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Johnson Champion, Bowe Says Ciao For Now
Steven Johnson has won the 2023 Gulf Western Oils Touring Car Masters championship as Joel Heinrich completed a clean sweep of his home event in Adelaide.
As Johnson claimed his fourth Touring Car Masters title by finishing in second, six-time champion John Bowe completed his ‘Ciao for Now’ tour with a quiet run to ninth outright, though the story of his final race began yesterday.
Bowe’s farewell Touring Car Masters race almost never happened as his Rare Spares Holden Torana SL/R 5000 was unable to be repaired after engine gremlins forced it’s retirement from Race Two yesterday.
However, in an incredible gesture, Jim Pollicina handed over the reigns of his MOCOMM Motorsport Comms Holden Torana A9X to the two-time Bathurst 1000 winner, allowing for Bowe to take the green flag for one final run in TCM from twelfth on the grid.
The rolling start would be delayed by a lap after the High Performance Motorsport Ford Escort Mk II of Ian Price was left stranded on the grid as the field set off behind the safety car on their formation lap.
When the field finally did meet the green flag, they were led by Joel Heinrich and Ryan Hansford, with Heinrich taking the advantage from the start after leaping over the kerb at the Senna Chicane.
Hansford would quickly make his way to the lead at turn five in the Multispares Racing Torana A9X, setting up the move by going around the outside of the Daimler Trucks Adelaide Chevrolet Camaro RS of Heinrich at turn four.
Hansford would lose that lead on lap two, after he launched off the inside kerb at the turn eight sweeper and tagging the outside wall, dropping to sixth but managing to keep on going with minimal damage to the car.
The same could not be said for the NZTCM Invitational entry of Colin Meadows, who thumped the turn eight wall on lap three in the Life Sciences NZ Chevrolet Camaro, with the safety car deployed to retrieve the car and realign the wall.
Fellow Invitational entrant Hagen Zerk would also come to a stop at turn nine in the Dennis Transport Ford XA GT Coupe in an unrelated incident.
The race would ultimately finish under the control of the safety car, as Heinrich led Johnson to the line, with top Pro Am runner Cameron Tilley rounding out the podium in the Anglomoil Superior Lubricants Valiant Pacer.
Warren Trewin was the first of the Pro Sport competitors to greet the flag, finishing in eleventh outright in the SNB Berryman Racing Holden Monaro HQ.
The top Invitational car was the Fluidex Transport / Engine Dynamics Valiant Charger of Tony Galbraith in thirteenth outright.