The victorious #56 Nick Percat and Shane Smollen Porsche
Nick Percat and Shane Smollen came through a thrilling dice with Scott McLaughlin and Stephen Grove to win the first Porsche Carrera Cup Australia enduro encounter at Phillip Island.
The V8 Supercar duo of Percat and McLaughlin were involved in a titanic battle for the lead in the first stint of the race, which saw the pair swap positions on several occasions.
Garry Rogers Motorsport driver McLaughlin produced a highly impressive run from fourth on the grid to put himself in a fight for the lead with Percat.
Percat and McLaughlin pitted with just seconds to spare on the pit window, but the race was robbed of a fascinating battle to the finish, when McLaughlin’s co-driver Grove emerged from the pits stuck on the pit limiter.
Grove quickly got up to speed but lost more than six seconds to Percat’s co-driver Smollen, who then controlled the remaining laps to take the chequered flag by 2.8 seconds.
The #14 OPS Gateway entry of Cameron McConville and John Goodacre claimed the final place on the podium in third.
Nick McBride and Neale Muston finished fourth with Shae Davies and Geoff Emery in fifth.
A strong drive from 15th on the grid from championship leader Steven Richards saw the #1 Laser Plumbing entry finish seventh in the hands of Dean Grant.
Roger Lago, Max Twigg and V8 Supercras ace Tim Slade rounded out the top 10.
A second 36 lap Porsche Carrera Cup enduro race will take place on Sunday.
Result: Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Race 1, Phillip Island
1
McGrath Estate Agents
S.Smollen/N.Percat
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
57:51.8006
2
Grove Group
S.Grove/S.McLaughlin
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
57:54.6201
3
OPS Gateway
C.McConville/J.Goodacre
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
57:55.8830
4
Bob Jane T-Marts
N.McBride/N.Muston
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:04.2103
5
Davbridge Constructions
S.Davies/G.Emery
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:05.2051
6
Bob Jane T-Marts
N.Foster/D.Thomas
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:09.5046
7
Laser Plumbing & Electrical
S.Richards/D.Grant
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:10.6244
8
JBS Australia
R.Lago/S.Owen
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:10.8808
9
Porsche Centre Melbourne
C.Baird/M.Twigg
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:20.1614
10
Veritas / Builtform
A.Mastronadro/T.Slade
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:24.5664
11
Copyworld Toshiba
M.Almond/J.Karytinos
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:29.7149
12
Wilson Security/PAYCE/Genis
R.Muscat/S.Walter
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:30.3416
13
Apartment Hotel
A.Samadi/D.Fiore
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
58:39.9708
14
AFS/Top Cat
T.Bates/D.Gaunt
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
36
59:00.0794
15
Porsche Centre Brighton
F.Ross/D.Ryan
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
35
57:52.1113
16
VIP Petfoods
D.Padayachee/I.Padayachee
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
35
58:11.2280
17
Team BRM
S.Hodge/R.Angus
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
35
58:47.2176
18
Hallmarc
M.Cini/C.Mies
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
32
58:28.7132
DNF
Scott Taylor Motorsport
S.Taylor/D.Canto
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
32
54:40.3717
DNF
Phase 8
M.Campbell/T.Miles
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
30
49:29.2384
DNF
Finanze Ezi
James Koundouris (ACT)
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
5
12:36.3319
DNF
MotorOne Car Care
James Bergmuller (Vic)
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
VIDEO: Percat and Smollen speak after winning the opening race
VIDEO: Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Nick Percat and Scott McLaughlin dice
Join the discussion below in the Speedcafe.com comments section
Please note: Speedcafe.com reserves the right to remove any comment that does not follow the comment policy. For support, contact [email protected]
Your Daily Racing Fix
Try our daily email, The best way to get your news first, fast and free!
By submitting above you agree to the Speedcafe.com Privacy Policy.
Join the discussion below in the Speedcafe.com comments section
Please note: Speedcafe.com reserves the right to remove any comment that does not follow the comment policy. For support, contact [email protected]