Glenn Seton and Bob Pearson combined to defend their Great Southern 4 Hour title in Round 2 of the Australian Manufacturers’ Championship at Phillip Island.
The Pro-Duct Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X led for the majority of the race, which ran nine minutes short of its scheduled distance due to weather-induced delays earlier in the day.
Seton eventually took the flag just 1.1s clear of the Beric Lynton/Tim Leahey BMW 1M after the two-time Australian Touring Car Champion was slowed by traffic on his final lap.
Lynton had wrestled second from the eventual Class B winning Grant Sherrin/Iain Sherrin BMW 135i following the race’s one and only Safety Car restart, which occurred little over 30 minutes from the end.
The full-course yellow was required after the Mark Eddy/Francois Jouy Renault Megane lost a wheel, and also saw the retrieval of the Garry Holt/Stuart Kostera Mitsubishi, which had run fourth before encountering mechanical problems.
The Shane Marshall/Rob Marshall Mitsubishi was fourth at the flag; the only other car on the lead lap.
Colin Osborne/Rick Bates (Mazda 3) took out Class C in fifth overall ahead of Class D winners Kevin Herben/Luke King (Honda Integra).
The race was held in dry conditions despite a heavy storm having hit the circuit during the morning that delayed the race schedule by some 30 minutes.
The Radical Australia Cup runners took the brunt of the wet track conditions.
Tim Berryman splashed his way to victory during the morning’s second race of the weekend, holding out rival Neale Muston by just 0.5s.
John Corbett made it three winners for the round by beating Berryman by just 0.2s in a dry Race 3.
The Carrera Cup Australia completed the day’s Shannons Nationals action. CLICK HERE for Speedcafe.com’s serrate story