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Spectacular Sydney Delivers Poles and Trophies
November 5, 2023
It was quite the spectacle across two days at Sydney Motorsport Park, as our TCR crew took on the world’s best, and our Trans Am crew looked to increase their regained points lead.
Ben Bargwanna got proceedings off to a scorching start, with a world beating lap in qualifying that earned the Burson Auto Parts Peugeot pole position. Bargwanna is the first national driver to deny the World Tour competitors a pole position this year. The stunning effort came in a session that started wet, and slowly dried by the final laps. Jimmy Clairet was impressive, as he qualified ninth in his first appearance at SMP. The early rain at the start of qualifying caught out Aaron Cameron and Jordan Cox, who were left out of position. Kody Garland unfortunately was ruled out for the weekend after a Practice 1 accident.
The three races in TCR were highlighted by all-out aggression, with Cameron and Cox both taking advantage of the action to charge forward and finish second and third out of the TCR Australia regulars. After leading early in race two, and finishing second, a five second penalty denied Cameron an outright podium. Cox fought back from early drama to finish 14th and 16th overall in races two and three. Bargwanna battled mechanical issues, which scuppered his chances in the three races. Clairet enjoyed a solid maiden appearance at SMP, with three top 20 results.
In Trans Am James Moffat took pole position, even despite being jammed in gear to start the session! Lochie Dalton lined up fourth with Edan Thornburrow in sixth. Moffat was untroubled to win the first race, with Dalton climbing up to third and Thornburrow to fifth. It was another triple top five result in the second race, with Moffat this time in second. Race three was a tough one for Dalton and Thornburrow, who both copped penalties, while Moffat secured another runner up finish. A great charge from all three drivers in the final race was led by Moffat grabbing the race and round win! Thornburrow fought back to fourth, while Dalton was battling for a podium before he was taken out on the last lap.
Cameron is now 49 points off the TCR Australia series lead, heading to the final round in Bathurst. Cox is 110 points back and would need quite a bit to go his way but is still in contention. Moffat leads Dalton by 78 points, with a 181 point buffer to third. With only 200 points left up for grabs, the teammates are set to do battle at Bathurst for the Trans Am title.
Only a few days to wait…