It has been a weekend of two halves for Clay Osborne and Tom Bewley, with Osborne showing good pace to bring home a podium in Race 2 while Bewley suffered drama in both races, meaning he was unable to bring home a representative result.
Race 1
Bewley suffered a horrific start after qualifying on pole position, and was forced to move to the side of the track while the grid swept past. This left the young Kiwi down in twenty-sixth, and essentially ended his race before it started.
Meanwhile, out front, Osborne was able to hold onto fourth position. The Kiwi sat a second off third after five minutes of racing and started to tuck into his groove. Osborne soon came under pressure from Lochie Bloxsom, while still keeping the cars ahead under pressure.
The first safety car of the race was deployed with half an hour to go, as the tractor was deployed to recover cars beached in the gravel at the final corner.
The race soon resumed with fifteen minutes to go, and Osborne remained in fourth. Bewley remained down the order, who was forced to retire after his start issue.
Osborne soon lost fourth position to Bloxsom and had to settle for fifth at the flag, as the Australian slowly pulled away.
At the finish, Osborne was classified in fifth, while Bewley finished in twenty-eighth.
Race 2
Race 2 started with Osborne on the front row, with Bewley in seventh. Osborne was able to hold position off the start, while Bewley was able to climb up into sixth position by the time a safety car was brought out for the stricken car of Bloxsom.
The race soon resumed, and Bewley, who held the fastest lap, was immediately put under pressure by Max Geoghegan.
Dale Wood was forced to retire with fifteen minutes to go, promoting Bewley to fifth. Out front, Osborne sat a second and a half behind Harri Jones, who now held the fastest lap of the race.
With ten minutes to go, Bewley remained under pressure from Geoghegan. At the same time, the Kiwi sat a second behind Dylan O’Keeffe, who had moved up four spots to sit in fourth.
Drivers soon tucked into a rhythm as the minutes counted down, with Osborne unable to catch up to Jones to apply pressure. Bewley’s race unravelled moments away from the chequered flag as he sat stranded on the grass, with it being immediately unclear whether it was a self-inflicted error or if he was assisted by Geoghegan.
Footage later showed it was a car behind that ruined Bewley’s race, leaving the Kiwi heartbroken after showing great pace throughout the weekend.
This left Bewley classified down the order and wondering what could have been for his championship after a fifth-place finish looked certain. Osborne was able to hold onto second, allowing the Kiwi to bring home another podium for the season.
The Porsche Carrera Cup Australia season will resume on the 11th of September at The Bend Motorsport Park.
