fbpx

Sandown: Friday wrap

Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series

Practice 1 

Will Brown continued where he left off from Queensland Raceway by going fastest in Practice 1 for Supercheap Auto TCR Australia.  

The top three were separated by less than two-tenths of a second, with Jordan Cox edging out reigning champion, Tony D’Alberto.  

The session was over before it even started for Kody Garland, who stopped at the end of the pit lane with a driveshaft issue

Practice 2  

Working their way to the top of the timesheets in Practice 2 was Zac Soutar, finishing a mere tenth of a second ahead of Tony D’Alberto, who made it two top three finishes for the day.

Ben Bargwanna rounded out the top three places in a session that saw the top nine drivers separated by less than one second.  

Will Brown was unable to get a full run in before qualifying, only completing six laps across the session while title contender Bailey Sweeny only completed eight. 

The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will return to the track for qualifying on Saturday at 11:40am AEST.

National Trans Am Series

Practice 1  

James Moffat made an early impression in the first National Trans Am Series practice of the weekend, going just under half a second quicker than the in-form Elliot Barbour.  

Rounding out the top three less than one tenth of a second back was Brett Holdsworth, while Nash Morris showed no signs of slowing in his return to the series, finishing fourth.  

Practice 2 

James Moffat made it two from two in the second National Trans Am Series practice session of the weekend, this time finishing half a second ahead of Edan Thornburrow.  

It was an impressive session for Thornburrow, who improved from fifth in the earlier session to sit a further four-tenths clear of Elliot Barbour – who made it back-to-back top three finishes in practice.  

It was a session to forget for Elliot Cleary, with The Racing Academy youngster being towed back to the pits after an incident early on in the session.  

Qualifying

Series leader, James Moffat made it a perfect day out by taking pole position in National Trans Am Series qualifying ahead of Ben Grice.

Moffat led the session from start to finish, aided by a red flag late in the session after Cody Gillis required attention on track.

Grice would move into second place after cars were back allowed out on track in the dying stages, finishing half a second back from Moffat while edging out third place Elliot Barbour by less than two tenths of a second.

The National Trans Am Series will see its first of three races for the weekend kick off at 2:10pm AEST on Saturday.

Kumho V8 Touring Car Series

Practice 2 

Jamie Tilley went fastest in the one and only practice session of the weekend for the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series after the first session was cancelled due to track conditions.  

Tilley was sitting behind series leader, Jude Bargwanna for the majority of the session before posting his quickest lap on the final time around, while Antonio Mulluso also nipped the latter in similar fashion.  

Bargwanna would end up in third, with Tony Auddino running in fourth ahead of Jim Pollicina.  

The Kumho V8 Touring Car Series will return to the track for its qualifying session at 10:35am AEST. 

Mobil 1 Australian Production Cars and Monochrome GT4 Australia

Practice

Shane Smollen continued his run of good form by going fastest in the GT4 class ahead of Karl Begg in challenging conditions.  

Meanwhile, APC saw Hadrian Morrall as the early driver to beat, topping Jake Camilleri by more than one and a half seconds.  

The session saw challenging conditions throughout, with red flags being waived and drivers going off track on multiple occasions.  

Qualifying 

Shane Smollen (GT4) and Grant Sherrin (APC) have been awarded pole position in their respective classes after an intriguing qualifying session.  

The GT4 series leader finished two-tenths of a second ahead of rival Karl Begg, with the top two in a class of their own as third place Mark Griffith finished almost one whole second back.  

Meanwhile, Sherrin went half a second faster than Coleby Cowham in second for the APC class but will also have Cameron Crick and Iain Sherrin on his tail at the start of Race 1.  

The combined Mobil 1 Australian Production Car Series and Monochrome GT4 Australia will next feature at 11:05am AEST on Saturday for its first of four races. 

Australian Formula Open

Practice 1  

Ryan How striked first in Australian Formula Open Practice 1, finishing more than one and a half seconds ahead of series leader Trent Grubel.  

Brodie Norris was the best of the F4 class ahead of teammate Kristian Janev in convincing fashion, with all drivers taking caution due to challenging wet conditions out on track.  

Practice 2 

Peter Bouzinelos led the way in Australian Formula Open Practice 2, with the Victorian pipping AF04 contenders Kristian Janev and Brodie Norris in the dying stages of the session.  

It was an impressive session for Miles Bromley in the F3, going fastest in a session that saw contender Ryan How second and Beau Russell in third.  

Practice 3 

Ryan How topped off an impressive Friday by going fastest in Australian Formula Open Practice 3, again finishing in front of Trent Grubel.  

The session was momentarily red flagged after a spin early in the session, but once the action got back underway it was Kristian Janev who did the work – leading the F4 class.  

Australian Formula Open will decide the grid for its opening race in qualifying on Saturday at 10:05am AEST. 

MARC Cars Australia

Practice 1  

Geoff Taunton led the way in MARC Cars Australia’s first practice session at Sandown, finishing ahead of Jacob Camilleri in a disrupted session.  

Camilleri was the best MARC I runner of the session, heading Andrew Leithhead in third while Darren Currie was the next best in his MARC II Mustang.  

Practice 2 

After topping opening practice, Geoff Taunton repeated his efforts by going fastest again in the second practice running of the day for MARC Cars Australia.  

The only driver to come close to Taunton was Cameron McLeod, who was six-tenths of a second back of the MARC GT 001 on a dryer track to the morning session.  

Coming in third was the other GT of John Goodacre, who made his first appearance of the weekend after sitting out of Practice 1.  

Qualifying 

Jacob Camilleri took an emphatic pole position in an interrupted MARC Cars Australia qualifying session, finishing just over a tenth of a second ahead of Cameron McLeod.  

The session ended early after a red flag was waived late, but two laps was all Camilleri needed to take top honours.

Starting in third for Race 1 will be Geoff Taunton, but despite his early pace in qualifying, he will have to get the jump on John Goodacre in the other MARC GT beside him.  

MARC Cars Australia will see its first of three races first thing Saturday morning at 9:15am AEST.