A clean sweep for sports car sensation Matt Campbell has seen him streak to a dominant 126.5 point lead in the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia presented by Hytera championship with one round remaining, while a strong Mount Panorama performance handed James Bergmuller the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge round win.
Campbell was the form driver of the weekend, claiming the TAG Heuer Pole Position – his sixth straight for the season – before winning the opening two races.
Campbell then backed up his earlier efforts by claiming victory in the third race of the weekend, though it wasn’t made easy by Steven Richards, who gained the lead at the start. The 2014 Carrera Cup champion led for the opening two laps before Campbell jumped to the lead before pulling away to secure the perfect weekend – pole position, three race wins a maximum 180 championship points.
“Nothing beats Bathurst in my books. I couldn’t be happier to get maximum points for the weekend, though there are plenty of points still up for grabs in the Gold Coast. We lost some points at Sandown after the race three DNF but thankfully I’ve come back strong at Bathurst,” said Campbell, who was the outright victor at last year’s Bathurst round.
“I had fantastic pace here last year, winning the round, and another win this year; I have good pace here and thoroughly love the circuit. It’s great to get a clean sweep this weekend and now we can focus on the Gold Coast final round.”
Richards placed second in the nine-lap race from David Wall, Ash Walsh, Nick McBride, Michael Almond and Garth Walden who, with seventh place, scored his equal best result of the season. Dylan O’Keeffe finished eighth from James Abela, Duvashen Padayachee and Guest entry, Max Twigg, in 11th outright.
Richards’ second place finish secured him second for the round in the outright classifications, followed by Wall with the final podium placing.
While Tony Bates took the TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge race three win, Bergmuller was the best in the class for the round, stepping onto the top step of the Challenge podium from Bates and third placed Scott Taylor, his maiden visit to the round podium this season.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever come here – and I’ve been here four years in a row – and the car hasn’t been scratched or had a DNF, so I’m wrapped. That was the plan all weekend, just to pound around all weekend as long as I could and keep out of trouble,” said Bergmuller.
Bergmuller finished 13th outright and second in class from Steven Grove, Shane Smollen, Danny Stutterd, Taylor and Marc Cini in 18th.
Alex Davison had a horror race three, running in fourth before a late race spin at Griffins Bend; the damage to his Porsche was substantial, but not enough to stop him finishing the race, placing 19th outright ahead of Adrian Mastronardo in 20th.
Davison’s misfortunate not only allowed Campbell to strengthen his series lead, but also intensified the battle for second in the standings – Davison, McBride and Wall now within 15 points entering the Gold Coast finale.
The final round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia presented by Hytera championship will be held on the Gold Coast in two weeks, where the outright and TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge titles will be decided.
Results: Race 3
1. #7 Matt Campbell (Outright) Nuveau Constructions / Phase 8 – 9 laps, 19:17.5033
2. #12 Steven Richards (Outright) Laser Plumbing and Electrical – 9 laps, 19:19.9985
3. #38 David Wall (Outright) Wilson Security – 9 laps, 19:20.5025
4. #777 Ash Walsh (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts / Infants Friend – 9 laps, 19:20.8117
5. #77 Nick McBride (Outright) Bob Jane T-Marts – 9 laps, 19:23.2670
6. #26 Michael Almond (Outright) Copyworld – 9 laps, 19:23.9874
7. #21 Garth Walden (Outright) Commercial Interior Projects 9 laps, 19:29.6936
8. #88 Dylan O’Keeffe (Outright) All Star Equipment Sales/APB Group – 9 laps, 19:33.1511
9. #54 James Abela (Outright) Horsley Park Gun Shop – 9 laps, 19:33.5505
10. #45 Duvashen Padayachee (Outright) Darrell Lea STIX – 9 laps, 19:37.4628
11. #18 Max Twigg (Guest) DNA Racing/Beyond Blue – 9 laps, 19:54.0007
12. #24 Tony Bates (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Moveitnet / C Tech Laser – 9 laps, 19:56.8149
13. #13 James Bergmuller (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) pricepressure.com.au – 9 laps, 19:57.2434
14. #4 Stephen Grove (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Grove Hire – 9 laps, 19:59.1814
15. #56 Shane Smollen (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) McGrath Estate Agents – 9 laps, 19:59.5268
16. #32 Daniel Stutterd (Guest) DJS Racing – 9 laps, 20:12.0591
17. #222 Scott Taylor (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Scott Taylor Motorsport – 9 laps, 20:15.4437
18. #9 Marc Cini (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Hallmarc – 9 laps, 20:15.5129
19. #25 Alex Davison (Outright) Wilson Parking – 9 laps, 21:33.2097
20. #39 Adrian Mastronardo (TAG Heuer Carrera Challenge) Veritas Property Group – 8 laps, 19:51.1378