Love Leads Sonic Sweep at Phillip Island as Gilbertson and Grove Take Pro Am
PORSCHE MICHELIN junior Jordan Love continued to establish his Porsche PAYCE Carrera Cup Australia championship credentials, dominating the opening two races of the second round of the 2019 championship at Phillip Island.
Meanwhile, Anthony Gilbertson and Stephen Grove shared the TAG Heuer Pro-Am honours, Gilbertson taking a commending win in the Enduro Cup opener while Grove took race two later in the day.
Starting from pole position for the first time, Love made a perfect start at the beginning of the 22-lap Endurance Cup opener and led teammate Dale Wood and Nick McBride into turn one.
He gradually built his margin over the race, ultimately taking a more than five-second victory to commence the long-distance portion of the championship in style with Wood and McBride behind.
He then completed the same process in race two, leading from lights to flag to take his fourth straight victory and narrow the gap to championship leader Dale Wood, who was second, to 27 points.
Michael Almond completed a 1-2-3 sweep for the Sonic team, who have now won the last six straight races.
“It was good, going into that one I knew we had to get a pretty good start, Dale is really hard to race against, so the plan was to try and get him off the start which we managed to do,” said Love after his dominant Enduro Cup race win.
“After that it was a focus on trying not to make a mistake and to stay smooth and consistent to try and keep the tyre under us which we managed to do, but yeah, it was good.”
Love’s second race win came despite pressure from his teammate as the pair spent a majority of the race in close company.
“He wasn’t really letting me go then, Dale was there the whole time and so was Almond,” Love said.
“But 1, 2, 3 for the team so huge credit to them, they’ve done a mega job all weekend and it’s been awesome. So huge credit to the team and we will try to do the same thing tomorrow, but I don’t think it’s going to come easily.”
Dale Wood continues to lead the championship, finishing second in each race on Saturday behind his young teammate.
Nick McBride and Michael Almond look set to battle for the final step on the round podium in Sunday’s final race, each grabbing one third and one fourth place across Saturday’s two races.
McBride was third in the Enduro Cup opener, withstanding sustained pressure from Almond for much of the second half of the race. Roles were then reversed in race two as Almond slipped by early to complete the Sonic sweep of the top three places, with McBride finishing fourth.
With the top four in each race set, there were intense battles for the minors in each race on Saturday.
Warren Luff and Cameron Hill had a lock of fifth and sixth position, respectively, in each race while Thomas Maxwell, David Wall, Cooper Murray and Josh Hunt filled the top-10 positions in race one. Murray, Wall, Maxwell and Steve Richards completed the 10 in the second race.
The battle for TAG Heuer Pro-Am honours saw two winners in the two races, Anthony Gilbertson striking first thanks to a commanding victory in the Endurance cup opener on Saturday morning.
The Hallmark Homes driver led all the way to beat home Sam Shahin and Stephen Grove.
Liam Talbot, who had qualified on pole, failed to make the start after his car suffered a driveline issue before taking to the track.
“The car was really good, a little light in the rear around Honda in the first sort of five laps or so but I dealt with it well and it came on really well in the second half of the race, the times were pretty consistent,” Gilbertson said.
“I don’t think we really need to touch it too much for the second race so we’ll just crack on.”
Unfortunately for the race one winner, his second race unraveled early when he was slow away from the line. While working his way through the field, he and teammate Tim Miles made contact at turn one – spearing both off the circuit at high speed.
Grove, Shahin and a recovering Talbot were the main beneficiaries, the three battling furiously for much of the race.
Grove grabbed the win while Talbot passed Shahin late to grab second having started last. Gilbertson recovered to eighth in class to salvage points for his championship lead.
“That was tough, to start a fair way back on the grid in race two, to get up to third and then push on to get a win, that was really special,” said Grove, who will commence his Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup campaign next month.
“It was really hard work the boys kept coming for me and pushing and pushing me so to get that win was quite sweet. It’s a tough track here, you need to be fairly committed, so it’s fantastic.”
The third and final race of the weekend will commence at 12:45 pm (local time) at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, and will be shown live on FOX Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.
