Bend supports – Hedge snatches Carrera Cup lead as Walls slips, Casha wins special 100th Toyota race

Callum Hedge is the new Porsche Carrera Cup series leader after he resisted a costly last-lap challenge from Jackson Walls, while the 100th Toyota 86 Series race lived up to the milestone.

Porsche Carrera Cup

Hedge stormed into the Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship lead with a perfect weekend at The Bend, but he had to fight for the final race.

In a Safety Car shortened affair from a multi-car lap one shunt, Hedge had Walls breathing down his neck in the final race.

Sick of playing second fiddle all weekend, Walls made a desperate lunge down the inside at the penultimate corner, but spun on the kerb from second to 12th.

Simon Fallon jumped to second as Max Vidau, Christian Pancione and Garth Tander completed the minor placings.

Hedge, Walls and Fallon went side by side into turn one and that was the order after they safely made their way through the opening sequence of corners.

But the same cannot be said for the rest of the field as the Safety car was required after Chris Pither, Dylan O’Keeffe, David Wall, Ryder Quinn and Alex Davison were taken out in the one incident.

Vidau appeared to rotate O’Keeffe’s #88 car around 180 degrees and he was an unavoidable object for Davison and Luke King.

King’s contact with O’Keeffe fired Wall airborne and Quinn into a spin, while Pither was also collateral damage.

King managed to survey and stay on the lead lap when Hedge led the lap five restart.

Hedge, Walls and Fallon held position, while Vidau jumped Pancione for fourth as Pro Am leader Rodney Jane was sent spinning to the back.

Callum Hedge leads Jackson Walls in a fight for the win that went down to the final lap. Image: Mark Horsburgh

Garth Tander jumped to after outsmarting Bailey Hall at the restart and this became a move for fifth as they was championship-changing drama up front.

Walls made the move for the win at the penultimate corner on the final lap but got it wrong, spinning over the kerb and out of the championship lead.

Hedge held strong to complete the clean sweep and steal the championship lead.

The drama sets the scene when Porsche Carrera Cup comes back at the Sandown 500 on September 15-17.

Race 3: Callum Hedge 0:21.24; 2 Simon Fallon +1.693s; 3 Max Vidau +2.110; 4 Christian Pancione +3.306; 5 Garth Tander +3.896.

Toyota 86 Series

The Toyota 86 Series raised the bat for its 100th championship race and the celebration was one to savour as Ryan Casha beat Cody Burcher by just 0.2s.

Casha increased his championship lead by winning a classic as there were battles seen up and down the field in the milestone race.

The battle between Burcher and Casha started when the lights went out as they ran side by side into turn 1 with Fabian Coulthard in their slipstream.

Michael Sherwell was a casualty spinning at the first corner, while Brock Stinson did not back down despite ending up in the grass at turn five as the mid pack went four wide through the high speed sweeper, while Jayden Wanzak speared off deep into the paddock at the never ending right hander.

The opening lap drama was not over as four cars also went off at turn 12 and Bradi Owen escorted to the outfield at the final turn.

Casha and Burcher pedalled away from Coulthard at the halfway mark as the Kiwi found himself under big pressure from Reuben Goodall.

Coulthard slipped from third to fifth down the main straight at the start of lap four which left Goodall and Ryan Tomsett running side by side from turns two to six.

Campbell Logan soon made it a four-car battle which did not settle down until the chequered flag.

The fight for the lead also livened up on the final lap as Burcher and Casha slid around the track.

Burcher made his move going down the inside at turn 12 but Casha fought back as they went side by side for three corners.

In the end the #79 emerged in front but the job was not done as Burcher had a crack around the outside of the penultimate corner and fell short.

Casha won by two tenths, while Coulthard’s experience prevailed to take third in a race that reflected the milestone.

Race 3: Ryan Casha 0:16.33; 2 Cody Burcher +0.205; 3 Fabian Coulthard +2.822; 4 Ryan Tomsett +3.028; 5 Campbell Logan +3.280

Main image by Mark Horsburgh

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