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Motorsport

2022 RD3 Australian Motor Racing Series: Jett Johnson too good on the TA2 Muscle Cars with back-to-back wins in Race 3; Noah Sands’s aggressive drive past Ryan Astley paid off during Race 2 in the Australian Formula 3

by Sports Benches

We kick off our Sunday with one of the two Australian Motor Racing Series’ core categories here at Winton Motor Raceway in the TA2 Muscle Car Series, Race 3. We haven’t seen much of green flag racing in the first couple of laps when Paul Hadley and John Hollinger made contact at around Turn 2, while Josh Haynes’s fast start became short-lived after he picked up a right front flat tire; all three drivers were marked as DNF before the restart.

Back into green flag racing now, Jett Johnson was too good once again unchallenged in the No.117 Napa Auto Parts Ford Mustang with back-to-back wins coming off Race 2 yesterday afternoon. No.68 CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas came home in 2nd that summed up a Ford 1-2 finish ahead of Zach Loscialpo who rounds the Top 3 podium places in the No.21 Chevy Camaro for Excelerate Motorsport. And Race 1 winner Kyle Gurton (No.2 Dream Racing Ford Mustang) benefitted the late collision of Mark Crutcher & Jackson Rice ahead of him, as well as the last-lap drama of Chris Sutton that helped him climb from the back of the field to 8th.

Then we look at the Australian Formula 3 Series in Race 2, this time we saw some decent contenders out there fighting up front. No.99’s Ryan Astley fired off well earlier on with the earlier lead before he lost two spots later in an eventual P3 behind race winner Noah Sands and 2nd-placed Ethan Brown. What a brilliant drive from Sands in the No.17 Gilmore Racing machinery where he was patient with a couple of aggressive drives & once he got around Astley, he was too good to pull further away ever since towards an easy win. And hats off to Ethan Brown in the No.27 for Tim Macrow Racing who would’ve liked to take advantage of the early momentum & have a stab for the win where he lost a spot from 3rd to 4th, but he recovered well on the run home past Astley for 2nd.

There’s only once race left to round off the weekend for these two categories later this afternoon at around 2-3 pm.

#AusF3 #TA2Racing #MuscleCars #Formula3 #AMRSeries #WintonMotorRaceway #Motorsport #JettJohnson #NoahSands #EthanBrown #RyanAstley #KyleGurton #JoshHaynes #DylanThomas #ZachLoscialpo

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Motorsport

2022 ARG SpeedSeries RD4: A mix of opening lap dramas and an easier finish by the respective leaders round off the weekend in Race 3 of the S5000, Trans-Am and TCR Australia at Sydney Motorsports Park

by Sports Benches

What a Sunday afternoon it has been to close out the weekend here at Sydney Motorsports Park in Round 4 of the 2022 ARG SpeedSeries. We’ll start off with the S5000s where Tim Macrow fired off well from pole before he was spun off by Nathan Herne that cost him a few places, while race officials handed Herne a drive-through penalty at the same time.

As the race goes on, we saw a brilliant battle for 1st between Aaron Cameron & Joey Mawson before Cameron completed his payback with the win following his unfortunate opening lap DNF by Mawson into the wall from Race 2 earlier today. And James Golding finished his Sunday spell with two podiums in 2nd & 3rd, having made up lost time from a DNF Race 1 yesterday over a steering issue.

Then there’s the same opening lap drama over in the Trans-Am this time at Turn 1, when the No.67 of Nash Morris touched the wall before he collected Lochie Dalton in No.45 out of the park that led to the next couple of laps under caution. In the end though, Owen Kelly remained unchallenged from start to finish in 1st that followed up from an excellent Race 2 during the night session yesterday. Race 1 winner Nathan Herne became the biggest mover when it comes to track position from 22nd on the grid to 2nd, while Ben Grice rounds off the podium in 3rd.

