JOHNSON CLAIMS SECOND WIN OF WEEKEND AT WINTON
2023-06-11 12:30:00
The Hancock Racing entry steered clear of any chaos at the race start to build a gap ahead of Adam Garwood, and the fast-starting Andrew Fisher.
Fisher, Saturday’s Trophy Race winner, had the better start of all in the leading group, navigating his Holden Torana A9X ahead of Garwood’s Holden Commodore VB on lap two.
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After missing out on race one with a damaged valve sustained in the earlier Trophy Race, John Bowe used his experience to move up five places in only a matter of laps and suddenly bring himself in contention.
Another driver looking to make up for missed opportunities earlier in the weekend was Ryan Hansford, with the Multispares Racing entry powering his way through the grid to find himself fighting for podium places.
Johnson started to pull away through the middle stages of the race while chaos started to beckon behind, with second-place runner Fisher spinning after contact with Garwood’s Holden Commodore VB – ruling the former out of podium contention as a result.
The drama continued when Hansford found himself in a tangle at the final corner late in the session, ruling himself out of contention and falling down the order.
Garwood started to close the gap on the leading Johnson but ultimately ran out of time, finishing just over five-tenths of a second behind the series leader.
It was an incredible performance from Bowe to find himself a further four second back and on the podium after his Rare Spares / PAYNTER DIXON team were up until 4:30am repairing the car in time for the race.
Western General Body Works Danny Buzadzic worked his way back up to fourth place despite losing places at the race start, finishing ahead of the R&J Batteries / Action Motor Marcus Zukanovic in fifth.
The resilient Fisher crossed the line in seventh place behind Cameron Tilley’s Valiant Pacer but will have another opportunity at a podium later this afternoon.
After suffering an issue in the second race of the weekend, Hansford’s weekend went from bad to worse with an eighth place finish a result of the earlier spin.
The Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters will take the track for their final race of the weekend at 2:35pm AEST.
You can catch all the action live, on-demand, and ad-break free on Stan Sport from 9:30am AEST on Sunday.