With love, Talbot takes on shortened round of Bathurst as Aussie Cup title battles head to Gold Coast final
Love in the Pro class and Talbot in the Morris Pro-Am took the iconic Bathurst podium after the first race.
Love defeated Max Vidau and Dylan O’Keefe, while Talbot claimed the Pro-Am ahead of Jeff Emery and Adrian Flack.
Saturday’s second race was canceled and never started due to torrential rain and flooding on the course, while Sunday’s race was started but not completed over the distance to be classified as a full race.
A delayed start due to track repairs and then an early Safety Car saw the race red-flagged due to timing considerations at the event.
The race was declared a no-race, no points awarded.
Following the results of the first race, the final round of the 2022 championship will take place on the streets of Surfers Paradise, starting with five drivers in the running for the title.
Harry Jones continues to lead the championship, 74 points clear of Aaron Love, who is now in second place.
Dylan O’Keefe is third, five points behind Love, while former champion David Wall (-94) and David Russell (-104) remain in the title reckoning.
In the Morris Pro-Am, Jeff Emery became the first driver to lead the championship for consecutive stages this season.
The Victorian, despite finishing second to Liam Talbot this weekend, leads the class heading into the Gold Coast.
Five drivers are also in contention for the Pro-Am title, with Emery leading Dean Cook by 785-763 points.
Talbot sits third in the championship, a further 10 points adrift, while Sam Shaheen and Rodney Jane remain in the title contention.
The final round of the 2022 Australian Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup will take to the streets of Surfers Paradise in the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.
QUOTES:
David Stewart, Race Director, Motorsport Australia:
“The issue we had to deal with was that the start of the race was delayed due to repairs on the track, which meant that our original time for the race had to be revised.
“We were then informed that our new specific time would be 10:07 plus 1 lap. We started the race with the safety car for safety reasons at the first turn and the track conditions. The starting lap was slower than race speed and everyone passed, the safety car was recalled. The two cars then went off at turn 21, with one pulling out and the other doing what it could to try to get out, eventually colliding with oncoming traffic and crashing into the barrier.
“At that point time was running out and we couldn’t get the whole field through that corner at race pace because two cars had left the lap earlier and there was a good chance of more cars going off and the car that was on ran aground, found himself in a vulnerable position. We only had two options and one was to deploy the safety car, which we did.
“A certain amount of time expired before the safety car even crossed the check line to start another lap that would have been done under the safety car.
“The considerations were at that point after we deployed the safety car, whether to red flag the race or not before a certain time – so it will be classified as a non-race because we didn’t reach a certain time and we didn’t do 50% of the planned laps .
“So, given the situation that happened in Townsville, in my opinion and based on the feedback from the Townsville teams, the best option would be to suspend the race and not restart it, therefore not classifying it as a race.”
Aaron Love, winner of the pro round:
“We had a pretty good weekend, obviously with pole and actually two race wins, but everyone from me to the guy who finished last is very disappointed because we only really did one race.
“We’ve started again but to no avail so we’re packing and looking forward to the Gold Coast at the end of the season, it’s one of my favorite tracks. It was a good weekend all things considered. I love racing Sonic at the Carrera Cup Australia and the Gold Coast, I went there in 2019 for my first round of the Carrera Cup and had an absolute ball, so no matter what happens in the championship I’m sure we’ll have a great race . »
Liam Talbot, winner of the Morris Round:
“It was a good weekend, I like wet conditions so I was rubbing my hands together thinking it was going to be a good weekend. Unfortunately we didn’t run too much yesterday and today, the conditions in Race 1 were treacherous, so to use all that experience to win the race was very satisfying.
“The fact that we didn’t get races 2 and 3 doesn’t bother me. It’s incredible to be on the top step here in Bathurst, the last time I was here I had a 9 month old and my little daughter I was on the podium so to be on the top step now with them watching at home is pretty cool .”
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