And we finish our huge Sunday afternoon of ARG SpeedSeries with the TCR Australia category. Nathan Morcom adds another podium finish on top of an excellent Sunday performance from P3 earlier during Race 2 today in the No.11 Hyundai i30 N, but this time he takes home with the win which ended his drought on top of the podium since November 2019 at the Bend in South Australia. He did an excellent job getting around polesitter Jordan Cox on the inside line straight away from 2nd spot before he never looked back ever since, while team-mate Josh Buchan in the sister No.30 machinery completed a 1-2 sweep for their HMO Customer Racing team. And Cox would’ve liked to hunt down the HMO cars all race long, but he’s happy to prevent an all Hyundai Top 3 when he passed Luke King on the final lap for 3rd.

#SpeedSeriesAU #Motorsport #S5000 #TCRAustralia #TransAm #OwenKelly #AaronCameron #NathanMorcom #JoshBuchan #Hyundai #GarryRogersMotorsport #FordMustang #EasternCreek #HMOCustomerRacing

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Motorsport

2022 ARG SpeedSeries: Youngsters Jay Hanson (TCR Australia) & Cooper Webster (S5000) take out the win in their respective categories during Race 2 at Sydney Motorsport Park

by Sports Benches

It was an easy run from Jay Hanson who dominated Race 2 comfortably in the No.9 Audi RS3 for Melbourne Performance Centre here at Sydney Motorsports Park.

He did a brilliant job holding off a four-wide pursuit at the start which was incredible to watch, before he never looked back as the race leader upfront.

Joining Hanson was the two Hyundai i30s in Luke King (No.2 Moutai) & Nathan Morcom (No.11 HMO Customer Racing) in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Now King may have got in a bit of contact with Tony D’Alberto over in the No.50 Wall Racing Honda Civic earlier on but it didn’t affect him too much as he kept racing all the way in 2nd.

Then we go into the S5000s also in Race 2 with some drama at the start/finish straight when Joey Mawson sent Aaron Cameron over to the wall, as Cameron was unable to race on just moments after the race began. But the highlight though belongs to Cooper Webster in the No.37 Versa Motorsport machinery who was just too good unchallenged from start to finish; he too gets his first win of the year which is an incredible moment to remember from this teenager. And James Golding did a great job passing Tim Macrow for the battle for 2nd where Macrow overcooked it out wide at Turn 6 where that kind of patience paid ahead of him.

Can’t wait for Race 3 later this afternoon with a mix of S5000s, Trans-Am & TCR Australia.

#SpeedSeriesAU #TCRAustralia #Motorsport #S5000 #SydneyMotorsportsPark #JayHanson #Audi #Hyundai #LukeKing #NathanMorcom #CooperWebster #JamesGolding #TimMacrow #EasternCreek

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Motorsport

2022 Australian Rally Championship: All three Toyota Yarises round out the podium spots at the Forest Rally WA with Harry Bates & John McCarthy as the overall winner

by Sports Benches

Good to see a couple of contenders throughout the three-day Forest Rally weekend across Western Australia in Round 2 of the 2022 Australian Rally Championship.

The Toyota pair of Harry Bates and John McCarthy fired off well in the No.1 Yaris, but it’s Eli Evans & Adam Wright who dominated the rest of the Bunbury Super Stages portion in the No.2 Mini Cooper, with a mix of dirt & asphalt through in and out of the Bunbury speedway. Evans & Wright continued to carry that early lead going into Saturday with the stage 5 win, before Bates & McCarthy managed to fight back top spot where they kept their arch rival quiet for the rest of Saturday’s action.

Now Evans & Wright may ended the long-running stranglehold of H. Bates/McCarthy earlier today in the 2nd & final leg beginning at Stage 13, but they sadly dropped out due to a fuel pump issue whilst leading with only three stages to go. So that paves the way for H. Bates/McCarthy to end their campaign here on a high with the power stage and overall win, even though the 80-second penalty didn’t bother him too much over a late check-in earlier today.

