Lights-to-flag win for Morris in TA2 opener at Ipswich

Supercheap Auto / Norwell Motorplex driver Nash Morris converted pole to a dominant lights-to-flag win over Josh Haynes and Dylan Thomas in Race 1 of Round 3 of the 2023 TA2 Muscle Car Series at Queensland Raceway, headlining the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series at the 2 Days of Thunder.

Morris set provisional pole in qualifying ahead of Dylan Thomas and Jackson Rice this morning. The last man out in the Top 10 Shootout scored pole position by nine-tenths of a second with a 1:11.6950 lap in the Supercheap Auto Mustang, with CXC Racing’s Dylan Thomas joining him on the front row.

Prior to Race 1, all drivers came together at the start finish line to honour the life of former TA2 Driving Standards & Prosecuting Officer Geoff Leeds, where Queensland Raceway announced that a Geoff Leeds Memorial Trophy will be awarded to the driver that best embodies Leeds’ mantra of ‘Race Hard, Race Fair, Give Racing Room and Respect Your Fellow Competitor’ across the weekend.

Reverend Steve Peach from the Southport Church of Christ lead a moments silence and a prayer before drivers returned to their cars for the start of the race.

Morris lead the field away off the start before controlling the lead for the remainder of the race.

Josh Haynes moved up to second past Thomas down the front straight on the opening lap, as Thomas closed out the podium from Rice.

Rookie Hayden Hume scored a strong top five finish over Russell Wright, who made amends after a two-place penalty in qualifying for impeding another car to move forwards from eighth to sixth.

Chris Pappas placed seventh ahead of Brad Gartner, who charged forward five positions from 13th, as Hugh McAlister and Nicholas Bates rounded out the top ten.

After missing qualifying with a clutch issue, Hayden Jackson moved forward from the back of the grid to 12th. 

The TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek returns for Races 2, 3 and 4 at 9:30am, 1:15pm and 3:05pm respectively. Race 2 will be live streamed on the TA2 Facebook Page while Races 3 and 4 will be shown live on SBS, Fox Sports and Kayo.

QUOTES

Nash Morris, #67 Supercheap Auto / Norwell Motorplex Ford Mustang

“It was a good race. It was pretty hot out there, I wasn't cruising, but I was still trying to manage my car for tomorrow. We’ve got a pretty big day of racing with three races tomorrow. I was still pushing pretty much the whole way through but I didn't want to take too much out of the tyres.

“We don't get too many tyres in the TA2 Series, so it's all about managing what you got and managing it over the weekend.”