CLAY OSBORNE has swept to the lead in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship, taking his second race win of the season in style at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin. 

The New Zealander led a TekworkX 1-2 result in the opening 45-minute race, converting pole to a controlled victory having done the same earlier in the season at Albert Park.

It was a controlling win for Osborne, who beat his teammate Aaron Love into turn one and then controlled the race from there – never truly challenged as he built a nearly two second lead while Love and Harri Jones spent much of the race battling for second place – ultimately decided in the favour of Love in a tight, race-long battle.

Jones was a solid third aboard his McElrea entry; running close with Love for the first two-thirds of the race before settling into third for the closing stages to bank the championship points.

Behind the top three, Marco Giltrap finished a solid fourth on his return to the championship, while a typically tenacious Glen Wood fought his way to fifth position to continue his strong run of form.

Wood passed Tom Bewley mid-race, though the young New Zealander was able to score his best ever Carrera Cup race result in sixth in a strong day for the pair of Team Porsche NZ races and the trio of cars run by Earl Bamber Motorsport.

The biggest mover forward in the race was Angelo Mouzouris, who in his 99th career Carrera Cup race passed multipole cars on the opening lap and jumped from 11th to a strong 7th at the line aboard his Bob Jane T-Marts Sonic entry.

It was an opposite story for Lockie Bloxsom, who started a strong fifth but found himself off the road on the exit of turn one in the lap one rush.

He recovered well to bank a solid eighth at the line, followed home by David Russell – who charged from 13th position into the top 10.

Completing the 10 was reigning champion Dylan O’Keeffe, who gained ground in the opening laps but faded late in Car No. 1.

The Tech Specialist Pro-Am battle was a competitive one from the outset though it wasn’t easy running for reigning champion Rodney Jane – who was off the road early at turn one in what was his milestone 250th Carrera Cup Australia race – just the third driver to do so.

Jacque Jarjo assumed the early lead and would hold point for the entire race, the DNA Autosport driver taking his best win yet in his still-short Porsche career.

It did not come trouble free, however, after a late challenge from Liam Talbot who was recovering from a grid position penalty and a slow start to drive through the field.

Talbot and defending Darwin winner Matt Belford enjoyed a heady battle for several laps before the latter ran wide at turn one, handing second place to the former champion. Talbot then chased down the leader and got within a car length on the final lap before falling just short in an entertaining battle.

Belford remained third, with Dean Cook and Matt Slavin batting competitively for fourth and fifth place, while Rodney Jane recovered to sixth.

With the fourth race of the championship complete, and a heavier weighting of points going towards the two-race weekend format, Clay Osborne now finds himself in the championship lead – 13 points to the good over Harri Jones with Dylan O’Keeffe third.

In Pro-Am, Belford leads the way over today’s winner Jarjo and Dean Cook.

Race two of the weekend will be contested across 45 minutes on Sunday at Hidden Valley.