Heinrich dominates wild Darwin affair

Joel Heinrich has extended his Touring Car Masters championship lead by returning to victory lane in a chaotic second sprint at Hidden Valley.

After a well-calculated second lap move on Steven Johnson, Heinrich was never headed and drove to a commanding 8s win in the Whiteline Racing Camaro.

This left Johnson to settle for second, while a clash between Jude Bargwanna and Ryan Hansford amid lapped traffic created a path for Scott Cameron to appear on the podium.

Johnson, Heinrich and Handsford went three wide into Turn 1 and the Brut Mustang prevailed on the inside line.

Heinrich settled into second ahead of Bargwanna, who snared third from the unsettled Hansford.

Cam Tilley also got a good launch and looked dangerous, climbing two spots to fifth.

Tony Karanfilovski found himself facing the wrong way at the end of the opening lap.

He gassed it up coming out of the final corner and spun on his own.

Despite Karanfilovski recovering and avoiding the barriers and fellow competitors, the Safety Car was called.

But the stoppage did not arrive in time for Johnson as Heinrich launched a successful divebomb on Johnson to steal the lead at Turn 1 just before the yellows were waved.

At the restart Cameron appeared to launch a very early attack, which helped him pass Tilley and secure fifth.

In clear air Heinrich was untouchable and bolted 1.5s up the road in a single lap ahead of who had his work cut out keeping Bargwanna at bay.

At the end of Lap 7 Bargwanna seized his moment and snared second from Johnson, who also could not stop Hansford from getting past.

In the space of just three corners Johnson slipped from second to fourth.

Replays did not catch Bargwanna’s move, but there was a hint of damage on his right front headlight.

Further back, Karanfilovski found himself in more trouble, tripping over Martin Riseley, sending both Mustangs touring the outfield.

Whilst Heinrich was in control, the intensity was on in the squabble for second.

Bargwanna had Hansford up his trumpet and the arrival of lapped traffic only further complicated matters.

When Bargwanna caught the lapped Austin, it was at precisely the wrong moment as they approached Turn 10.

Bargwanna thought about the passing on the inside, but jolted to the outside at the last moment.

However, it was too late for Hansford to react and contact, sent both Holdens spinning off.

Hansford rotated out of control in the gravel, while Bargwanna managed to keep it straight to survive and salvage fourth.

Despite the disappointment of retirement, Hansford at least got to watch the remainder of the race on the hill with a drink in hand.

This parted the seas for Cameron as he backed up his Trophy Race win with a podium.

The drama was not over as an off for Buzadzic sparked a chain reaction coming out of Turn 1.

The Hassell and Burnitt Toranas clashed and the end result saw the latter fire head on into the outside barrier.

Up front Heinrich was in complete control and took a commanding 8s win over Johnson.

The final TCM race is at 11.25 AEST.

Image: TCM

1: Joel Heinrich 15 laps

2: Steven Johnson +8.3971

3: Scott Cameron +8.7375

4: Jude Bargwanna +12.9035

5: Andrew Fisher +17.8473