News
One lap dash for Hunter’s maiden Kumho series win
Both teams are currently assessing the damage to see if they can be returned to the track tomorrow.
Habers car was quickly recovered however the tow vehicle sent to recover Smerdon became literally – stuck in the mud forcing seven of the scheduled eight laps to be run under Safety Car as both the tow and race vehicles were recovered.
Polesitter Josh Hunter survived the subsequent one-lap dash to the flag beating Holden drivers Scott Loadsman and Jim Pollicina sporting a Jason Richards tribute livery on his ex-Tasman Motorsport VZ Commodore to the top flag.
“It is my first weekend in a V8 Touring Car and I am just really excited for the team Hunter said.
“They have worked so hard to get this car together. We werent really looking for results; we just wanted a strong and consistent finish. To come out with this result is really exciting and has given me a lot of confidence for the
championship ahead.
“I really wanted this. The more I concentrated and focused; I just got in there and did what I had to do. With the pace that we have shown I hope we can turn it into a top three at the end of the year but we dont want to count our
eggs too soon. Hopefully we can finish this weekend off how we started.
Loadsman used the start line drama to jump from forth place on the grid
whilst Pollicina did even better by making up four places from his seventh
placed qualifying effort.
Earlier Hunter had taken a commanding pole position on his Kumho Series debut by topping the competitive field by a stunning 1.3 seconds in the 20-minute qualifying session.
On his V8 debut MW Motorsport Ford driver Morgan Haber qualified second ahead of Justin Garioch Scott Loadsman and Nathan Garioch.
A further two races over eight and twelve laps respectively will be contested tomorrow as part of the season opener of the Shannons Nationals presented by Hi-Tec Oils.
All the action will be steamed live on the internet via www.itvlive.com.au.