Team Porsche New Zealand’s Tom Bewley claimed back-to-back pole positions at Round 4 of Porsche Equity One Carrera Cup Australia at The Bend, backing up his maiden pole from Queensland Raceway before Race 2 was abandoned in torrential rain.
“A really good weekend despite the rain that cancelled Race 2,” commented Bewley. “We made huge steps forward with the car and I’m stoked to make it back-to-back poles.
“I got off the line well from pole in Race 1 but didn’t quite have the pace to stay with the front guys and dropped to fourth. It was a great chance to learn racing with the best in the field. Gutted not to start Race 2 from P3, but we’ll take the learnings into Bathurst.”
Both cars ran strongly in practice, with Bewley inside the top ten (P6, P7) and Marco Giltrap inside the top five (P3, P4). Bewley took pole for Race 1 by just 0.0037 seconds over Harri Jones, the third-closest pole margin in Carrera Cup Australia history and backed it up with pole for Race 2. Giltrap fought mechanical issues in qualifying to line up 13th and 14th.
In Race 1, Bewley ran as high as third before a mid-race Safety Car bunched the field, crossing the line fourth. Giltrap charged forward to finish eighth, putting both cars inside the top eight. Race 2 was abandoned in torrential rain, with Bewley set to start third and Giltrap 14th.
“A mixed weekend at The Bend,” said Giltrap. “We had strong pace all through practice, but a mechanical fault cost us in qualifying. We pushed through to P8 in the first race with some good battles. I was looking forward to mixed conditions in the final race, but the rain put paid to that.”
The team now turns its attention to Bathurst.
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