Trans-Am 2 Stars at Lakeside Classic

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.