Troy Johnson has once again returned to the winners circle and tonight drew first blood as he claimed the opening Formula 500’s feature race for the season at the Perth Motorplex.
Johnson led away early as fellow front row sitter Matt Brown headed infield before he even completed a lap with dramas on his immaculate #4 entry. The star of last year’s final events, Tom Hooper was the man who put pressure on Johnson for the lead while behind them Glenn Carstairs and Cameron McKenzie were fighting it out for third place.
The leading duo pulled away from the rest of the field and then began to close in on lapped traffic. The two raced in and out until Hooper got baulked by some slower cars, which allowed Johnson to build a decent lead, and also let Glenn Carstairs through for second place.
However, Johnsons lead proved to be insurmountable for any other contender as the laps wound down and in the end it was Johnson who raced away to a win ahead of a fast finishing Carstairs, while Hooper had to settle for third. Mark House was unlucky to go up in a cloud of smoke as the race came to an end while Cameron McKenzie and Adrian Haywood rounded out the top five.
Earlier in the night Tom Hooper led the opening heat, with Matt Brown and Mark House next as they fought for position. The yellows came out for a spun James Dawson and the ensuring restart saw Hooper and Brown pull away, with Hooper getting the nod, while Glenn Carstairs came home third.
The second heat saw Johnson leading from the get go, racing away to a huge win over Cameron MacKenzie and Shane Andersson.
The Formula 500’s now have a short break before round one of the West Coast Series is held in Albany Speedway on the 31st of October!
Release by DTN Media.
Official Results
Heat One – 10 laps: 1. 79 Tom Hooper, 2. 4 Matt Brown, 3. 49 Glenn Carstairs, 4. 95 Troy Johnson, 5. 24 Mark House, 6. 66 Jamie Pages, 7. 71 David Carstairs, 8. 88 Jamie Nardini, 9. 90 Shane Andersson, 10. 41 Cameron McKenzie, 11. 3 Chris Dymock, 12. 55 Adrian Haywood, 13. 73 Jeff Ross, 14. 87 Luke Nardini, 15. 78 Brent Lockwood, 16. 36 Brendon Marshman, 17. 11 James Dawson, 18. 115 Anton Porro, 19. 52 Lizz Plummer. DNF: 84 Ashleigh Oldfield (2), 75 Jeff Prentis (0). Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.434. Fastest Lap: 16.830 4 Matt Brown.
Heat Two – 10 laps: 1. 95 Troy Johnson, 2. 41 Cameron McKenzie, 3. 90 Shane Andersson, 4. 4 Matt Brown, 5. 55 Adrian Haywood, 6. 3 Chris Dymock, 7. 88 Jamie Nardini, 8. 49 Glenn Carstairs, 9. 79 Tom Hooper, 10. 73 Jeff Ross, 11. 71 David Carstairs, 12. 66 Jamie Pages, 13. 36 Brendon Marshman, 14. 24 Mark House, 15. 84 Ashleigh Oldfield, 16. 115 Anton Porro, 17. 52 Lizz Plummer, 18. 11 James Dawson. DNF: Brent Lockwood, Jeff Prentis. DNS: W87 Luke Nardini. Total Time: 2.46.330. Winning Margin: 3.132. Fastest Lap: 16.382 95 Troy Johnson.
Feature – 15 laps: 1. 95 Troy Johnson, 2. 49 Glenn Carstairs, 3. 79 Tom Hooper, 4. 41 Cameron McKenzie, 5. 55 Adrian Haywood, 6. 88 Jamie Nardini, 7. 87 Luke Nardini, 8. 90 Shane Andersson, 9. 66 Jamie Pages, 10. 3 Chris Dymock, 11. 71 David Carstairs, 12. 73 Jeff Ross, 13. 36 Brendon Marshman. DNF: 24 Mark House, 78 Brent Lockwood, 52 Lizz Plummer, 84 Ashleigh Oldfield, 4 Matt Brown, 75 Jeff Prentis. DNS: 11 James Dawson. DQ: 115 Anton Porro. Total Time: No Time. Winning Margin: 0.797. Fastest Lap: 16.311 95 Troy Johnson.