Lee Stibbs promoted to round win after Rice penalised

Jackson Rice has been stripped of the overall round win after the first round of the 2023 TA2 Muscle Car Series at Winton Motor Raceway, with Dream Racing Australia set to appeal the decision.

The #7 Pedders Suspension & Brakes Ford Mustang driver was handed a 30-second post-race penalty for his part in an incident with MVA Racing’s Lee Stibbs (#66 Arrow Financial Services Chevrolet Camaro) at Turn 11 on Lap 4 of Race 4 which saw Stibbs spun out of the race lead.

The penalty has seen Rice drop from second to 17th in the official results of Race 4, promoting Brad Gartner (#22 Castec Rural Supplies Ford Mustang) to second and Michael Coulter (#11 Kobelco Motorsport Ford Mustang) to third in the race. 

Stibbs has also been promoted to the overall round winner and series leader (217 points), with Rice dropping 24 points to second position (208 points), while Dylan Thomas (#68 CXC Racing Ford Mustang) remains third. 

Rice’s team, Dream Racing Australia, has notified their intention to appeal the decision, which will be heard before the next round.

Other post-race penalties have seen both John Holinger and Rob Leonard handed 30-second penalties for on-track incidents in Race 4.

Round 2 of the 2023 TA2 Muscle Car Series framed by Hytek will be held at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway, headlining the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series event on 29 April - 1 May.