RESULTS – Click Here
Race Schedule
Sunday, April 14, 2019
12:45 pm – Race 3 (14 laps)
Broadcast & Streaming Schedule (local time)
Race 3 – 12:45 pm, Sunday, April 14
Sources: Daniel Jordan/Porsche Cars Australia
Results
Round 3, 2019: Phillip Island
Practice 1
Position Car Driver Class Fastest lap Gap
1 38 David Wall Pro 1:31.9174
2 777 Jordan Love Pro 1:32.1614 0:00.2440
3 100 Dale Wood Pro 1:32.2097 0:00.2923
4 111 Cameron Hill Pro 1:32.2772 0:00.3598
5 8 Nick McBride Pro 1:32.3873 0:00.4699
6 7 Warren Luff Pro 1:32.4633 0:00.5459
7 36 Cooper Murray Pro 1:32.5577 0:00.6403
8 77 Michael Almond Pro 1:32.6667 0:00.7493
9 12 Steven Richards Pro 1:32.7351 0:00.8177
10 15 Josh Hunt Pro 1:32.9598 0:01.0424
11 6 Tim Miles TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.1589 0:01.2415
12 34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro 1:33.2940 0:01.3766
13 27 Liam Talbot TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.4565 0:01.5391
14 5 Thomas Maxwell Pro 1:33.5659 0:01.6485
15 13 Sam Shahin TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.5780 0:01.6606
16 22 Dean Cook TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.6978 0:01.7804
17 23 Roger Lago TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.7810 0:01.8636
18 4 Stephen Grove TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:34.3684 0:02.4510
19 19 Anthony Gilbertson TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:34.6500 0:02.7326
20 20 Adrian Flack TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:34.6852 0:02.7678
21 35 Indiran Padayachee TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:40.7646 0:08.8472
Practice 2
Position Car Driver Class Fastest lap Gap
1 8 Nick McBride Pro 1:31.1091
2 7 Warren Luff Pro 1:31.1804 0:00.0713
3 38 David Wall Pro 1:31.2106 0:00.1015
4 77 Michael Almond Pro 1:31.2390 0:00.1299
5 111 Cameron Hill Pro 1:31.3562 0:00.2471
6 777 Jordan Love Pro 1:31.4384 0:00.3293
7 100 Dale Wood Pro 1:31.4805 0:00.3714
8 12 Steve Richards Pro 1:31.6496 0:00.5405
9 5 Thomas Maxwell Pro 1:31.6595 0:00.5504
10 15 Josh Hunt Pro 1:31.6935 0:00.5844
11 36 Cooper Murray Pro 1:31.7048 0:00.5957
12 23 Roger Lago TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:31.8675 0:00.7584
13 13 Sam Shahin TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:31.9685 0:00.8594
14 34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro 1:32.0437 0:00.9346
15 19 Anthony Gilbertson TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.0981 0:00.9890
16 27 Liam Talbot TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.4363 0:01.3272
17 6 Tim Miles TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.8479 0:01.7388
18 22 Dean Cook TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.0894 0:01.9803
19 20 Adrian Flack TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.2821 0:02.1730
20 4 Stephen Grove TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:33.7136 0:02.6045
21 35 Indiran Padayachee TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:36.2363 0:05.1272
Qualifying
Position Car Driver Class Fastest lap Gap
1 777 Jordan Love Pro 1:30.7789
2 100 Dale Wood Pro 1:30.8110 0:00.0321
3 8 Nick McBride Pro 1:30.8950 0:00.1161
4 7 Warren Luff Pro 1:31.2190 0:00.4401
5 77 Michael Almond Pro 1:31.2563 0:00.4774
6 5 Thomas Maxwell Pro 1:31.2824 0:00.5035
7 111 Cameron Hill Pro 1:31.3029 0:00.5240
8 38 David Wall Pro 1:31.3101 0:00.5312
9 36 Cooper Murray Pro 1:31.3353 0:00.5564
10 15 Josh Hunt Pro 1:31.4076 0:00.6287
11 27 Liam Talbot TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:31.5459 0:00.7670