Next up is Harry Bates’s brother Lewis & his co-driver Anthony McLoughlin, who finished 2nd in the sister No.3 Yaris GR. Now this pair had to even had to pull over for repairs at one point towards the end of Friday’s activities after Stage 4. However, they made a remarkable recovery ever since that helped them catch up as it goes before they finished well inside the Top 3 following the Heat 2 win.

And joining the Bates brothers is 3rd placed pair of Richie Dalton & Dale Moscott, also in a Yaris, except it’s not a GR chassis. They simply never looked of place within the Top 3-5, especially over the last two days when they finished their Forest Rally WA journey on a high during the Power Stage in 2nd alone. They would’ve liked to took advantage of that H.Bates/McCarthy penalty well & split both Bates Gazoo cars towards the Top 2, but it’s still a great result nonetheless.

Two rounds down, five to go, with the Australian Rally Championship will now head off to Rally Launceston in Tasmania on the 25th-26th June next month.

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Motorsport

2022 ARG SpeedSeries, 9Gem to show the twilight Saturday event showcasing the TCR Australia live at Sydney Motorsports Park

by Sports Benches

I just read a source from Media Spy earlier this week that 9Gem will show live ARG SpeedSeries racing once again next Saturday on 5.30 to 7.30 pm at Sydney Motorsports Park.

There will be twilight TCR Australia in action as the main event to close it out under the lights alongside the Trans-Am muscle cars and S5000 Open-Wheelers.

All of these races for next weekend’s event via Free to air will only cover Race 1, but there’s no mention of the Sunday races which will most likely be a Stan Sport Exclusive & a two-hour highlights recap on 9Gem/9Go the following weekend.

It’s great to have some live motorsport on for free where we’ll get to see the TCR cars to race under the lights which is a huge must see event.

Hats off to Nine Entertainment for allocating that early Saturday evening slot for their free 9Gem digital channel to the organisers at Australian Racing Group, before Stan Sport & 9Gem heads straight off to the Super Rugby at Leichhardt Oval between the Waratahs v Blues in the regular-season finale clash before the knockout rounds begin on 3rd-4th June.

Although I’d personally love to attempt double duty by also heading straight from the track to the stadium in person myself, but I will be on-site as a spectator for the Tahs’ season-finale game v Blues.

However, I will be attending Sydney Motorsport Park for the Sunday races in person which is going to be a perfect way to finish my busy sports viewing weekend right in front of the action.

And we can’t forget the UEFA Champions League soccer Final on Sunday morning between Liverpool v Real Madrid, as well as the big Sunday of racing starting with Formula 1s in Monaco just before overnight, then the Indy 500 in the early hours of Monday morning & finish it off with NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on Monday lunchtime.

Let’s hope Nine and ARG can surprise us later this year with the Bathurst season-finale live on 9Gem like it was back in February with the season-opener from Symmons Plains in Tasmania, since the Bathurst 6 Hour and its support categories was a Stan Sport exclusive last month.

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Motorsport

2022 Bathurst 6 Hour: The front row BMW overall lead battle tops the charts where Tom Sargent & Cameron Hill overcame a post-qualifying infringement from the very back in 63rd to conquer Mount Panorama

by Sports Benches

This year’s Bathurst 6 Hour at Mount Panorama Circuit was extraordinary to watch, even though the start time was pushed back by half an hour to 11.45 AM AEST due to the fog, where 63 cars fought for every track position across multiple categories.

The No.40 BMW M4 trio of Karl Begg/David Russell/Aaron Norris launched this race from pole position instead of Tom Sargent/Cam Hill in the No.147 BMW M2 following a post-qualifying infringement during inspection (ride height). However, it doesn’t mean their chances of winning are near impossible for the No.147 Tegra Australia team when they made their way from very back to the Top 3-4 as it goes on.

Then we saw a couple of yellows via a series of spins, mechanical failures & wrecks came up that gave the No.147 BMW team some confidence ahead of these restarts; but at the same time, it was a blow for the No.40 Btuned Euro BMW M4 when the pole sitters forced to stop the car on the start/finish straight. Although we saw a couple of competitors escape some twists and turns that almost bit them out of the race, which was lucky to survive & continued racing at the Mountain.

