Kiwi driver Blake Dowdall and co-driver Cooper Cutts came within touching distance of a Monochrome GT4 Australia podium in Race 2 at Hidden Valley Raceway, finishing fourth after an impressive drive through a chaotic encounter in Darwin.
Dowdall and Cutts started ninth in their Miedecke Motorsport Ford Mustang, while Race 1 winners William Exton and Jack Johnson lined up sixth in the Team Soutar Motorsport McLaren Artura. Chris White and Daniel Frougas began from seventh in the GWR Australia Toyota Supra EVO 2.
The race was interrupted almost immediately when pole-sitter Jensen Shearer and Mason Harvey made contact exiting Turn 2 on the opening lap. Harvey spun into the gravel before hitting the wall, prompting the first safety car of the race.
The incident allowed Jett Murray to take the race lead ahead of George Miedecke, while Cutts made an outstanding start to climb from ninth to third by the end of the opening lap. White also gained ground to run fifth.
For Exton and Johnson, however, their race unravelled almost instantly. Amid the opening-lap drama, Johnson brought the McLaren into the pits and retired with a mechanical issue after the car suffered a loss of power steering.
Shearer, who dropped to eighth following the incident with Harvey, was later handed a drive-through penalty for causing the collision.
Following the restart, White briefly looked set to challenge near the front before running wide onto the grass a few laps later. He rejoined safely but lost two positions, slipping back to seventh.
A second safety car was deployed with 38 minutes remaining after Andrew Torti became stranded deep in the gravel trap. Once his Toyota Supra EVO 2 was recovered, racing resumed with just over half an hour remaining, setting the stage for the compulsory pit stops.
After the driver changes, Dowdall emerged in fourth after taking over from Cutts, while Frougas rejoined fifth before being overtaken by Aaron Cameron’s Ford Mustang.
Dowdall remained in the fight for the podium until the chequered flag but ultimately finished fourth overall and in class, missing third place by just 0.6 seconds after an impressive recovery from the opening laps.
Frougas drove a composed second stint to bring the GWR Australia entry home sixth overall and sixth in class.
While Exton and Johnson’s hopes of completing a Darwin double ended with an early retirement, Dowdall and Cutts capped off a strong weekend by securing another top-four result.
Monochrome GT4 Australia returns on September 18-20 for Rounds 9 and 10 at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Header Image: Monochrome GT4 Australia
