The Circuit Excels had two two races on Saturday. (Photos: Priceless Images)
Circuit Excels
After converting his pole position to a race one win, William Brittian had a challenging start to his Saturday, dropping from first to seventh on the opening lap on race two.
Brittian only managed to make up two positions for the rest of what was an extremely close race as just over three seconds separated the top six.
Claiming the victory in the second race was Shannon Williams, who beat Monique Sciberras across the line by one second. Hayden Auld rounded out the top three, a further one second off.
Brittian later charged his way through the field in race three to take the lead less than four laps into the outing. He stretched out the gap at the top to six seconds by the time the chequered flag was waved.
The battle for second place went right down the wire, as Sciberras edged Auld by just seven hundredths of a second.
The Circuit Excels have one more race for the weekend, with the category to wrap up its final race at 9:35am AEST.
MARC Cars Australia
The category had two track sessions on Saturday and while a dominant display from one particular entry looked on the cards, it was hardly the case.
Having won all three practice sessions, Cameron McLeod put the #66 MARC GT he shares with John Goodacre on pole position in convincing fashion.
Going three and a half seconds faster than the next best driver in Darren Currie, McLeod and Goodacre would have gone into the first race full of confidence.
However, it was a different story when it came to the race itself, as McLeod/Goodacre crossed the line as runners-up.
Despite a strong start, the duo’s pitstop saw them fall behind Adam Hargreaves, who started the race in fifth place but came out firing on all cylinders after his stop to move from last to first in just seven laps.
Rounding out the top three was Geoffrey Morgan, who finished where he started, while Currie failed to finish.
The series continues tomorrow morning and will be the first category to feature on the Shannons Trophy Series live stream at 9am AEST.
Workhorse Radical Cup Australia
It was an emotional day in the Radicals as debutant Alex Gardner showcased his quality by winning the opening race of the weekend – his first ever in the national series.
Gardner started the race off in third place behind some hugely talented drivers, with polesitter Terry Knowles and Barton Mawer starting on the front row alongside Joey Mawson and Mark Rosser.
The teenager got the stronger start of the three crews, as he gained the lead by the end of the first lap – holding onto it until his first visit to the pits.
A highly mature performance from the youngster saw him navigate his way back to the lead and hold it once all drivers took their pitstops.
Finishing behind Gardner to round out the top three was reigning series winner Chris Perini and multiple-time champion Peter Paddon.
The Workhorse Radical Cup Australia has one more race for the rest of the weekend, with its 50-minute race taking place at 12:00pm AEST.
Toyota Gazoo Racing Australia Scholarship Series
It was a very different day in the TGRA Scholarship Series compared to yesterday, as two new drivers were the standout performers as opposed to Lachlan Bloxsom and Marcus LaDelle.
Taking out top honours in the series’ sole race of the day was Max Geoghegan, who crossed the line less than a second ahead of Brock Stinson – the duo reversing positions after Stinson claimed pole position earlier in the day.
Ryan Tomsett and Cody Burcher finished third and fourth respectively, with Bloxsom rounding out the top five – a solid effort considering the fastest driver from yesterday’s practice sessions qualified 12th.
As for LaDelle, after finishing second in yesterday’s session, he had a hugely disappointing race – dropping from third to 10th over the course of the race.
The series is back tomorrow with the first of its two remaining races to take place at 10:05am.
Improved Production Nationals
The 49-car field was dominated by one driver over the course of today’s two qualifying sessions and four heats, with Adam Poole claiming pole positions and two commanding race wins.
Poole was just too good for the competition as he stormed away to a 13-second win over Zak Hudson in Heat 1 before winning Heat 3 by 25 seconds over Lachlan McBrien.
Hudson would enjoy a victory of his own during the day, winning Heat 4 by 14 seconds over Kurt Macready, who won Heat 2 by a solid margin himself – the Nissan S15 driver beating Ben Algie by 17 seconds.
The series has four more races left, with Heat 5 and 6 to get tomorrow’s action underway from 8am, while its Under 2L and Over 2L finals will run at 1pm AEST as part of the live stream on 7plus.
Mobil 1 Australian Production Series and Monochrome GT4 Series
Shane Smollen and Justin Ruggier continued their dominance in the combined series, converting yesterday’s pole position into two very comfortable victories.
With the category having two hour races, Smollen and Ruggier started off strong in the first race of the weekend, producing strong stints in their Porsche Cayman to cross the line 40 seconds ahead of Mark Griffith.
Griffith himself had a solid finish to race, going 10 seconds faster than series debutant Renee Gracie, who put in a good shift to seal third by 52 seconds over Steve Jukes.
It was a far closer outing in the evening, as Nash Morris switched with Griffth to get behind the wheel of the #19 Mercedes AMG and the young Queenslander delivered – crossing the line behind Ruggier by less than two seconds.
Gracie was unable to replicate her success from the opener, dropping down below Jukes and then behind Paul Morris, the latter of whom finished third.
In the Australian Production Cars, it was Iain Sherrin who led the field in both races, as he finished fifth and sixth overall.
In race one, his biggest challengers came in the form of Cameron Crick and Tyler Mecklem while race two saw Grant Sherrin and Coleby Cowham make up the top three.
The combined category resumes tomorrow at 10:35am and 3:50pm with both races to form part of the live stream.
Watch the free live stream on 7plus from 9am AEST on Sunday.
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