Heinrich wins dramatic second outing at Phillip Island
South Australian Joel Heinrich has claimed back-to-back victories on the opening day of the Battery World Aussie Racing Car Super Series’ visit to Phillip Island after taking out a dramatic second race on Saturday afternoon.
The reigning champion enjoyed a dominant win during the shortened eight lap race, eventually crossing the finish line more than four seconds ahead of Rookie Cup winner Mason Harvey, while Reece Chapman rounded out the top three.
The drama began from the moment the race started as a safety car came out on the opening lap after David Makin found himself stopped on the start line and a number of cars tangle further up the track - the most notable casualty being Cody Brewczynski, who got turned around and fell down the order as a result.
Once the race did get underway again, it was Heinrich and race one runner-up Kody Garland who were the stars of the show - breaking away from the rest of the field and building a gap of almost three seconds.
The duo were in a league of their own for much of the eight lap race, however Heinrich slowly built a buffer over Garland, who lost any hope of snatching the lead off the #1 Osborn’s Motorsport Mustang when his own MTA NSW Mustang began to suffer from mechanical dramas.
Garland’s issues opened the door for Harvey to grab his best finish for the year and Chapman to round out the top three, while Garland was forced to settle for fourth place.
Crossing the line behind Garland in fifth place was Brewczynski, who put in a monster effort to charge up the order and make up an incredible 17 places.
Corish Motorsports’ Jordan Freestone was next across the line in sixth to secure a Rookie Cup runner-up and his strongest outright finish of the day, while Action line Marking’s Scott Dornan ended up in seventh place, having been as high as fourth during the race.
Dornan’s result made it consecutive Gold Cup wins for the day, while in eighth place outright was Masters Cup winner Kent Quinn in the Norganic Proteins Australia Mustang.
Making up the rest of the top 10 was rookie driver Jack Boyd in the Ballarat Performance Auto Wreckers Aurion and Masters Cup runner-up Jacob Currie, who made a welcome return after missing the opener.
The sixth round of the 2024 Battery World Aussie Racing Car Super Series continues tomorrow, with race three to begin at 12pm AEST.