No result