Jayden Ojeda and Paul Lucchitti have taken another Sunday race victory in the GTWC Australia championship, winning Race 2 at The Bend to round off a double-victory weekend for Tigani Motorsports.
Lucchitti was once again the hero, withstanding sustained pressure for the entirety of his stint in the Move My Wheels #66 Mercedes to hold on and win by less than half a second.
“I knew the pressure was on,” Lucchitti said post-race. “Juice [Ojeda] gave me the car with about a second and a half [gap]. The game was on from lap one.”
Ojeda was full of praise for his Am teammate, after a second faultless drive in as many rounds.
“When [Lucchitti] is under a bit of pressure, he drives so well!” Ojeda said. “It was tense, I saw the gap, but [Lucchitti] drove unbelievably.
“I’m so stoked for the team – two wins, a front row lockout, an awesome weekend for Tigani.”
Ojeda started the #66 but didn’t get the best of starts, losing out to his Tigani Motorsports team-mate Brendon Leitch in the run off the line. He was helped by Broc Feeney, who used his great start in the #1 Kelso Electrical Audi to bump-draft Ojeda into turn 1, where Ojeda was able to hold onto the lead, with Leitch slotting in behind in the #44 Valmont Mercedes.
Further down the field, contact between the #88 Wolfbrook and the #666 Team BRM Audis caused a rear-right suspension failure for the #666, forcing Garnett Patterson into the pits for repairs.
The first stint was dominated by Ojeda, who stretched out to a two-second lead while Leitch held the rest of the field at bay. The aero-dependent nature of The Bend’s circuit – as well as the fastest lap times of the weekend – meant that passing was difficult, with none of the pros able to make significant inroads in the early stint.
Once the pit window opened, the Pro-Am cars left it to the last opportunity, all coming in at once. The #44 Valmont Racing Mercedes dropped down the order thanks to their 15-second success penalty for winning yesterday’s race, leaving the #66 Move My Wheels Mercedes to fend off the #1 Kelso Electrical Audi at the head of the field.
Brad Schumacher, now in the #1 Audi, was quickly on the back of Lucchitti’s #66 Mercedes, but try as he might, Lucchitti was immovable. Lucchitti drove 20 faultless minutes around The Bend, and never gave Schumacher a sniff.
Lucchitti brought the #66 Move My Wheels Mercedes to win by just over half a second, ahead of the #1 Kelso Electrical Audi of Schumacher and Feeney.
Third place was Adelaide-local Mark Rosser with Thomas Randle in the #268 Castrol Audi, with Mark driving a great stint to move from 5th to third at the line. The #88 Wolfbrook Audi finished fourth, while the top 5 went to the #26 Arise Racing Ferrari.
Winning Trophy class was the #24 KFC Audi of Stoupas and Stokell – a double-victory weekend for the pair.
After two rounds of GTWC Australia, the #1 Kelso Electrical pair still maintains the lead of the championship, but by a tiny 2-point margin. The #66 Move My Wheels Mercedes has jumped into second place, with the #26 Arise Racing Ferrari pair in third, 7 points behind the leaders.
GTWC Australia next hits the track at Queensland Raceway, on the 12th-14th of June.
Image courtesy of SRO
