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Moffat Takes Trans Am Series Lead, Cox Returns to the Top Step in Tailem Bend
June 3, 2024
It was another wild and entertaining affair for the Trico Trans Am Series and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series, as both categories took on the fourth round of the season at The Bend Motorsport Park.
Trans Am
In Trans Am it was James Golding that entered the weekend with the series lead over James Moffat, but the Valvoline racer put together a strong weekend to leapfrog his teammate at the top.
Friday was held in increasingly wet conditions, creating a last across the line dynamic in qualifying late in the afternoon. Moffat took his first Trico Pole Award of the season with a storming final flyer ahead of Golding in third, Tim Slade in sixth, Tom Davies a personal best seventh and Edan Thornburrow 17th with some tyre troubles.
There was a fair bit of calamity in the opening race of the weekend, with Moffat eventually awarded a well-earned victory after being passed for the lead under Safety Car. Thornburrow was on a charge as he cut through the field to finish in fourth, while Slade recovered from a spin to finish in eighth. Penalties for Golding and Davies dampened their performances, leaving them down the order.
Race two was somewhat calmer, with Moffat again on the podium with second place and a charging Golding getting back in to the top five. Slade was seventh, Thornburrow battled his way to 10th and Davies brought home 15th. Race three played out in similar fashion – Moffat second, Golding fourth, Davies the biggest mover to ninth, Thornburrow 14th and Slade 17th.
With a four-race format this weekend, it was down to an action-packed finale to decide the round winners. Moffat was leading before copping a whack that dislodged him down to third but was quick to recover back to second where he would finish. Golding was on the move forward once again to finish in third with Slade and Thornburrow locked in battle for sixth and seventh. Davies was unlucky after early contact, finishing a lap down.
As well as taking out the overall round victory, the points shake out with Moffat in the series lead with a 41 points margin over second and third, which is a currently a dead heat that sees Golding classified second. Slade is eighth, Thornburrow in 10th and Davies in 13th.
TCR Australia
The form book was almost a complete unknown prior to a dry qualifying on Saturday in TCR, with both practice sessions impacted by rain. Jordan Cox quickly established his speed for the weekend, qualifying third and earning a front row start thanks to a penalty in front.
Aaron Cameron also earned a berth in Q2, with the third fastest time in Q1, but a fuel pressure issue limited his effort in the second session to sixth place. Ryan Casha qualified in ninth, just ahead of Bargwanna in tenth.
A fantastic start saw Cox take the lead on lap one, from which he stormed to his second win of the season. Cameron and Casha brought the Valvoline Peugeot’s home in fifth and sixth while Bargwanna battled some electrical gremlins to finish in 10th.
With the top 10 spots reversed on the grid for race two, it was Casha who was first to the line for our quartet in the second race amidst some truly wild racing. Not far behind was Cox in sixth, Bargwanna in seventh and Cameron in ninth.
A chaotic final race was highlighted by Casha’s charge on to the podium in third place. Cox was next across the line in seventh after leading early but stole the headlines with his remarkable save at the final corner (or as Coxy calls it, just another Sunday). Bargwanna wrestled his Peugeot home inside the top 10, while Cameron’s race was curtailed by an errant divebomb from behind on lap one.
Taking out third for the round sees Cox climb to fourth in the standings, just behind Bargwanna in third. Casha’s rookie season continues to impress in fifth, while the absolutely luckless season so far has left Cameron in 10th.
Both categories return to the track from July 12-14 at Queensland Raceway.