Filsell & Burton share victories at Phillip Island Super Sprint
Round 2 of the Motorsports Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Series took centre stage around the Phillip Island circuit on Wednesday night with Jarrad Filsell & Jake Burton taking a share of the victory’s.
Qualifying got underway at approximately 7:50pm AEST for a 20 minute session to set the grid for the opening race of the evening. Qualifying was hotly contested amongst the field. Trans Tasman Racing set the pace, locking out the front two rows of the grid with Madison Down leading the way from teammate Jake Moloney. Filsell would line up as the first non TTR driver in 5th position onboard his SSR commodore, followed by Rehan Liyanage from Pursuit Sim Racing close behind in 6th position. With just .214 of a second separating the top ten, it was clear it would be a extremely competitive night of racing.
A clean getaway for Down would ensure he maintained the lead of the race heading into turn 1 on the opening lap with Burton making an excellent jump off the line to slot into second position behind his TTR stablemate. Robert Gibbs was caught in controversy early, finding his way off the circuit on the exit of turn 1 rejoining the track in front of Bradley Rattew who would sustain damage from the incident. Gibbs would later pick up a drive through Penalty for the contact.
Madison Down & Jake Burton continued to control the field early, Jarrad Filsell trailing behind in the final podium place. All would come unstuck for race leader Down shorty after though, finding his way off the circuit in uncharacteristic fashion on entry to the final corner on lap 8, ultimately ruling him out of contention for the race and round victories.
"All would come unstuck for race leader Down shorty after though, finding his way off the circuit in uncharacteristic fashion"
Jarrad Filsell would be the first of the heavy hitters to make his way to pit lane for his compulsory pit stop, followed by Synergy Sim Racing teammate James Scott on the beginning of lap 10. Burton would continue on for a handful of laps, making the call on lap 12 to make his visit to pit lane rejoining into effective 3rd position behind James Scott & leader Jarrad Filsell with little under 12 laps remaining.
Burton set out to make his ground early, making a bold move on James Scott on the beginning of lap 13 on the inside at turn 1. Contact was made sending James into the infield, the contact being deemed a racing incident as Burton set off after race leader Jarrad Filsell.
Further down the order cracks where starting to show, young gun Rehan Liyanage & Dylan O’Shea came together on lap 14, an incident that would make it difficult to recover for the remainder of the night. Moments later, Josh Anderson would find trouble down at Miller Corner, making a trip onto the grass while attempting an overtake on James Scott. Contact insured on Anderson’s re join, finding the rear quarter panel of Luke Rosella, sending him into the barrier on entry to Siberia. Josh would later be penalised for the infringement.
Jake Moloney & Richard Hamstead would be the final drivers to pit, entering the lane on lap 22 handing the lead back over to Jake Burton. Moloney’s masterclass strategy call would see him rejoin in behind burton, charging home to collect a strong second place finish. But it would be Jake Burton taking the honours for the opening race, winning just his second race in the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup. Gilliam would round out the podium in 3rd followed by Brady Meyers in 4th & James Scott close behind in 5th
Winning in race 1 gave Burton an opportunity to capitalise off pole position in race 2 with the progressive grid formats, sharing the front row with Jake Moloney. A difficult getaway for Burton was met with a perfect launch from Filsell, jolting to the lead by the time the pack reached turn 1. Moloney’s hard work was undone early, teammate Brady Meyers finding the rear of his TTR stablemates Mustang into turn one, sending both off the circuit and out of contention for the race victory.
Carnage continued on the run down to Miller Corner, race 1 winner Burton coming into contact with Wayne Bourke, sending the Dr Epoxy SSR Commodore into a spin. Burton would later be met with a penalty for the accident, dropping him down the order for the time being.
Andrew Gilliam capitalised in the early stages, climbing his Pursuit Sim Racing Mustang into contention behind race leader Jarrad Filsell to sit comfortably in 2nd position followed closely by 9ine 5ive SimSports driver Ric Kuznetsov.
Miller Corner again became subject to yet another accident, Rehan Liyanage escorting Bradley Rattew off the road on lap 3. Unable to stop on the grass, he’d find his way into Damien Johnstone, ending what was already a difficult night for the SSR driver.
The opening round of pitstops were the next major timeline across the 23 lap distance. As opening pitstops began, Adam Briggs of Synergy Sim Racing found himself in trouble, an engine expiring on lap 14 entering Siberia bringing out the first and only safety car of the night.
Once the field cleansed, The remaining cars required to complete a compulsory pit stop re joined the field with Jarrad Filsell still holding the lead. Dylan Rudd’s impressive drive forward saw him hold down second, along with Gilliam sitting in 3rd for the re start.
"Miller Corner again became subject to yet another accident..."
Filsell lead the field away comfortably into turn 1, waiting late to make his jump. As the field approached turn 4 on lap 19, trouble would strike again, Luke Rosella finding his way into the rear of Jake Moloney, sending him into a spin & setting off a chain reaction that saw multiple cars involved. Moloney would manage to rejoin the race, although damaged.
The battle at the front was tight on the closing laps, Filsell continuing to hold down the lead from Dylan Rudd. Ric Kuznetsov climbed his way into third looking strong alongside his 9ine 5ive SimSports teammate as they challenged Filsell for the race victory. Seasoned veteran Filsell held his nerve, holding onto a well fought victory, putting his championship title defence back on track. Rudd & Kuznetsov would follow Filsell home on the podium, a brilliant result for both drivers and their 9ine 5ive SimSport team. Richard Hamstead would come home in 4th, followed by Brady Meyers who rounded out the top 5.
Jarrad Filsell would take the round honours for the Watercraft Performance Centre Phillip Island Super Sprint, setting the tone for his championship fight back. Brady Meyers consistent performances would also see the TTR stalwart climb to the championship lead heading into Spa.
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