McBride and Grove Strike Again with Race Two Wins
Race one winners continue fine form in Friday’s race two
Nick McBride has continued his dominance of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia’s Albert Park round, leading home his teammate to the chequered flag in Friday’s race two, while Stephen Grove was unchallenged to the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge class win.
Following McBride’s impressive Thursday performance – pole position and race one victory – the local driver led from the start of race two, holding off fellow Sonic Motor Racing driver Andre Heimgartner to the finish line over the fast paced 10 lap race.
Following a difficult opening round in Adelaide, Friday’s victory promoted McBride to third in the standings behind Heimgartner and David Wall.
“It’s a great result for the team because Rod, the owner of Bob Jane T-Marts, is out here today along with a lot of the Bob Jane T-Marts team so it’s really good to put on a good show for them,” said McBride.
“It was great to keep Andre behind me. I saw that he made a little mistake which allowed me to breathe a little bit there towards the end. He is a class driver so I have to be on my game every time I go out there otherwise I’m going to be beaten.
“In a way I feel that the disappointing start to the season at the Clipsal 500 was good for me as I’ve always had a really good start to the season and then dropped off for the second half. I have the mentality this year just to go for it and see what happens.”
The battle of the race was between Cam McConville and Alex Davison; the duo dicing for third throughout the 10 lap event, with McConville winning the battle and his second top-three result for the event.
Davison placed fourth from Wall, Dylan O’Keeffe, Michael Almond, Lars Kern and ninth placed James Abela.
Tenth placed Grove was thrilled with his improved pace in race two, claiming a substantial class victory.
“We changed the car a bit overnight; I wasn’t really happy with it yesterday. I got a pretty good start and pushed hard on old tyres and then tried to manage the gap,” said Grove.
“I’m really happy with the changes we made and also my performance throughout the race, which I hope to continue over the next two races.”
Simon Ellingham placed 11th from Marc Cini, who charged up the order having started at the rear of the grid following his race one DNF, with Matt Palmer, Dean Cook and Graham Williams in 13th, 14th and 15th respectively.
Young gun Jaxon Evans, who placed 10th in Thursday’s race one, failed to make the starting grid after breaking a driving shaft on the warm-up lap.
Two Porsche Carrera Cup Australia races remain for the Albert Park event, with race three and race four to be broadcast on Channel Ten on Saturday and Sunday.
Race Schedule
Saturday March 25, 2017
12:45pm Race 3 (10 laps)
Sunday March 26, 2017
1:50pm Race 4 (10 laps)
Broadcast Schedule
Channel: Ten
Race 3 – 12:45pm, Saturday March 25
Race 4 – 1:50pm, Sunday March 26
Race 2 Results
1. #77 Nick McBride (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts – 10 laps, 20:07.0288s
2. #777 Andre Heimgartner (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts – 10 laps, 20:07.8152s
3. #5 Cameron McConville (Outright) Repair Management Australia – 10 laps, 20:09.3071s
4. #888 Alex Davison (Outright) POLAR/President Limo Australia – 10 laps, 20:09.8085s
5. #38 David Wall (Outright) PAYCE/Wilson Security – 10 laps, 20:13.0628s
6. #88 Dylan O’Keeffe (Outright) APB Group/President Limo Australia – 10 laps, 20:14.0224s
7. #6 Michael Almond (Outright) Repair Management Australia – 10 laps, 20:16.0527s
8. #8 Lars Kern (Outright) Porsche Centre Melbourne – 10 laps, 20:18.0562s
9. #54 James Abela (Outright) Horsley Park Gun Shop – 10 laps, 20:23.2467s
10. #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Grove Group – 10 laps, 20:43.2154s
11. #33 Simon Ellingham (Outright) Peak Marketing – 10 laps, 20:43.6594s
12. #9 Marc Cini (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Hallmarc – 10 laps, 20:59.3619s
13. #48 Matt Palmer (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) STR Truck Bodies – 10 laps, 20:59.6750s
14. #22 Dean Cook (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) – 10 laps, 21:29.1404s
15. #131 Graham Williams (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) DNA Racing – 10 laps, 22:20.3825
DNS #7 Jaxon Evans (Outright) Hungry Jack’s
Sources: Daniel Jordan/Porsche Cars Australia