But the big storyline of this race has been the BMW front row battle; it’s just Brad Carr/Tim Slade in the No.8 Car Mods Australia-backed M3 model; against Sargent/Hill in the No.147 Tegra Australia M2 Competition machinery. Both competitors shared the overall race lead thus far before we witnessed the winning move of this Bathurst 6 Hour race with 20 minutes to go on the clock. Slade & Hill went side-by-side before Hill nudged past Slade on the outside line at Brock’s Skyline (Turn 11 of 23) & eventually held off top spot for the win, which led to an overwhelming reaction back in the No.147 team’s pit garage.

How great was it when Tom Sargent/Cam Hill conquered the Mountain from the very back of the grid!

It’s also good to see Garry Rogers Motorsport’s TCR Australia driver Dylan O’Keeffe take home the A1 class win in 4th overall with Mike Sheargold in the No.45 Mercedes AMG for RAM/GWR. And the same goes with TV personality & reigning Dancing with the Stars Australia Champion Grant Denyer, who won the A2 Class in 8th overall with co-driver Tony Quinn in the No.7 Local Legends Ford Mustang.

If you want to relive the 6-hour race both in full length and bitesize, watch it on ad-free Stan Sport right now at any time if you haven’t already got a subscription. Otherwise, Nine will be showcasing the weekend’s ARG SpeedSeries event from Mount Panorama in a two-hour highlights package via their Free TV Channels on Saturday AM from 11.30-13.30 (9Gem) & Sunday Afternoon from 13.30 to 15.30 (9Go).

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Motorsport

2022 Australian Rally Championship Round 1 Review: National Capital Rally in Canberra

by Sports Benches

What an unreal spell from reigning Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen when he got his wish in rallying thanks to Team Red Bull. They supplied him with the Skoda Fabia R5 alongside co-driver Glen Weston, where he & Glen managed to finish runner-up in the opening round of the 2022 Australian Rally Championship. Although it’s a one-off effort since he’s got full-time Supercars duties to defend, Van Gisbergen was running in Top 3-4 all the time, especially towards the end of the rally yesterday on Day 2 with two-stage wins (SS12 & SS13) that includes the Power Stage finale.

In the end, though, you can’t underestimate the brilliance of the current Australian rally champions Harry Bates & his co-driver John McCarthy in the Toyota GR Yaris AP4 for his family-run team. They were too good to pull off the opening day with all the first seven stage wins that put them way upfront before Bates/McCarthy stayed ahead, which was enough to secure an easy win.

Apart from Harry Bates & SVG’s success stories, other competitors stood out throughout the opening round in Canberra. Good to see Brendan Reeves and Kate Catford round off the final podium spot in the Hyundai i20 RN. They started not bad on Day 1, but their late turnaround sets them for an improved Day 2 when ending H.Bates/McCarthy stranglehold with the Stage 8 win, which boosted their confidence.

Taylor Gill & Kim Bessell also had a great showing in 4th, where they also secured the NSW Rally class win in the Subaru WRX STi for Curiositi. And shoutout to Tom Clarke/Ryan Preston (White Wolf Ford Fiesta) & Timothy Wilkins/Jim Gleeson (Wilkins Mitsubishi Evo IX). These guys may have languished in and out of the Top 10 at the start, but a few other competitors’ DNFs given them progress as this rally goes on with a respective 5th & 6th finish.

It will be interesting to see who will challenge Bates & McCarthy up close with six rounds left of the 2022 ARC season, as this series moves over to the Forest Rally in WA on Saturday & Saturday, May 21-22.

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Motorsport

Thoughts on when the ARG SpeedSeries highlights from Phillip Island was supposed to be on air this AM on 9Gem

by Sports Benches

I’ve tried to tune in to 9Gem this morning & watch a bit of the two-hour Round 2 ARG SpeedSeries highlights package from Phillip Island. However, I saw normal repeated programming instead, such as a quiz show named Pointless and a classic TV drama.

