Alexander inches closer to SuperUtes title

Tom Alexander inched closer to the ECB SuperUtes series title by taking victory in the opening race of the weekend at the Coates Hire Newcastle 500.

The Isuzu D-Max driver Alexander dominated Race 1, winning his fifth race of the season by 2.1s over Cameron Crick while outside title chance Ryal Harris was third.

Starting from pole, Alexander held sway at the head of the field off the start while Crick (Mitsubishi Triton) filed in ahead of Harris (Mazda BT-50) at the top of Watt Street.

Elliot Barbour (Mitsubishi Triton) tapped the rear of Craig Woods (Toyota Hilux) at Turn 7 and unloaded him sideways into the wall.

Woods subsequently retired to pit lane with damage while Barbour copped a 15-second time penalty for his role in the incident.

On Lap 4 Ben Walsh (Toyota Hilux) sailed around the outside of Barbour at Turn 2 and the pair ran side-by-side down Shortland Esplanade before Walsh completed the move at the bottom of the hill for fourth.

Alexander was not challenged at the front of the field from Lap 1, while Crick’s early move on Harris saw them net second and third respectively.

Walsh held on to fourth at the flag, while Barbour’s penalty in fact made no difference to his classification of fifth.

SuperUtes Race 2 takes place on Sunday at 1015 local time/AEDT.

Results: Race 1

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Laps	Race time
1	22	Caltex Delo Racing	Tom Alexander	Isuzu D-MAX	10	14:54.9485
2	7	Total Tools Team Triton Racing	Cameron Crick	Mitsubishi Triton	10	14:57.1139
3	1	EFS 4×4 Racing	Ryal Harris	Mazda BT50	10	15:00.4610
4	8	Fat Freddys	Ben Walsh	Toyota Hilux	10	15:01.7177
5	87	Team Triton Racing	Elliot Barbour	Mitsubishi Triton	10	15:22.2898
6	68	Phoenix Contract	Layton Barker	Toyota Hilux	10	15:28.5567
7	49	Allgate Auto Doors	Christopher Formosa	Ford Ranger	10	15:28.8836
8	17	Tankworld	Benjamin Falk	Mazda BT50	10	15:28.9627
9	72	Western Sydney Motorsport	Craig Thompson	Toyota Hilux	10	15:37.2943
DNF	64	Western Sydney Motorsport	Craig Woods	Toyota Hilux	1	2:26.6286