It was a near perfect round for TekworkX Motorsport in Round 6 of Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup, after topping every session of the weekend at Mount Panorama.

Marcus Amand set the tone in the weekend’s sole practice, a damp outing tipping the scales in the Finnish junior’s favour as he paced the field by 1.5 seconds.

Qualifying proved an even wetter affair with Amand’s prowess again on full display as he set the fastest laps of the session to earn pole position for both Race 1 and 2 of the weekend, flying over two seconds clear of the closest non-TekworkX competitor.

David Russell shadowed the newly crowned Carrera Cup France Champion, slotting into second place on the grid for both races and earning TekworkX their first front row-lockout in Carrera Cup.

Tom McLennan enjoyed his best ever qualifying session in the category with his fastest lap putting him fifth on the grid for Race 1 and backing up the effort to earn an eighth-place spot for the second race.

Russell got the jump in the opening race of the weekend, sprinting away to hold a comfortable margin until a late race Safety Car. Amand, in his first dry laps ever around the mountain, was scrapping hard for the podium places but unfortunately ended up in the gravel trap – triggering the SC.

A one lap dash saw Russell use all of his defensive expertise as he held on to grab his first win since Bathurst last year. McLennan was met with a tricky start to the race, but he recovered well to get himself in the fight for the top 10 and only just missed out with P11 at the line.

Fighting from a front-row lockout once again in Race 2, it was an excellent start from Amand that saw him lead the early running from pole. Russell was on the receiving end of contact at the first corner, which had dropped him to third. A touch with the wall ended Amand’s race from the lead, while a five second penalty for the lap 1 contact promoted Russell to the victory.

Russell started the final race of the weekend from pole position and was only threatened by a mid-race brake bias adjustment failure, fending off a subsequent attack from behind to complete the first weekend sweep of his Carrera Cup career and second round win.

Amand, starting from 24th on the grid, put his speed on full display as he rocketed through the field to gain 16 places and finish the weekend in eighth place.

McLennan closed his weekend out with a pair of 13th place finishes across Race 2 and 3, getting stuck into a highly energised battle in the mid-pack.

By earning the team’s first Carrera Cup weekend sweep, Russell vaulted himself to third in the Championship Standings with two rounds to go.

The penultimate round of the series takes place from October 24-26 on the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.
Quotes:
David Russell – Hire A Hubby / TekworkX Motorsport #2
“We went out on a used set of wets in practice and looked very average, I think the team were wondering what I was doing! To go out there in Qualifying and get those laps in before the red flag was very important, and then it played out pretty well from there.

“We had some dramas with the brake bias in the first race, and then in race three it reared its head again. We were fortunate to get away with that one.

“Race three on Sunday morning, before the Bathurst 1000, is the biggest race of the season in terms of people watching so to win that race last year and then do it again is pretty cool. The sweep is a huge reward for the team, and we’re full of momentum leading into the Gold Coast.”