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Soutar Spectacular Amongst an Energised Race Two
Zac Soutar converted Saturday pain into Sunday gain in winning Race 2 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series round at Race Tailem Bend.
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With the top-10 finishing positions from Race 1 reversed for the grid for Race 2, Soutar converted his front-row start to the race lead and never looked back.
If he had, he’d have seen plenty of action.
It all began at the start of lap 2, when Clay Richards, Aaron Cameron and Tony D’Alberto arrived three-wide at Turn 1.
Contact between the trio led to Richards being spun into D’Alberto, sending both off the track at Turn 3 and triggering a Safety Car period.
The incident was initially investigated by the stewards before deeming that no further action needed to be taken.
There was more contact at Turn 6 before the yellows flew, both Hyundais of Josh Buchan and Tom Oliphant being muscled aside and losing positions.
The Safety Car reset the field and allowed D’Alberto to rejoin, albeit four laps down and with damage, while Richards was out on the spot.
Soutar held his nerve to hold the lead on the restart, while polesitter Bargwanna began to fade down the field.
Brad Harris was the first to demote the #71 Audi on lap 6 with Buchan following suit, while Oliphant picked him off a couple of laps later.
Ryan Casha and Race 1 winner Jordan Cox also bumped Barwanna down to seventh at the finish, with Dylan O’Keeffe, Cameron and Iain McDougall rounding out the top 10.
D’Alberto soldiered on to be the final car classified in 13th, ensuring he earns points that will contribute to his grid position for Race 3.
Soutar’s victory means he now edges ahead of Bargwanna ahead of the final TCR race of the weekend at 3:50pm local time.