Simon Evans extends championship lead with another win

Simon Evans has topped off a strong performance at Mike Pero Motorsport Park with his second win of the weekend, extending his championship lead. 

The grid for the final race of the round was based on the accumulative points from this weekend’s first two races, putting Evans on pole with Marco Giltrap alongside

Conditions were significantly better than this mornings race with a mostly dry track when the race got underway. 

Evans made another strong start, leading into the first corner, while Justin Allen also got off the line well, moving into second place after starting from the second row. 

Giltrap fell into third place ahead of Ronan Murphy who moved up from his third-row grid spot, moving ahead of reigning champion Rowan Shepherd for a lap before Shepherd made his way back past. 

The safety car made an early appearance when Clay Osborne stopped out on the infield, though Evans maintained control of the feild when the race got back underway. 

Murphy was able to make the most of the restart passing Shepherd to move into fourth, while Zac Stichbury, Hugo Allan, Dion Pitt and Matthew McCutcheon were all battling for positions inside the top ten. 

Late in the race, Allen was able to keep pressure on Evans, making a few attempts to get past, though Evans was able to hold him off, to take the win. 

Giltrap finished third close behind the leading pair, while Murphy took fourth, ahead of Shepherd. 

Stichbury was running sixth before a moment on the last lap saw him drop back to ninth, allowing Pitt to move into sixth ahead of McCutcheon, Brock Gilchrist, Stichbury, and John Penny. 

Pitt would receive a post-race penalty which dropped him to 11th, moving Todd Prujean into 10th. Hugo Allan had been part of the battle for most of the race but slowed on the last lap dropping him to 16th. 

The series has a two-week break before getting back out on track at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park February 12-13. 

Toyota 86 Championship – Round 2 – Mike Pero Motorsport Park – Race 3