News
Morris doubles up, Moffat extends Trans Am lead
Nash Morris has picked up his second National Trans Am Series win of the weekend, once again finishing ahead of Team Valvoline GRM’s James Moffat.
The Supercheap Auto Racing entry held the lead after starting from pole position for the first time this weekend, holding the inside line at turn one and two to lead through the opening phase of the race.
It was business as usual for the front four runners Morris, Moffat, Cody Gillis and Lochie Dalton until the latter clipped the back of Gillis’ Mustang and forced a safety car intervention.
It was a double disaster for The Racing Academy as Elliott Cleary made it yet another DNF with mechanical failure – slightly extending the safety car period.
Luckily, Gillis was able to get the car back up and running to rejoin the back of the field, while Dalton was awarded a drive-through penalty – ultimately ruling him out of podium contention and a huge dint into his title aspirations.
Meanwhile, the decision to run two fresh tyres paid dividends for Ben Grice, who was a welcome return to the podium after making up as many as five places on the opening lap.
Running in fourth place was Waltech entry, Tim Brook after an intriguing battle with Tom Hayman throughout.
Hayman would find his way past Brook and was looking certain to hold the position, before making a mistake late in the race which resulted in a DNF.
The mistake meant Edan Thornburrow would fill the top five runners, however he was also caught up in some drama after clipping the rear of Elliot Barbour late on.
In remarkable fashion, Gillis was able to recover from the back of the field to finish in sixth place ahead of Brett Holdsworth and Kyle Gurton.
American entry, Robert Noaker finished in ninth while Chris Pappas not only headed the Hoosier Cup runners, but also secured a top 10 outright finish.
National Trans Am Series will have one more race to finish the weekend, with lights out at 8:40pm AEDT.