Jackson Walls leaves Townsville with an extended 20-point lead in the 2023 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship as the series heads to The Bend Motorsport Park for round four.
Kiwi Callum Hedge sits second while Max Vidau’s pair of wins see him climb back to third. Dale Wood drops to fourth in the standings while Alex Davison has climbed to sixth.
Davidson has claimed his first Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship round win since 2016 thanks to a stunning start in the final race of Round 3 in Townsville.
Davison had chased Race 2 winner Max Vidau hard earlier on Sunday but launched perfectly in the finale’ to grab an early lead which, coupled with Vidau being shuffled down the order on the opening lap, helped deliver him his first win since June 2016.
Vidau finished second overall and Jackson Walls third in a critical weekend for his championship and Michelin Junior title hopes.
Davison’s win was the 17th round win of his stunning career while his race 3 victory was his 48th in Carrera Cup Australia.
He’s the third winner from the three rounds held this year and fifth different winner from the last five rounds.
Sunday’s two races were hard-fought affairs with Vidau leading home Davison and Hedge in the Enduro Cup opener earlier in the morning.
Hedge gained three spots early to make up for his race one penalty, while Walls finished fourth and just off the podium to add to his points haul.
A post-race (one) penalty to Hedge elevated Vidau one position to claim victory in the opening race. Vidau had followed Hedge to the line in race one, however was elevated to the win after Hedge was penalised five finishing positions for a breach of the driver briefing instructions – no breaking of traction from Turn 13 on the formation lap. Hedge, meanwhile, was relegated to sixth position as a result of his penalty.
Though he couldn’t take the overall round win, Vidau’s race two victory gives the Tyrepower TekworkX driver an early advantage in the Carrera Cup Enduro Cup campaign points tally.
Race three was a typical sprint with Davison’s fast start launching him to a lead he’d never lose.
Vidau found himself on the wrong side of the road on the opening lap shuffle, allowing Walls, Hedge and Fabian Coulthard to sneak through.
Fifth position ensured he finished behind Davison in the round, however saw him claw points back on his closest title rivals following a tough round in Darwin last time out.
Coulthard’s fourth was his best finish since returning to Carrera Cup while Chris Pither’s sixth was a similar milestone.
David Wall, a charging Thomas Maxwell, Luke King and Nick McBride completed the top-10.
The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship resumes at The Bend’s OTR SuperSprint this August 18-20.
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