Camaro’s dominate Day One of TA2 Muscle Cars Queensland Raceway Round

Series leader Jarrod Hughes and sensational teen rookie Alice Buckley made it an all Camaro front row for GM Performance at Round 4 of the TFH Hire Muscle Car Seres - presented by Maritimo Yachts during Queensland Raceway’s 2 Days of Thunder this afternoon.

Hughes won the $250 Roadactive Suspension Pole Award with a time of 1.1209, 4/10ths faster than Buckley in her TA2 racing debut. Unit Racing Mustang driver Ben Gomersall was a further 4/10ths back from Tom Davies and Josh Thomas.

With a change to the starting procedure to mirror that used in Nascar and Indycar Racing, Hughes led the field away while Buckley dropped back to position 5.

Josh Thomas in the TFH Hire Mustang dropped into 4th place, behind Camaro driver Tom Davies, being mentored by two-time Trans AM champ Nathan Herne.

Buckley regained 4th from Thomas into Turn 3 while Hayden Jackson bunkered the Dodge into Turn 6 after a driveline issue, and speedway legend Robbie Farr also went into the gravel at Turn 3 setting up a 2-lap safety car period.

Circo Master Class driver Mark Crutcher found some form and was pushing hard through the field passing Josh Webster, Graham Cheney and son Tyler before a universal joint let go in the #4 Mustang.

Gomersall finished second to Hughes with Davies, Buckley, Hodson, Josh and Diesel Thomas, Hayden Hume, Josh Wesbster and Lachlan Evennett rounding out the top ten.

Race Two in the late afternoon sun also saw a clean start for Hughes while team mate Buckley, in only her second rolling start in 5 years since her karting day, dropped back to position 9. Davies again put the pressure on Hughes, while Gomersall slotted into 3rd. Buckley started to hound Webster, the 17-year-old lining the Camaro up on Dick Johnson Straight and making the move stick between turns 1 and 2 in a classy move that would impress any veteran racer.

Davies closed on Hughes for the race lead into Turn 3 running side by side with Gomersall also in the tow and pushing hard. Lachlan Evennett pitted mid race after an off-track excursion but re-joined and Mustang driver Hayden Hume also had a strong race to split Josh and Diesel Thomas on the run to the flag.

Hughes extends his series lead with a flawless performance however with the potential for rain showers tomorrow at Queensland Raceway, rain masters Brad Gartner and Hayden Jackson are looking to the clouds to turn their weekend around.

Round Four of the TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - presented by Maritimo Luxury Yachts will be televised live during the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series on SBS, simulcast on Foxsport/Kayo from 1pm. 

QUOTES

Jarrod Hughes #118, Road Active Suspension, Chev Camaro 
“Race 2 was a bit tougher today. I had Tom Davies and Ben Gomersall right behind me for most of the race, which definitely kept things interesting. We’ll go back to the drawing board tonight and see where we can find those extra tenths to improve for tomorrow.”

Tom Davies, #42 Kilcoy Hotel Exchange, Ford Mustang 
“Race 1 was a great result with a P3 finish and a spot on the podium, which felt really good. Yesterday was tough, we were about two tenths off the pace, but we put on a new set of tyres and found the performance we were missing. We’ve got a clear idea of what needs improving, so we’ll regroup and go again tomorrow.”