Walls returns to the top of Carrera Cup in Melbourne
HE MAY only be contesting a partial campaign in this year’s Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, but that’s not stopping Jackson Walls’ charge for success in the one-make Porsche category this year.
His Objective Racing #11 entry fielded by GWR Australia was in the right place at the right time to claim race two of the championship weekend at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, leading home Bayley Hall and Marcos Flack to take the Equity-One Professional class in another dramatic Melbourne affair.
Rodney Jane claimed a win in the Pro-Am class after race one winner Sam Shahin was outsted from the running, with Brett Boulton and Dean Cook completing the podium.
Walls pathway to victory came following early leader Harri Jones running off the road at turn one following a late-race restart in Friday evening’s sprint.
The Sydneysider had survived the opening lap to climb to second and chase his former title rival early in race two and pounced the moment Jones’ fell off the road at the opening corner, Walls never headed from there to claim his fifth career Carrera Cup race win and his first for his new team.
It ended Jones’ – who finished 7th in the end – run of four consecutive race victories: the best start to a Carrera Cup Australia Championship since Alex Davison achieved the same feat in his title-winning 2004 season a full two decades ago.
The defending champion had led from pole to the point where a Safety Car slowed the field. With Walls trailing, his restart looked strong until the opening corner when the #1 car ran off the road – rejoining in the midst of a furious battle pack for the back half of the top 10 to salvage championship points.
With Walls in front, Bayley Hall’s super consistent weekend continued with another second position to close the championship points margin to leader Jones, while Marcos Flack continued his love affair with Albert Park by finishing third, the first top three finish for both he and Sonic Motor Racing since the same event twelve months ago.
The ever-present Clay Osborne scored his second career-best result in as many races with fourth position while Dylan O’Keeffe salvaged solid points in fifth.
Fast Frenchman Alessandro Ghiretti survived contact earlier in the race to recover to sixth position, one spot ahead of Jones – who in turn led home David Russell, Angelo Mouzouris and Hamish Fitzsimmons, a quiet achiever on his way to his second top-10 finish of the season.
In Pro-Am, Rodney Jane was the key beneficiary as contact caused Sam Shahin to stop, the race one winner out of the race on lap six.
Former champion Adrian Flack was another to feel Albert Park’s wrath, contact between two other cars forcing the two-time champ to the non-finishers list as well.
Through it all came Rodney Jane, who extended his series lead in the Pro-Am battle thanks to a strong win aboard his Bob Jane T-Marts Sonic entry.
Brett Boulton scored another podium in the increasingly popular Lightning Mcqueen liveried McElrea racer, while the returning Dean Cook capped off a solid day for GWR in third.
Seven cars failed to finish: heavy contact at turn seven ending Matt Slavin’s comeback drive after an incident in turn one also ended his first race early.
Caleb Sumich was another to fail to finish after suffering radiator damage aboard his entry, while Jacque Jarjo, Shahin, Flack, Glen Wood and Max Vidau also failed to make it to the line.
A third and final race completes the weekend on Saturday evening at Albert Park