Brown controls Saturday night sling
Supercars provided some fine Saturday evening entertainment at Albert Park with Will Brown controlling another intense dash.
Due to more incidents in another chaotic race, only 15 of the 19 laps were possible, but there was no shortage of highlights.
Away from all the action as usual were Brown and Broc Feeney, who controlled the race to collect the third formation finish from as many races.
The fight for third was a grandstand finish with Nick Percat somehow fending off both DJR Mustangs despite crawling an ailing car.
Ryan Wood raced his way to sixth and Cameron Waters performed another comeback, this time climbing eight spots.
However, man of the match was Matt Payne, who went from last to 11th after being spun at the first turn.
But many were unable to fight back with James Golding and Cooper Murray unable to recover from incidents at Turn 11.
It was a Triple Eight lock out of the front row and on the evidence of Thursday, the race would be decided on the run down to Turn 1.
This time Brown got the better jump and held firm on the inside to take the lead with Percat safe in third.
Meanwhile, there was chaos further back.
It was three wide for fourth coming into the first turn with Davison making slight contact with Murray as Payne swooped in front of the Erebus driver.
Heavy contact saw Payne’s dream of an Albert Park podium disappear yet again with a spin.
Meanwhile, further back Randle was also half rotated from Reynolds, but carried on to resume their rivalry three corners later.
When the field arrived at Turn 4, the pair were at it again as part of a gaggle of cars making use of the tarmac run off.
Amidst the drama, Fullwood tripped over the rear right corner of Reynolds, which sent the #20 Camaro rotating for the second time this weekend.
Will Brown leads as Matt Payne spins in the background. Image: Peter Norton
The action was far from over however as Murray found the grass at Turn 8 and the massive moment sparked a battle at the other end of the circuit.
Mostert made a huge lunge on the Erebus youngster at the heavy braking Turn 11, but locked up and speared into Golding.
The heavy hit sent the PremiAir driver around and into the gravel, creating a first lap Safety Car.
Racing resumed on Lap 3 and Wood and Kostecki were going at it for fifth.
They followed each other all the way to the pit wall before the DJR driver prevailed in a willing scrap.
Murray remained in the wars as he struggled to stay in the top 10 and hit the wall a third time at Turn 3.
But one car that was on it was Percat, who snatched second from Feeney with a well setup move coming out of the final corner.
The MSR driver then applied the blowtorch on leader Brown, but before he could mount an attack the Safety Car returned.
Turn 11 was once again the hot spot and this time it was Murray in the gravel.
His wild race finally came to a premature end with the #99 finding the outside fence.
Replays were not clear, but Erebus believes contact from Jones sent the rookie off and the BJR driver will be investigated post race.
Just before the stoppage, Kostecki made a calculated move on Davison for fourth and the DJR veteran did not offer much resistance.
At the Lap 9 restart it was Percat who was caught out this time as Feeney made a smart move at the opening corner to reinstate the Triple Eight one-two.
This marked the return of the intense racing with Payne leading the charge.
Having found himself at the back of the field, within just seven racing laps he snuck past his teammate and then claimed 14th with a great move on Courtney at Turn 3.
Allen and Le Brocq then took turns exchanging 14th place until the Erebus driver slumped seven spots in just seven corners via the unrelenting freight train.
The next battle pack that spawned was to be the final member of the top 10.
Hill emerged triumphant, leaving Stanaway to also get gobbled up by Payne, who completed an incredible comeback to 11th.
The final act was an unexpected struggle for third.
Percat suddenly dropped away from the Triple Eight teammates on the final lap with smoke appearing from the #10 Camaro.
Despite clearly being at a disadvantage, Percat got his elbows out.
Kostecki made a dive down the inside at Turn 11 and many thought that would be the podium.
But Percat refused to give in, fighting back with the criss cross at the following right hander before hanging tough on the outside.
This ensured the MSR driver had the inside running coming out of the final corner and he had enough momentum to somehow cling onto third.
Amid all the action Davison pounced and snatched fourth by 0.06s.
It was a fun end to a fun race under the setting sun at Melbourne.
Only one race remains in the Melbourne SuperSprint, which has delivered action at every turn.
A shorter 14-lap dash will take place at 10.25 AEDT Sunday morning.
Supercars Round 2 Melbourne SuperSprint Race 6 results
2025 Australian Grand Prix schedule
Thursday, March 13
Race 1 (19 laps) 1: B. Feeney 2: W. Brown +1.0924 3: C. Hill +3.7603
Race 2 (12 laps) 1 C. Hill 2: N. Percat +0.5745 3: W. Brown +0.8244
Saturday, March 15
Sunday, March 16
Time Category Session
9.00 Formula 3 Feature Race (23 laps)
10.25 Supercars Race 4 (14 laps)
11.30 Formula 2 Feature Race (33 laps)
15.00 Formula 1 Grand Prix (58 laps)
A full F1 car by car preview can also be found in the LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION DIGITAL HERE
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