12 19 Anthony Gilbertson TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:31.8076 0:01.0287
13 12 Steve Richards Pro 1:31.8291 0:01.0502
14 34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro 1:31.8847 0:01.1058
15 6 Tim Miles TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.2003 0:01.4214
16 23 Roger Lago TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.2719 0:01.4930
17 13 Sam Shahin TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.5447 0:01.7658
18 20 Adrian Flack TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.6811 0:01.9022
19 22 Dean Cook TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.7454 0:01.9665
20 4 Stephen Grove TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:32.8513 0:02.0724
21 35 Indiran Padayachee TAG Heuer Pro-Am 1:35.5679 0:04.7890
Race 1
Position Car Driver Class Laps Race Time Fastest Lap
1 777 Jordan Love Pro 22 34:07.4293 1:32.1368*
2 100 Dale Wood Pro 22 34:13.1705 1:32.2626
3 8 Nick McBride Pro 22 34:14.2992 1:32.3964
4 77 Michael Almond Pro 22 34:14.5232 1:32.4334
5 7 Warren Luff Pro 22 34:14.6189 1:32.4462
6 111 Cameron Hill Pro 22 34:17.5126 1:32.5042
7 5 Thomas Maxwell Pro 22 34:18.4720 1:32.5977
8 38 David Wall Pro 22 34:18.6924 1:32.6854
9 36 Cooper Murray Pro 22 34:19.7702 1:32.7799
10 15 Josh Hunt Pro 22 34:21.3033 1:32.8345
11 12 Steve Richards Pro 22 34:29.7353 1:32.8225
12 34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro 22 34:40.4697 1:33.2502
13 19 Anthony Gilbertson TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:41.8272 1:33.2312
14 13 Sam Shahin TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:45.0615 1:33.5538
15 4 Stephen Grove TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:47.6035 1:33.7404
16 6 Tim Miles TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:48.7669 1:33.3616
17 20 Adrian Flack TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:48.8936 1:33.7229
18 23 Roger Lago TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 34:52.2837 1:33.8056
19 22 Dean Cook TAG Heuer Pro-Am 22 35:01.4209 1:34.2293
20 35 Indiran Padayachee TAG Heuer Pro-Am 18 35:27.2160 1:35.8718
DNF 27 Liam Talbot TAG Heuer Pro-Am 0
Race 2
Position Car Driver Class Laps Race Time Fastest Lap
1 777 Jordan Love Pro 14 21:43.8283 1:32.4010
2 100 Dale Wood Pro 14 21:45.3814 1:32.4027
3 77 Michael Almond Pro 14 21:46.5585 1:32.2741*
4 8 Nick McBride Pro 14 21:48.9885 1:32.6271
5 7 Warren Luff Pro 14 21:49.6675 1:32.4979
6 111 Cameron Hill Pro 14 21:50.2068 1:32.6436
7 36 Cooper Murray Pro 14 21:50.4509 1:32.4920
8 38 David Wall Pro 14 21:56.1403 1:32.6430
9 5 Thomas Maxwell Pro 14 21:57.8753 1:32.9231
10 12 Steve Richards Pro 14 22:04.6160 1:33.2602
11 15 Josh Hunt Pro 14 22:04.8020 1:32.8374
12 34 Duvashen Padayachee Pro 14 22:11.2761 1:34.0680
13 4 Stephen Grove TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:11.7785 1:33.8111
14 27 Liam Talbot TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:11.9860 1:33.6958
15 13 Sam Shahin TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:13.1861 1:33.9140
16 23 Roger Lago TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:13.8467 1:33.9923
17 20 Adrian Flack TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:14.3556 1:33.2629
18 22 Dean Cook TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:21.7372 1:34.3460
19 35 Indiran Padayachee TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:26.4825 1:34.6691
20 19 Anthony Gilbertson TAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:40.9635 1:33.6562
21 6 Tim MilesTAG Heuer Pro-Am 14 22:56.8937 1:34.7482