Photo Credit: Tayler Burke
Andrew Porter went lights to flag to win the first race of the weekend at the third round of the RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes Championship at Manfeild Circuit Chris Amon this afternoon, fending off a strong challenge from series debutant Jake Stoneman to win his first race aboard his Porter Hire Ford Falcon FG.
Porter made a great getaway from the pole position slot and held his line on the inside as the field surged towards Manfeild’s first turn.
Porter won the drag race to the first corner, but behind him there was contact between Paul Manuell in the Superfreight Holden and the Ford Falcon FGs of Jake Stoneman and Glen Collinson, both tried to take the initiative behind Porter.
It was Stoneman who emerged in second and set off after Porter while Collinson tried his best to stay in touch in third.
As the race progressed it became a two-horse race between Porter and Stoneman and although it looked like Stoneman would have a go at a pass on several occasions, Porter had the measure on his rival in outright pace around the twisty, banked track.
Behind the top two, Collinson had his hands full – literally – with a failed power steering system as a result of the first corner fun and games. Power steering fluid was bleeding out onto the hot exhaust of his Link Up Paints Ford, causing plenty of smoke and leaving him with increasingly heavy steering.
As it worsened, he fell back into the clutches of Manuell, who in turn found a stronger pace than Ward and built a decent gap.
At the end of the race, it was Porter who was delighted with his first Ford Falcon FG win, followed by the impressive Stoneman in second, a relieved and thirsty Collinson in third and a resigned Manuell in fourth.
The result compresses the points table in the championship bringing Collinson closer to Manuell and Porter closer to them both. Sunday morning’s second race will feature a reverse top ten of today’s results, with Liam Porter and Brent Main in first and second respectively on the grid in their Ford Falcon BF models.
RYCO 24•7 V8 Utes Championship Round 3 Race 1
1 Andrew Porter Ford
2 Jake Stoneman – Ford
3 Glen Collinson – Ford
4 Paul Manuell – Holden
5 Peter Ward – Holden
6 Geoff Spencer – Holden
7 Simon Ussher – Ford
8 Stu Monteith – Holden
9 Brent Main – Ford
10 Liam Porter – Ford
11 Dave Lowe – Ford
12 Paul Fougere – Holden
13 Roger Nees – Ford
14 Greg Kroef – Ford
DNF Brett Rudd – Holden