A mid-race safety car intervention condensed the field and Kemal had his sights set on taking the lead from Morris. He successfully hit the front at the restart as he slipped past Morris into turn 1; it was a lead he never relinquished.
“It was anyone’s game after the safety car and I had a great battle with Morris, †said Kemal.
“My car was a little bit slow at the start of the race, but I managed to overtake Morris for the lead but it was under ‘yellows’, as the safety car had already been deployed, so I had to let him back in front for the restart.
“I managed to hit the lead on the re-start and from there pushed as hard as I could to the flag. â€
A slip streaming duel to the flag between Brad Ward and Morris entertained onlookers as Ward successfully carried out a switch-back maneuver as he ducked in behind Morris on the main straight to sling-shot himself into second placing by a margin of just 0.03s.
“The racing was intense, †said Ward.
“I couldn’t out-brake Morris into any of the corners but during the race I was able to get really close in the slip-stream.
“On the last lap I managed to pull up right behind Morris on the main straight and, with the slip-stream, went past him to pick up second spot. â€
Morris led a large portion of the race and still held the helm at the front with two laps to go but he couldn’t quite find the pace down the straights and eventually lost out to Kemal and Ward after an exceptional display of car control.
“I’m now starting to learn how to drive these cars quite well, †said Morris.
“We changed a few things to do with set-up to see whether we could get more out of the car, but we still have a little way to go to catch Kemal.
“The guys at the front are really good to race against and it is going to be hard to beat Kemal in the final tomorrow. â€
James Ward, Kyle Clews and Richie Rappa were all involved in the battle for second place as they too weaved down the main straight to get the vital slip-stream that would elevate them in the standings. The sixth place result is Rappa’s best result in his short Aussie Racing Car career.
Another newcomer David Lawrence drove spectacularly from 40th on the grid, passing 30 cars in the space of seven laps around the Albert Park circuit. He has had a tough initiation to the category with several drama’s unfolding due to driver error and mechanical gremlins, but he has now scored his second top 10 finish in the space of three races.
Steve MacGregor completed a double in the Masters Cup by finishing 12th outright and several places in front of the closest Masters Cup competitor in Paul Newman.
“I had oil being spilling all over the track right in front of me and was slipping and sliding everywhere, †said MacGregor.
“I then had a couple of runners go off right in front of me which really helped as I had a slow start and dropped quite a few positions, but I gradually made them up.
“I really can’t wait for tomorrow and hope to win and take the round spoils. â€
Newman had an off-track adventure on his way to 18th outright and second in the Masters Cup. Kevin Smith was third and had to recover from an eventful opening two races.
The final race of the Aussie Racing Cars will begin at 9:50 am Sunday.
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