In their first appearance at the Lakeside Classic, Trans-Am 2 Australia turned up the action as Russell Wright claimed three out of four races to win round five of the 2017 Queensland Trans-Am 2 Racing Series.

Wright (Ford Mustang) set a blistering 54.7 second lap to claim pole position with the fastest recorded time of the entire race meeting. Wright would start on the front row alongside Chad Cotton (Ford Mustang), who bested Craig Harris (Ford Mustang) by 0.01 seconds to secure second spot.

It was a Wright vs Cotton showdown in race one, as Wright withstood a hard-charging Cotton to open his account in style. The pair took the chequered within one-tenth of a second, as Anthony Tenkate (Ford Mustang) rounded out the top three.

Wright cantered away to win race two comfortably, as Cotton, Tenkate and Craig Harris (Ford Mustang) staged a great battle in the closing stages. Harris recovered from a power steering issue in the opening race to charge back to second place from the rear of the grid, with Cotton two-tenths behind Harris in third at the chequered.

Wright fended off Harris in the early laps of race three, before Harris spun dramatically at the kink on lap three. Harris managed to stay off the wall, but pulled into the pit lane to record a DNF. A nail-biting finish saw Wright lose power due to an alternator issue, as Cotton passed Wright on the final corner on the final lap to take the win ahead of Tenkate.

Cotton and Wright engaged in a great battle in the final race as the pair were nose-to-tail for the opening seven laps. Cotton lead from the outset before Wright got through at the kink on lap six to take the race and round win.

With 21 Trans-Am 2 cars in Australia leading into the 2018 season and interstate expansion on the horizon, Wright is excited by the challenge that lies ahead.

“I love racing here at Lakeside. It’s such a challenging track and to drive a car like this around here is a real buzz,” said Wright.

“Chad [Cotton] kept me honest all weekend and I had to work very hard to stay in front.

“He’s definitely got the speed, but perhaps i’ve got more experience around the Lakeside track which has favoured me this weekend.”

The next event will see seven cars head to Sydney Motorsport Park to support the New South Wales Sports Sedans Series on September 16-17.

However, the Queensland Trans-Am 2 Racing Series returns to action for their final round at Lakeside Park in support or the Lakeside 300 endurance race on September 30-October 1.

In his debut series appearance, Stephen Voight took the round victory at the fourth round of the Queensland Trans-Am 2 Racing Series at Queensland Raceway.

After four races across the weekend, the Camaro racer took two second placings, followed by two wins to take overall honours ahead of Anthony Tenkate and series leader Russell Wright.

Qualifying saw Mustang driver Craig Harris take his maiden series pole position ahead of Voight’s Camaro and Wright’s Mustang, with the entire seven-car grid split by less than two seconds.

Harris went on to take an undisputed win to open the weekend, stretching a four-second margin by the chequered flag ahead of a close battle between Voight and Anthony Tenkate. Peter Robinson climbed three positions to take fourth place from the rear of the grid in his Dodge Challenger.

Harris, Voight and Wright engaged in a great battle in race two, with the trio split by only half a second at the finish. Voight lead from the outset before Harris regained the lead on lap five to take the win.

The tables were turned as Voight took his maiden Trans-Am 2 Series win in the reverse-grid race three. Harris and Wright made their way to second and third respectively by the final lap before an attempted last-corner move saw Wright and Harris make contact, sending Harris to the rear of the field. Wright received a 30-second penalty added to his race time, as Cameron Sendall and Greg Willis took their maiden series podium finishes.

Voight came home to take the win in race four followed by a fast-finishing Wright and Tenkate.

In a one-off series appearance, Voight was impressed with the performance and parity of the series.

“I think it’s a great series. I’ve driven many makes and models of cars over the years, it’s a good overall package that is reasonably priced and the average punter can jump straight into one and be competitive with the other drivers,” said Voight.

“The car I drove was straight out of the shed. All I did was check the tyre pressures, put some fuel in it and away we went.

“It goes to show that the cars are very equal across the board, it doesn’t matter what model you buy as all the cars are the same.

“All the guys were great to race with. I’ve raced with some of them in other categories over the years, the quality of drivers were very good.”

The Queensland Trans-Am 2 Racing Series returns to action at Lakeside Park for the annual Lakeside Classic on August 12 and 13.

With a hat-trick of wins, Russell Wright extended his championship lead in the Queensland Trans-Am 2 Racing Series after an enthralling third round of the season at the 2 Days of Thunder at Queensland Raceway.

Trans-Am 2 debutant Ashley Jarvis claimed pole position for the ten-car grid with a scintillating 1:14.9, the fastest lap ever in a Trans-Am 2 car at Queensland Raceway. The former Saloon Car driver then followed up by taking the opening race win in wet conditions, as well as a pair of second placings across the weekend. Camaro racer Greg Willis climbed three positions to secure a personal best finish of fifth in the opening race.

Starting from second, Wright fended off Jarvis in race two to take the win, while Chad Cotton battled handing issues in the wet conditions to take a pair of thirds in the opening two races.

In a reverse-grid race three, Wright and Cotton charged from the rear as Wright gained the lead from eventual third place finisher Ian McAlister on lap seven. An intense battle for the final podium spot saw McAlister lead home Peter Robinson, Hugh McAlister, Jarvis and Craig Harris as they all crossed the line within 1.5 seconds.

