HOME TOWN hero Bayley Hall has become the seventh different winner from seven Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia rounds in 2023, adding his name to the ever-expanding winners list with an emphatic performance on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
The 20-year-old from the Gold Coast swept to both race wins in a dramatic day of racing to claim both his maiden race and round victories in Carrera Cup.
Seven winners in seven consecutive rounds equalled an all-time Carrera Cup record, while Hall also became the eighth different race winner of the season so far.
Hall led Dylan O’Keeffe and teammate Jackson Walls home in the overall and Equity-One Pro class honours, as the latter also climbed back into the championship lead heading into the Adelaide finale.
Walls now leads Hedge by 21 points with Dylan O’Keeffe remaining in mathematical calculation for the title in third, 167 from the lead.
Meanwhile, a clutch victory for Adrian Flack saw him claim the final race, the Gold Coast round and also the championship lead in the combative SP Tools Pro-Am Class.
Flack won the round ahead of Dean Cook and Sam Shahin, with the title a firm three-way fight going into the finale.
Flack leads Shahin by just 15 points with Cook a further eight further back in third.
The final round of the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship will be held on the streets of Adelaide at the VAILO Adelaide 500 on November 23-26.
RACE 2
BAYLEY HALL claimed his maiden Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia race victory in a wildly dramatic enduro cup race on the streets of Surfers Paradise.
Hall took advantage of a battle for the lead between Callum Hedge and Dylan O’Keeffe to claim the victory after the former was penalised five seconds for running through the turn one-two-three chicane, and after passing the latter.
O’Keeffe had got down the inside of Hedge at Turn one, the Kiwi short-cutting the chicane in the process.
He resumed in front, while Hall passed O’Keeffe for second. Hedge crossed the line first, however was relegated down the order with the penalty at the end of the race, handing the lead and the victory to Hall.
Hedge’s penalty dropped him to 11th position while Jackson Walls was classified second and O’Keeffe third.
In Pro-Am, Sam Shahin failed to finish following a spin at turn eleven.
As he recovered, he was hit by Rodney Jane while Matt Belford spun in avoidance and was subsequently hit in the door by Tim Miles.
Shahin went to pit lane and was waiting to resume before the race was red flagged by an even more significant impact a few laps later.
The enduro race was cut short due to a massive crash at turn eleven that started when Alex Davison and David Wall made contact.
That spun Wall into the tyres, his car collected by Davison and Simon Fallon. Simon Fallon was also claimed, as was Harri Jones – who in turn was hit from behind by Liam Talbot.
There was a heated exchange between Wall and Davison, the pair having to be separated by Jones.
RACE 3
BAYLEY Hall converted pole to a second race win with a comprehensive and professional performance in a Sunday afternoon sprint race on the Gold Coast.
Starting from pole, the McElrea Racing driver led all the way under pressure from teammate Jackson Walls to claim the win, with Fabian Coulthard third and on the race podium for the first time since his title-winning 2005 season.
Race three was a clean affair with a freight train of cars in the leading battle.
Dale Wood was making solid ground through the field however was a victim of the turn one-two-three chicane, spinning his Ranbuild Porsche and narrowly avoiding heavy contact with the wall.
That left O’Keeffe fourth and Christian Pancione fifth.
Callum Hedge finished sixth to recover championship points following his earlier kerb-cutting penalty in race two.
Alex Davison, Ryder Quinn, Luke Youlden and Ange Mouzouris completed the top-10.
In SP Tools Pro-Am Adrian Flack resisted pressure from Cook and Shahin for much of the race, the three locked together for all 16 laps with flack ultimately getting the victory.