Best wins as Super2 race ends under Safety Car

Zak Best has won a shortened Super2 Series race in Newcastle that ended behind the Safety Car.

A seven-car crash barely a quarter of the way into the race triggered a lengthy interruption from which the race never got going again.

That left Best the victor from Aaron Love and Matt Chahda after a total of 15 laps – only six of which were held under racing conditions.

Best got the holeshot and led while Love and Chahda squabbled with Ryan Wood into the first turn.

Wood slipped from pole to fourth on the run to Turn 1 as the pack somehow navigated the opening corner without incident.

Best held a 1.3s advantage at the end of the opening lap, Love inching clear of Chahda who locked the rears into the hairpin and dropped a car length or two in the process.

In the pack, Nash Morris lost the rear end at the same corner, spinning into the run off and dropping to the rear of the pack.

The race then settled down until carnage ensued on Lap 6 when seven cars crashed out at Turn 8.

The Safety Car was immediately called after Wood triggered the smash.

He lost the rear end as he rounded the right-hander, sliding into the tyres before bouncing back into the path of Jack Perkins.

With nowhere to go, nor time to react, contact was inevitable, as it was for those behind many of whom found themselves drawn into the incident as the track became increasingly blocked.

Perkins was able to continue but only as far as the pits after he picked up significant front-end damage.

Others were also able to eventually head to the lane, including Jay Robotham, Zane Morse, Wood, and Brad Vaughan.

The prolonged clean-up required, courtesy of the fluid that had been dropped on the road both at the scene and then as cars drove away, saw the race conclude under Safety Car.

It saw Best win from Love and Chahda with a total of 15 laps in the books, the bulk completed under yellow flags.

Cameron McLeod wrapped up the Super3 class, finishing eighth outright, while Jett Johnson was second in class, 12th outright, one spot further up the road from Mason Kelly.

It was the second time the Super2 encounter had been shortened over the weekend after Saturday’s race was shortened due to delays starting it due to a crash in an earlier session.

Results: Race 2

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Cls	Laps	Race time
1	17	Anderson Motorsport	Zak Best	Ford Mustang GT	S2	15	27:56.7683
2	78	Petronas Motorsport	Aaron Love	Ford Mustang GT	S2	15	27:57.0440
3	18	Cavalier Homes	Matthew Chahda	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	27:57.4749
4	49	Cowbiz	Jay Hanson	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	27:57.8084
5	88	Eggleston Motorsport	Cooper Murray	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	27:58.4186
6	26	Eggleston Motorsport	Kai Allen	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	27:58.8911
7	30	Gomersall Motorsport	Aaron Seton	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	27:59.6079
8	92	Ryan McLeod Racing Cars	Cameron McLeod	Nissan Altima	S3	15	28:00.2457
9	999	Image Racing	Jobe Stewart	Holden Commodore VF	S3	15	28:02.1278
10	89	Bowers Heavy Haulage	Ryan Gilroy	Holden Commodore VF	S3	15	28:02.8074
11	54	Eggleston Motorsport	Jordyn Sinni	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	28:04.0368
12	117	NAPA Auto Parts	Jett Johnson	Nissan Altima	S3	15	28:05.4717
13	22	Kelly Racing	Mason Kelly	Nissan Altima	S3	15	28:07.2224
14	97	Eggleston Motorsport	Matthew McCutcheon	Holden Commodore VF	S3	15	28:08.1237
15	33	Cylinder Head Warehouse	Callum Walker	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	28:09.1076
16	6	Steeline	Elly Morrow	Ford Mustang GT	S2	15	28:09.8525
17	39	Matt Stone Racing	Chris Smerdon	Holden Commodore VF	S3	15	28:10.6452
18	67	World Gym Racing	Nash Morris	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	28:11.8712
19	219	Masterton Motorsport	James Masterton	Ford Mustang GT	S2	15	28:13.2034
20	35	Gomersall Motorsport	Jason Gomersall	Holden Commodore VF	S3	15	28:14.9320
21	25	Walkinshaw Andretti United	Zach Bates	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	15	28:19.9864
22	3	MW Motorsport	Jaylyn Robotham	Ford Mustang GT	S2	14	28:17.7566
23	11	Turps Tippers	Zane Morse	Ford Mustang GT	S2	13	28:18.3812
NC	70	Shaw and Partners Racing	Jack Perkins	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	7	9:46.4557
NC	2	Walkinshaw Andretti United	Ryan Wood	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	6	10:56.2486
NC	5	Dormer HVAC Services	Brad Vaughan	Ford Mustang GT	S2	6	11:36.7290
NC	38	Eggleston Motorsport	Cameron Crick	Holden Commodore ZB	S2	5	6:26.3970

Series points: Super2

Pos	Driver	Pts
1	Zak Best	279
2	Cooper Murray	261
3	Jay Hanson	231
4	Matthew Chahda	225
5	Kai Allen	222
6	Aaron Love	189
7	Aaron Seton	162
8	Jaylyn Robotham	147
9	Callum Walker	144
10	Zach Bates	138
11	Jack Perkins	138
12	Elly Morrow	135
13	James Masterton	123
14	Zane Morse	123
15	Brad Vaughan	102
16	Jordyn Sinni	90
17	Ryan Wood	90
18	Cameron Crick	78
19	Nash Morris	72
20	Lachlan Dalton	69

Series points: Super3

Pos	Driver	Pts
1	Jobe Stewart	288
2	Cameron McLeod	261
3	Ryan Gilroy	249
4	Jett Johnson	249
5	Matthew McCutcheon	240
6	Mason Kelly	213
7	Chris Smerdon	192
8	Jason Gomersall	180
9	Jim Pollicina	0