Strong performance for Bob Jane T-Marts in the Top End
It was a strong performance from the three Bob Jane T-Marts-supported Porsches in the Top End for Round 3 of the Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship.
Prepared by the renowned Sonic Motor Racing Services operation, Angelo Mouzouris and Marcos Flack led the team’s Pro Class attack as Rodney Jane completed the line-up in Pro-Am fresh from competing at Le Mans.
Hidden Valley Raceway provides a mix of a variety of circuit characteristics including long straights, flowing corners, kerbs, tight hairpins and is perilously dirty off line making it a challenging prospect.
Flack led the way at the end of the weekend, but qualifying proved a disappointment after ending the session 13th following an excursion off the road. Flack maintained this position in the opener, but the mini-endurance event in Race 2 provided a much better result as he climbed to sixth by the end of the 40-minute encounter despite an off-road excursion.
It proved a solid finish to the event for Flack in the final as he scored sixth.
Mouzouris was consistent all round and was eighth in qualifying to rise to sixth in Race 1. He then lost out after exiting the road during the 40-minute mini-enduro to drop to eighth in Race 2 before picking up seventh in the finale to trail teammate Flack.
It was a solid weekend for Jane in his pursuit of the Pro-Am title as he started second in Race 1 and finished all three races in the same position. This ensures Jane holds a 43-point advantage in the Pro-Am standings after winning the opening two rounds of the season.
The Bob Jane T-Marts trio will continue their campaign at Queensland Raceway, which makes its Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship return after an 18-year absence.
QUOTES
Marcos Flack
#777 Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic Motor Racing Services Porsche
“It was a good weekend here in a very hot and humid Darwin,” said Flack.
“I turned what could have been a lot worse weekend into a pretty good one, so I can’t complain with two top six finishes and a top 10.
“I’m happy and a big thanks to the crew for all their work as we look forward to Queensland Raceway next.”
Angelo Mouzouris
#999 Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic Motor Racing Services Porsche
“The weekend started off great and the car has pace straight away, which was awesome,” said Mouzouris.
“We did quite a good job in practice battling in the sixth to eighth mark. Going into qualifying, we had high hopes and we had our best for the season in sixth.
“We finished where we started in Race 1, which was good and in the second event I was fifth until I made a stupid mistake and ran wide dropping to eighth. This was annoying as we had the pace and I had set the fastest lap of the race.
“I had a pretty terrible start in the last race, but I managed to get back a position to finish seventh.
“Overall, the weekend was awesome and the Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche was fast. Can’t wait to get to Queensland Raceway.”
Rodney Jane
#77 Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic Motor Racing Services Porsche
“It was a great weekend, but really hot,” said Jane.
“It wasn’t a bad effort, though I wouldn’t have minded more speed. I went 0.3s faster than I did last year in qualifying, so I was pretty happy with that.
“I qualified second, but almost stalled off the start due to the grip provided on my side of the track and swapped positions, but still retained the runner up spot.
“It was the same in the second race as I tried to improve on the places I wasn’t strong at on the circuit. I finished second again in the final race.
“The car was set-up really well and I probably need to spend a bit more time in the Porsche, but I’m really happy with how the weekend went.
“Still first in the championship and second for the round, so we’ll try to go one better at the next round.”