A DRAMATIC start to the 2023 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship has seen the opening race declared early, following a lap two accident at Albert Park.
An incident involving the SP Tools Pro-Am class cars of Indiran Padayachee and Danny Stuttered at the back of the Albert Park circuit saw a lengthy recovery and also damage to the temporary walling, causing a lengthy red flag stoppage.
With time a critical factor on the Grand Prix program, the race was ultimately declared a non-event with results not counting.
To that point, a flying start had seen Jackson Walls’ launch into an early lead from the second row of the grid, flying past polesitter Callum Hedge and last year’s Melbourne round winner, Max Vidau.
Walls led the race at the time of the red flag however will have to replicate that launch again in tomorrow’s second race in a bid to claim his second Carrera Cup win.
Earlier, Hedge had scored his second consecutive TAG Heuer Pole Award, picking up from where he left off on the Gold Coast at the end of season 2022.
The Team Porsche NZ driver banked a record 1:48.0219 to score the top spot by 0.28 seconds over Vidau and Walls, with O’Keeffe fourth.
SP Tools Pro-Am pole went to Adrian Flack, who out-qualified Dean Cook and Tim Miles in the Carrera Cup ‘race within a race’.
Qualifying ended with a red flag after Simon Fallon’s Bob Jane T-Marts entry and a slower moving car made contact, tipping Fallon into a rollover at the end of the session.
Fallon emerged unscathed, however the young Victorian – a Porsche Michelin Junior – will take no further part in the weekend.
Meanwhile, double Bathurst 12 Hour winner Kenny Habul was also a withdrawal from the weekend following the flaring up of an existing back injury during practice.
“Unfortunately and old back injury has flared up at a very inconvenient time and I have to withdraw from the weekend,” said Habul.
“I have to thank TekworkX Motorsport for putting everything together for me for the AGP. I look forward to getting better and focussing on the Spa 24.”
The Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship returns on Friday for Race 2, the race set for a 6:25pm AEDT start, with coverage live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sport.
