Darwin supports: Moffat and O’Keeffe big winners

Good things come to those who wait, as Dylan O’Keeffe converted his first Carrera Cup win for two years into a clean sweep at Darwin.
A perfect weekend propelled O’Keeffe into the championship lead, something Harri Jones has held since he returned.
The GWR driver grew in confidence after taking pole in a thrilling qualifying, where 0.0597s covered the top three.
O’Keeffe got a great launch from pole, which forced Jones to look on the inside and outside to find a way past to no avail.
These looks opened the door for David Russell to have a look at stealing second but could not quite get it done
After holding off the challenge, Jones was able to skip a second up the road and put the pressure on O’Keeffe, who secured the success he had waited so long for.
Boosted by the breakthrough, O’Keeffe enjoyed another great getaway s to take the lead.
Caleb Sumich and Tom McLennan both toured the grass on the exit of the first corner, but more trouble was coming in the valley as Russell and Wood skittled each other out.
Russell appeared to drop a rear wheel in the dirt on the exit of Turn 5 which sent him sliding into Wood and contact saw both cars pirouetting.
The drama carried on throughout the race with many cars going off, including both Bob Jane T-Marts cars following each other for a tour.
Targett made up eight spots to secure seventh with most of them coming in the first lap alone.
By Lap 20 Jones had his first look at Turn 1 just to show the nose and put O’Keeffe under the microscope.
But it was Jones who cracked under pressure as he made an unforced error, going off at Turn 5 which gifted second to Bayley Hall.
Nothing split O’Keeffe and Jones off the line and they went side by side into Turn 1 as Walls swerved from side to side behind them.
All the movements did not stop him from pouncing when he saw Jones leave a gap on the inside and seize second.
Wood found himself in more drama as he and Mouzorious both locked up and collided at Turn 5, leaving the Supercars driver in a spin.
As O’Keeffe again controlled the race Walls threw second away by locking the rears and spinning off at the hairpin.
This time it was Jones enjoying the gift as Walls slumped all the way to 10th.
O’Keeffe has now inserted himself in the title race, which resumes at Queensland Raceway in August 8-10.

James Moffat and Nathan Herne fight for the Trans Am lead. Image: InSyde Media
Determined to answer Todd Hazelwood’s growing form, James Moffat took a timely round win in the Trans Am tussle at Darwin.
Whilst Hazelwood’s championship lead is still intact, Moffat was thrilled to return to the top.
The #1 TFH Racing driver started strong however, controlling the first race from pole.
Despite some smoke signals, Hazelwood led home Nash Morris by a second as Moffat clung onto a podium ahead of a hard-charging Nathan Herne.
Aaron Love’s Trans Am debut saw him receive a 5s penalty for starting outside his grid box and ended up ninth in the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport Camaro as six drivers failed to finish.
Two Safety Cars disrupted the second race as Jackson Rice, Ben Grice and Josh Haynes clashed at Turn 4, leaving Lachlan Evenett and Jordan Boys worse for wear.
Another incident featuring Cameron Laws and John Hollinger set up a two-lap race.
But the biggest moment was an opening corner off for Hazelwood, seeing him slump to 12th as Moffat held off Herne by half a second.
Not only did Hazelwood launch a counterattack in the final race, but almost stole the victory.
He rose to the top four in the opening lap and then steadily got closer to the lead.
In the end, he fell just short as Moffat held on by seven-tenths in a tense finish.
Herne again featured at the front of the field and finished on the podium ahead of Morris and Tim Slade.
There was more drama as five cars failed to finish with plenty of action at the start again.
Trans Am fires back at Winton on August 22-24.

Scott Taylor and Mark Duggan dominated Combined Sedans. Image: Darwin Supercars
The Combined Sedans category lived up to its name by bringing a wide range of makes and models to the Darwin Triple Crown.
In the 23-strong field, there was one driver and car a cut above the rest in Scott Taylor and his Porsche GT3R.
However, penalties proved costly as Taylor did not enjoy the round win as it went to Mark Duggan and his Aston Martin.
Despite Taylor offering plenty of speed, Duggan had the consistency required to take out the round.
Taylor won every race he competed in and started the assault in Friday afternoon’s opener, where he led all nine laps and broke the lap record.
However, a penalty for exceeding the designated speed limit handed the win to Duggan.
The only driver that could keep up with the lead pair was local hope Rod Jessup, who had a lonely race.
Taylor produced another lights-to-flag performance in Race 2 where he was able to keep the win despite a 15s penalty such was his dominant drive.
Taylor’s hope of snatching the round win was denied in Race 3 by a familiar penalty.
Despite leading the way, another designated speed limit penalty stole the win from the #222 with a late Safety Car also dropping the Porsche to third
Yet again, Duggan did enough to receive the race and round win with Jessup in second.
Supercars Darwin Triple Crown (times AEST)
Practice 1: Fri 13.20
Practice 2: Fri 15.25
Qualifying R17: Sat 9.05
Qualifying R18: Sat 9.55
Race 17 (42 laps): Sat 12.15
Race 18 (42 laps): Sat 15.40
Qualifying R19: Sun 9.35
Top 10 Shootout: Sun 12.05
Race 19 (70 laps): Sun 15.10
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