I don’t know what happened as to why Nine chose to remove from their schedule so late, but it’s still a lack of promise for the fans to those who don’t have the money to subscribe to Stan Sport.

Yes, it’s frustrating not to watch every ARG SpeedSeries race live like it was last season and 2019.

However, the need of $$$ to keep the series afloat amongst teams, drivers and organisers across several categories ARG runs for 6-7 events a year, has to be necessary at the end of the day, as well as benefitting an increase of genuine TV production coverage.

It’s these times we have to get used to it from now on where the good ol’ heydays of watching free-to-air motorsport non-stop are over.

Now I see two more viewing opportunities to watch the Round 2 highlights this Saturday (12.30-2.30pm) and Sunday afternoon (1.30-3.30pm) on 9Go.

But we already know the results from a week earlier by then as this isn’t a great idea to reach out to new audiences like that, especially when most of the content now is behind a paywall.

It’s better to go for a 90-minute highlights package of every other round on Tuesday night at 7.30 pm on either 9Gem or 9Go, as suggested last week.

That way, it’ll be a perfect time to help introduce a casual sports viewer to have a first look at this series, or a die-hard motorsport fan, who may not have a Stan Sport subscription, but can relive these moments from the weekend’s event.

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Motorsport

Thoughts on the ARG SpeedSeries free to air highlights on Wednesday morning next week on 9Gem

by Sports Benches

I just checked the TV guide today via the Foxtel website, where the free-to-air highlights of the 2022 ARG SpeedSeries season will be on Wednesday, March 23 at 10 am-12 pm on 9Gem.

Speedcafe reported before the season began last month that the ARG SpeedSeries highlights for the remaining six rounds on 9Gem throughout the year would slot during midweek on prime time, as a way to grow the series’ fanbase, as well as increase exposure to competitors, teams and advertisers.

Unfortunately, it’s going to play on a daytime morning which means most people would have to miss out due to work, with no on-demand content to view afterwards on the free 9Now streaming service.

Perhaps, it would be best slotted for 90 minutes between 7.30 to 9 pm on a Tuesday via 9Gem; that way, it would be a perfect time to help motorsport and causal sports fans reflect the high and low moments from the usual race weekend.

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Other Sports

Looking back at the 2022 IndyCar season-opener highlights race on 9Go, with Scott McLaughlin as the race winner for Team Penske

by Sports Benches

I just had the chance to watch a bit of the IndyCar highlights today on 9Go, where I took a few shots of Sunday’s season-opener round (Monday morning here) that was held from a street circuit in St Petersburg, Florida.

Hats off through a fantastic drive from Kiwi & 3 x Supercars Champion Scott McLaughlin, who sealed his first IndyCar race win for the No.3 Penske Chevy, during Race 1 of 17 in the new season. Not only he dominated final practice and qualifying, where he started from pole but also on race day, having fended off a fiercely competitive battle against reigning champion Alex Palou in the No.10 Ganassi Honda, who hails from Spain.

And once he got into the podium/victory lane, we loved how he reached out to those back in Australia during the post-race interview, where they are experiencing a tough time right now with the ongoing floods over in Queensland and New South Wales. He also mentioned how he missed seeing his parents by his side from Cambridge, NZ, who were unable to attend his races or see their son in person right now for over two years due to COVID. Glad to see them chat once again via facetime, as McLaughlin not only hopes to bring home the famous Indy 500 in late May but also the series’ title.

Great race to reflect with Australia’s own Leigh Diffey calling the shots for NBC Sports, which is the host commentary feed we get for IndyCar globally.

This series is moving onto an oval layout now at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth for Round 2 of 17, as the next race will be on Monday, March 21 (Sunday, March 20 over in the USA) at 3-4 am AEDT via paid streaming service on Stan Sport. You can either try out Stan Sport on a seven-day free trial or pay $20 a month on top of the basic Stan package. Otherwise, 9Go will be back airing highlights of Race 2 from Texas free of charge at 2-3 pm on Thursday, March 24.

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