<\/p>\n
Race winner Bailey Sweeny would have been none the wiser to the melee that unfolded behind him as he went from lights to flag.<\/p>\n
Sweeny, who swept Friday's two practice session, claimed his second win of the season for HMO Customer Racing at Mount Panorama.<\/p>\n
The Hyundai i30 N pilot started from second and got a better getaway than pole position starter Jay Hanson to lead into Hell Corner.<\/p>\n
READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Embarrassment' fears at tainted World Cup<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Simple message that FIFA banned from jerseys<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Cruel' fate awaiting England if World Cup bid fails<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Just a few rows back, Josh Buchan stalled his all-new Hyundai and fell to last.<\/p>\n Melbourne Performance Centre ace Will Brown only narrowly missed the stricken car as he swerved hard right across the track.<\/p>\n However, the star of the start was Cox who, from last on the grid, made up eight places by the time he reached Griffins Bend.<\/p>\n After a relatively clean start to the race, Sweeny led Jay Hanson and Dylan O'Keeffe with Nathan Morcom and Ben Bargwanna just off the podium in fourth and fifth respectively.<\/p>\n It was a pedestrian start for D'Alberto, who was only 13th at the end of the first lap.<\/p>\n After a relatively quiet start to the race, the safety car was called out onto the track after kangaroos came too close to the track on lap 13.<\/p>\n After the field was bunched up, the race resumed with five laps remaining.<\/p>\n Crucially, Cox held the 10th place position that would net him the reverse grid pole position for race two.<\/p>\n However, his hopes took a hit when Luke King got his Hyundai up the inside at Forest Elbow and took the place away by The Chase.<\/p>\n What followed was a frenetic close to the race. A desperate dive from Cox at The Cutting saw him make contact with King.<\/p>\n King later made his way to the pit lane with damage while Cox rose to 10th.<\/p>\n The drama continued when Hanson lost control of his car on approach to Reid Park, slamming the left side of the car hard into the concrete.<\/p>\n Such was the impact that the suspension fell out of the bottom of the car.<\/p>\n Hanson extricated himself from the car and the racing continued. At the head of the field, Sweeny was untroubled. O'Keeffe moved into second and Morcom third.<\/p>\n As a result of the crash, Cox rose to ninth while wildcard Teddy Clairet moved to 10th to earn the reverse grid pole position.<\/p>\n Having come into the race 48 points adrift of D'Alberto, Cox narrowed that margin to 35 points.<\/p>\n Brown now sits 49 points away from the lead while Buchan is a distant fourth, 79 points off the back.<\/p>\n The second and third races get underway on Sunday at 9:25am and 3:50pm respectively.<\/p>\n \ufeffFor a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"TCR](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2022\/11\/465972\/pickerimage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n