Love escapes opening corner dramas to win Carrera Cup opener

Jordan Love won the opening Porsche Payce Carrera Cup Australia race of Round 6 at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Love (Sonic Motor Racing) headed Cameron Hill (Cameron Hill Racing) and Pro-Am racer Liam Talbot (Wall Racing) following a dramatic first corner clash.

The Porsche Junior aspirant headed the field to the first corner as chaos ensued with Cooper Murray spinning at the front of the pack, tagging Thomas Maxwell and forcing Michael Almond off the road.

The contact left Murray’s McElrea Racing car with damage to the front right, while Sonic’s Maxwell limped his car into retirement with left rear suspension damage.

The luckless Almond (Sonic), who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, rejoined the race in last.

Hill to rose to second through the melee with Talbot third.

Murray was able to continue and quickly became embroiled in a battle with David Wall (Wall Racing) and Warren Luff (McElrea) for seventh place.

A mistake from Love saw Hill move into the lead as they crossed the line to start the third lap, only for Talbot to send it up the inside at Turn 1.

However, he ran it too deep, opening the door for Love to reclaim top spot while delaying the leading trio enough for Nick McBride (Porsche Centre Melbourne) and Adrian Flack to latch on to the podium squabble.

Though back in front, Love wasn’t immediately able to sprint clear, Talbot clinging on to the rear wing of the race leader as the top five ran line astern.

He eventually opened a small advantage as Hill struggled to find a way through on Talbot, only claiming the spot on Lap 7.

Hill then held sway ahead of Talbot, the pair edging away from McBride in fourth place though unable to chase down Love out front.

That proved to be the order at the flag, with Love holding to win by 6.1s over Hill and Talbot as the leading Pro-Am runner.

Almond charged his way back through the field to claim 12th by the flag, while series leader Dale Wood (Sonic) was the last classified runner in 21st after twice stopping for punctures.

Two further races follow for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia on Sunday, the first a 20-lapper at 0950 local time before the weekend’s finale at 1230 (1020 and 1300 AEST).

Result: Porsche Carrera Cup Australia, Race 1

Pos	Num	Driver	Team	Time
1	777	Jordan Love (WA)	Sonic / Bob Jane T-Marts/SRG	20:40.320
2	111	Cameron Hill (ACT)	Seears Workwear	20:46.428
3	27	Liam Talbot (NSW)	Wash It	20:46.823
4	8	Nick McBride (VIC)	Porsche Centre Melbourne	20:48.867
5	38	David Wall (NSW)	PAYCE	20:49.105
6	20	Adrian Flack (QLD)	Agas National	20:49.834
7	7	Warren Luff (QLD)	MEGA/No Second Chance	20:52.175
8	12	Steve Richards (VIC)	O’Brien Electrical & Plumbing	20:53.073
9	10	Brenton Grove (VIC)	Grove Group	21:00.458
10	36	Cooper Murray (VIC)	Lodge Brothers	21:00.767
11	34	Duvashen Padayachee NSW	Hyundai Forklifts Australia	21:01.294
12	77	Michael Almond (SA)	Sonic/Bob Jane T-Marts/PSA Aus	21:07.123
13	23	Roger Lago (QLD)	Dayco / Lago Cold Stores	21:14.741
14	4	Stephen Grove (VIC)	Grove Group	21:15.765
15	6	Tim Miles (NSW)	Garage 1	21:16.285
16	22	Dean Cook (VIC)	BMF	21:16.531
17	13	Sam Shahin (SA)	The Bend Motorsport Park/HTFU	21:16.823
18	30	David Ryan (NSW)	DRM Motorsport	21:36.819
19	35	Indiran Padayachee (NSW)	Hyundai Forklifts Australia	21:37.539
20	9	Michael Loccisano (VIC)	Hallmarc	21:39.076
21	100	Dale Wood (VIC)	Sonic/Polyflor	22:01.885
DNF	5	Thomas Maxwell (NT)	Sonic