Hill, Cook survive wet ‘n wild opener at The Bend Motorsport Park
Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia series leader Cameron Hill has survived rain and chaos to win the opening race of round two at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia.
Meanwhile, Dean Cook led home Geoff Emery and Scott Taylor to win the Morris Finance Pro-Am class in a wild affair that saw drama from the outset and a Safety Car finish.
Hill, who started third, led home Harri Jones and former champion David Wall in a race that ran six laps but finished under Safety Car after a series of incidents throughout.
“There was a big crash at the start and I saw it all happen in my mirror,” Hill explained.
“There was a lot of spray and not so good vision and it was sad to see some of the cars taken out at the start. On that restart, I saw the guys in second and third touch and thought ‘I’m just going to stay out of this’.
“You have to take them when they come and I’m happy the car is straight.”
Cook’s win in Morris Finance Pro-Am came from fourth on the class grid and after missing the opening round of the series at Sandown.
It also came despite not having a functioning windscreen wiper during the rain-affected race.
“That was a lucky one, to get the finish and a win, it was difficult and the conditions weren’t the best, especially without a windscreen wiper!” Cook said.
“I was able to avoid the carnage and come away with the win is a good thing.
“I missed the restart but you think ‘lets just get through the last few laps’ and I hoped the windscreen cleared so I could see.”
The race commenced in fully wet conditions with the entire field sporting wet Michelin tyres.
Polesitter Matthew Payne was slower away from the front row of the grid than second-placed Cooper Murray, the latter leading the field up towards turn one.
Drama unfolded behind however as Michael Almond, David Wall and David Russell made contact as they ran three wide; Almond and Russell both spinning across the road and making contact with the inside wall of the circuit.
The incident caught up several other cars with Dale Wood, Ben Stack and Tim Miles also out of the race, while Sam Shahin spun across the road but fortuitously avoided any contact.
After a lengthy clean-up, the race resumed with Murray making a perfect re-start and leading the field up to turn one.
Behind him, Payne and Aaron Love, who had started seventh, battled for second position and made light contact as they raced towards the first corner.
That contact saw Payne spinning across the wet infield and into the path of an unwitting Murray, with both cars suffering damage.
The race returned to Safety Car conditions and finished after six laps with Hill taking his third win from four starts this year and extending his championship lead.
Harri Jones was a remarkable second and first Michelin Junior, despite having started eighth, while David Wall finished third.
Luke Youlden climbed from ninth to third to record the best result for the TekworkX team in just their second-ever round, while local hero Max Vidau charged from 12th to fifth.
Nick McBride – who started 14th – was sixth with Aaron Love, Jackson Walls, Craig Lowndes – from 19th – and Simon Fallon completing the top-10.
Cook’s Morris Finance Pro-Am win came ahead of Geoff Emery and Scott Taylor, who’s third place finish equalled his previous-best Pro-Am race finish.
Results remain provisional pending Motorsport Australia stewards enquires into the incidents during the race.
Earlier in qualifying, Matthew Payne and Cooper Murray created the youngest-ever front row for a Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia race as the Michelin juniors starred in qualifying.
Payne grabbed the top spot in the session to deliver the Earl Bamber Motorsport / Team Porsche NZ team their first Tag Heuer pole award in just their second Carrera Cup Australia race.
The pair share an average age of 18 years and 5 months, with Payne becoming the second-youngest polesitter in Carrera Cup history.
Geoff Emery scored his second straight Tag Heuer Pole Award in Morris Finance Pro-Am, edging out local hope Sam Shahin by just 0.1 seconds, Ben Stack in third.
Two further races, including a 45-minute Enduro Cup challenge in the morning, complete the racing on Sunday at The Bend Motorsport Park.
PROVISIONAL RESULTS: Race 1, Round 2, The Bend Motorsport Park
BROADCAST SCHEDULE: Round 2, The Bend Motorsport Park
Sunday 09th May 2021
Race 2 11:15-12:00 20 laps
Race 3 14:25-14:50 11 laps
For more Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia news follow the Porsche Motorsport Australia social pages: Instagram – @PorscheMotorsportAU / Twitter – @PorscheMspAU / Facebook.com/ PorscheMotorsportAU
Sources: Angus Thompson/Porsche Cars Australia