Holdsworth’s first-up joy
Former Supercar driver takes out TCR Series opener at Symmons Plains
LEE Holdsworth never won at Symmons Plains in a V8 Supercar, but it only took him one go to secure victory in the opening race of the 2021 TCR Australia Series.
The Alfa Romeo driver started from pole, dropped back to second in the opening laps to Jordan Cox, but took the lead back to race on and keep his 100 per cent Symmons weekend record intact.
“It’s a nice way to start the year off and get the ball rolling,” Holdsworth said.
“A couple of weeks before I hadn’t even driven a frontwheel-drive car.
“A week ago I had my first go, and I’ll tell you what, it was a bit of a head stuff. But I got around it, and now we’ve got some speed.”
Cox pressured Holdsworth until the end, forcing Holdsworth to drive to his limit to keep Cox behind, denying him a maiden TCR race win.
Holdsworth’s teammate Jay Hanson finished third across the line in his TCR debut, but he copped a 10-second penalty for his bump on Chaz Mostert at the hairpin, dropping him to eighth place.
Mostert eventually finished fifth in what could have been a podium result.
Hyundai driver Josh Buchan claimed third place on debut after Hanson’s penalty, one place ahead of Peugeot star Aaron Cameron.
In sixth place was the Audi of Luke King, just ahead of Hyundai driver Brad Shiels, who was running higher up the field in the early stages, only to run wide on cold rear tyres.
Jason Bargwanna was 11th, while Michael Caruso’s 12th place was a burn from the stern after his car was jammed in gear on the start line, forcing an aborted start and Caruso forced to pit lane.
There was no lack of speed in the S5000 Australian Drivers Championships, with Joey Mawson edging out Team BRM teammate Thomas Randle in a thrilling race, with both breaking Alfie Costanzo’s 41-year-old Symmons Plains lap record of 50.16 seconds along the way.
Mawson had claimed the record for much of the race, before Randle lowered it further on the 22nd of 23 laps completed – the new benchmark standing at 49.8644s.
It was an all-Tasmanian battle in the Touring Car Masters, with Adam Garwood in his Camaro edging out the Torana of John Bowe, while in the Trans Am Series, Valvoline driver Nathan Herne was victorious.
Action continues at Symmons Plains today before heading to Baskerville next weekend.