Tidy Performance Seals Tenkate Win
Anthony Tenkate scored his first round win of the year at the third round of the 2018 Performance Wheels Australian Trans-Am Series at Queensland Raceway.
Tenkate (Ford Mustang) picked up a race win, two podium finishes and a fourth to secure the round victory ahead of first-time race winner Alwyn Bishop (Ford Mustang) and two-time Trans-Am champion John English (Pontiac Firebird).
Brett Curran (Ford Mustang) topped qualifying with a 1.20.2, two-tenths ahead of English, with Tenkate rounding out the top three. Bishop claimed pole for the Sportsman class while Len Balme (Mercury Cougar) was the fastest of the 5 Litre competitors.
Curran claimed victory in race one ahead of English and Bishop, who kept Tenkate at bay in an entertaining dice. Chris La Rosa (Ford Mustang) finished second in class ahead of series debutant John Prefontaine (Ford Mustang), while Balme led home Tricia Chant (Ford Mustang) in the 5 Litre ranks.
English and Curran battled hard in race two, until they made contact at turn three on the final lap. Both drivers were handed a post-race 30 second penalty, leaving Tenkate to take the win ahead of Prefontaine and Bishop. An engine issue for Balme saw his Mercury Cougar retire from the race and the remainder of the weekend, while La Rosa was also forced to sit out the remaining two races.
Curran and English bounced back from their respective penalties to finish first and second in race three, with Tenkate completing the podium.
Bishop claimed his first career race win in the fourth and final race, nailing a last corner pass on Tenkate on the run to the chequered. Prefontaine impressed with a solid third placing, finishing ahead of Tony Rutherford (Ford Mustang) and Harry Charalambous (Ford Mustang). The race was marred by a lengthy clampdown period after English and Curran clashed again exiting turn three.
With three race wins, Chant secured her first round victory in the 5 Litre class.
Tenkate said he was pleased with his performance over the weekend that saw him extend his outright and trophy series lead.
“I just did what I normally do and try to be clean and consistent in my placings, but i’m wrapped with the result. We had a great weekend, and we suffered no damage to the car so we’re ready to bounce back at the next round in a fortnight.”
“Alwyn’s a good mate of mine and we were so close to the point where he just got past me right at the post in the last race, but well done to him as that was a win that was well-deserved for him.”
Bishop extended his Sportsman Series lead, while Balme now tops the Five Litre Classics by one point ahead of Mike Collins.
The Performance Wheels Australian Trans-Am Series will bounce back with round four of the series held as part of the QRDC meeting at Queensland Raceway on July 7 and 8.