News
Moffat converts pole to race one victory
National Trans Am Series leader, James Moffat has converted a pole position into a convincing win in race one under the lights of Sydney Motorsport Park.
The Victorian crossed the line four seconds ahead of Nash Morris, while Lochie Dalton moved up one position to secure the final step on the podium.
A fiery start to the race saw Moffat under immediate pressure from fellow front row starter in Morris, but he was able to hold his lead through the opening laps.
Meanwhile, Morris suddenly started to fall into the sights of Dalton, with the two youngsters then engaging in an entertaining battle for podium places – allowing Moffat to create an unassailable gap out front.
Also involved in that battle was Cody Gillis, however The Racing Academy entry went off track and lost some ground as a result and had to settle for fourth.
Rounding out the top five places was Edan Thornburrow, who didn’t let himself get caught up in the carnage ahead while keeping the pace to stay ahead of Pioneer DJ’s Elliot Barbour.
Barbour moved up four places to finish ahead of Ben Grice, who was another driver to enjoy a great result after a sub-par qualifying session.
The returning Tim Brook, Tom Hayman and Brett Holdsworth rounded out the top 10 runners, with Hayman playing recovery after going off track in the opening laps.
The leading Hoosier Cup driver was Chris Pappas, who moved up one position to finish in 13th ahead of class rival Nick Lange, while Dream Racing Australia’s Craig Scutella was the first to cross the line in the Masters Cup.
It was an unfortunate race for Elliott Cleary after he was forced back to the garage in the opening laps, before Mark Crutcher became the second driver to make a one-way trip to the pits after complaints of vibrations in the rear of his Camaro.
National Trans Am Series will see another three races across the weekend, kicking off with race two at 2:10pm AEDT on Saturday.