Following their race win in yesterday’s twin driver race, the duo’s strong form continued today. Brook won Race 4 – he crossed the line in second but was promoted to the win when Mark Crutcher was penalised – while Thomas finished a solid fourth in Race 5.
In Race 6, Thomas and Brook only needed to greet the chequered flag in order to secure the Kings of the North crown and the $20,000 prize money, a feat they achieved by finishing 12th after a decision not to pit under Safety Car conditions to complete their compulsory stop, unlike the vast majority of the field.
After the race, Thomas admitted the team ran a conservative strategy in order to minimise the risk of being involved in incidents.
“Before the race, we worked out the result we needed in order to win the weekend overall, and knew we could afford to take a cautious approach,” Thomas said.
“The plan was to stay out in the lead for as long as possible and stay out of trouble. It compromised our Race 6 result but we were looking at the big picture.
“Overall, it was a fantastic weekend – it’s my first visit to Hidden Valley and it has already provided some very happy memories.”
Race 6 was won by Mark Crutcher and Jordan Cox, with Cox charging to the front of the field after the last Safety Car restart; the Josh Haynes/Nicholas Bates Mustang finished second ahead of the Graham Cheney/Edan Thornburrow Camaro.
The HQ Holdens returned to the track for a pair of sprint races today, with the drivers who shared the cars in yesterday’s Crocodile Cup enduro competing in one race each.
Shaun Boland and Luke Harrison continued their domination of the weekend by winning both races, although Harrison was closely challenged by South Australian Darren Jenkins in Race 2; the victory for Harrison and Boland saw the inaugural HQ Holden Founders Cup – an award which recognises the interstate rivalry of HQ Holden racing – being awarded to New South Wales.
Tim Playford won both today’s NAMSC Combined Sedans/Australian Super TT races in his Mazda 808, coming from the rear of the field to take the win in the reverse-grid Race 3 before leading all the way in Race 4. Michael Ricketts continued his giant-killing form aboard the Nissan Pulsar, finishing second outright in both today’s races with the highlight being his move on Commodore driver Stephen Johnstone just after a Safety Car restart on the final lap of Race 4.
In the Circuit Excel NT Racing Series, Zac Hannon and Liam Hall resumed their dice from yesterday’s races; while Hannon took a comfortable win in Race 3, Race 4 was a much more closely-fought affair, the two cars swapping positions on a couple of occasions before Hannon finally broke free on the last lap to secure the race win.
The third round of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series will be held at Queensland Raceway, 2-4 June.