Starting fifth for the finale, Jarvis made his way through the field to challenge Wright for the race lead in the final laps. Wright took the chequered flag by half a second to take the round win, as Harris rose from seventh to secure an impressive third place finish.

Wright was delighted with his result as the competition stepped up another level.

“We were racing so close and so hard, and through all Trans-Am 2 cars there were no mechanical issues and no panel damage. It was an incredibly successful weekend for the category,” said Wright.

“There was less than a second between more than three-quarters of the field, so it’s getting incredibly close.

“The cars are actually quicker than most of us are driving them, so everybody is starting to step up to the challenge as they feel more comfortable in the cars.”

Trans-Am 2 Racing Australia next heads to Sydney Motorsport Park, with four cars currently scheduled to race within the combined NSW Sports Sedans and National Sports Sedans field on July 1-2.

Russell Wright secured a round victory with a win and three podium finishes at the second outing of the Queensland 2017 Trans-Am 2 Racing Series at Queensland Raceway, a round that had four different race winners from as many races. 

There was plenty of action throughout the grid that took to the ‘Paperclip,’ with Group N racer Craig Allan (Chev Camaro) and Greg Willis (Chev Camaro) the latest additions to the grid. 

Wright continued his winning form from Lakeside, blitzing the field in his Ford Mustang to claim pole position by six tenths ahead of Peter Robinson and former Australian Trans-Am champion Craig Harris in third.

The opening race of the round saw a thrilling contest between the frontrunners, with Wright leading home a trail of four cars to the chequered. Harris enjoyed a late charge from third to take the lead of the race before settling for second.

Robinson, who finished third, charged off the line to claim the lead before Wright fought back for ascendancy.  Anthony Tenkate (Ford Mustang) and Allan were hot on their trail in fourth and fifth respectively, while Cameron Sendall (Chev Camaro) and Willis swapped positions at the rear of the field. 

Harris secured his first race win for the year in Race 2, coming home ahead of Wright and Robinson in an enthralling encounter that saw the first four finishers crossing the finish line within one second of each other. Allan and Willis, fourth and fifth respectively, recorded their best results to date, while Tenkate threatened to take the race win before spinning at turn three towards the end of the race.

Tenkate recovered to take maiden Trans-Am 2 race win, overcoming Wright and Allan in a reverse grid Race 3. Tenkate took the lead from polesitter Sendall and set about building a gap at the front of the field. Wright charged through the field from second-to-last to battle with Tenkate and former Group N compatriot Allan.

Robinson notched up a race win in the finale and the maiden win for Dodge in Trans-Am 2 Australia, leading home Tenkate and Wright to the chequered flag.  

Wright was pleased with the result after a weekend of intense racing.

“It’s been an awesome weekend with four winners from the four races and not a scratch on any car,” said Wright.

“The car was realigned in the week at M1 Tyres & Mechanical on the Gold Coast and the car was dialled in beautifully, it was faultless all weekend.

“We made a couple of little errors throughout the weekend but fought back after a race win and a couple of podiums to take the round win.”

The Queensland segment of Trans-Am 2 Australia returns to Queensland Raceway for the third round of the season at the 2 Days of Thunder on June 17 and 18.

Russell Wright has recorded a clean sweep of the opening round of the Queensland Trans-Am 2 Series at the Lakeside Tribute.

The Mustang driver lead an eight-car field including the Dodge Challenger in it’s first competitive outing in the hands of Hugh McAlister.

Wright set the bar in qualifying to secure pole position by over a second to series debutants Ryan Cochran and Anthony Tenkate.

He later converted pole into a Race 1 victory, leading a Mustang 1-2-3 ahead of Craig Harris and Ian McAlister, who fended off advances from a resurgent Tenkate for the ten lap encounter. The victory came after the race was restarted following an opening-lap incident involving Wright and Cochran.

Wright cantered away to win race two ahead of a tight contest between Ian McAlister, Harris and Tenkate. Hugh McAlister narrowly got the better of Cameron Sendall in a drag race to the chequered.

Sendall jumped to third in race three after contact between Harris and Ian McAlister at Hungry Corner turned McAlister around with Tenkate unable to avoid the stranded McAlister Motors-backed Ford Mustang.

Wright completed a clean-sweep in the final race of the weekend to kickstart his 2017 championship campaign in perfect fashion after a thrilling contest with a fast-finishing Harris and Tenkate.

“I had a moment out of the Carousel and Craig got through on me and we battled for a few laps. I pulled a power slide coming onto the straight which gave me some momentum and we went through the kink full-noise, side by side,” said Wright.

“It’s a good start for this year and that was the plan. I have done a lot of preparation work on the car and it ran faultlessly all weekend.

“I do know Lakeside fairly well so i’ve got a local track advantage in that sense. It’s one of the best tracks in Australia, but it can bite. You’re torn between risk and reward.”

The second round of the Queensland Trans-Am 2 Series will be at Queensland Raceway for the Ipswich Festival of Cars on May 6 and 7, while the New South Wales Trans-Am 2 Series begins at Wakefield Park on April 1/2 alongside the National Sports Sedan Series.