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Bargwanna and Cox Combine for GRM Sunday Lockout at Sandown
Ben Bargwanna has taken out his first round victory in Supercheap Auto TCR Australia, leading Josh Buchan and Jordan Cox for the round honours and an early series lead.
Cox leapfrogged himself to the race two victory with a fantastic launch from sixth on the grid.
The Garry Rogers Motorsport driver had cleared the two rows in front of him to lead by the time the field emerged from turn one. John Martin and Dylan O’Keeffe, who started on the front row, were swamped off the line and fell down the order.
There was early contact at turn four when Glenn Nirwan bounced off the inside kerb and collected Marcus LaDelle, the pair making further contact as they spun and then became stranded on track.
The race resumed on lap six after the early Safety Car, with Cox untroubled to the end as he claimed his first victory since Symmons Plains in 2022. Clay Richards equalled his career-best finish in second, shadowing Cox to the end. Ryan Casha cemented a debut to be proud of, fending off a spirited attack from Zac Soutar to claim a first TCR Australia podium in third
The grid for race three was set off combined points from the first two races, with HMO Customer Racing’s Josh Buchan on pole and Ben Bargwanna alongside. It was Bargwanna who got the better jump, as he led Buchan in a two-car breakaway from the field across the race duration.
The Melbourne Performance Centre team worked hard to get the Tufflift Racing entry of Nirwan repaired in time, with the Indonesian driver making it out for a pit lane start.
Buchan piled the pressure on Bargwanna but was unable to find a way through across the 17-lap finale. Behind the pair was Jordan Cox who continued his impressive Sunnday, fighting back after failing to set a lap in qualifying.
Soutar was again in fourth, ahead of Casha to round out the top five.
The race three results mirrored the round results, with Bargwanna taking the top spot ahead of Buchan and then Cox.
Full results can be found here – http://racing.natsoft.com.au/results/