Johnson surges to win after pile-up

STEVE JOHNSON charged to the top of the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters standings thanks to a victory in Race 10 of the 2018 series at Hidden Valley yesterday.

Johnson’s lights-to-flag win came at the expense of fellow front-row starter and closest title rival, John Bowe, who was turned around on the opening lap of as the field rushed into turn one.

The multi-car drama left several cars battered and bruised, with Bowe among them.

The former series champion recovered to seventh place at the end of the 10th race. However he could only watch as Johnson streaked away in front to take his seventh race win of the season.

Adam Bressington was a star performer in the Whiteline Racing / VDC Camaro, as he stormed from the third row of the grid to second at the finish.

He jumped to fourth through the turn one dramas and then slipped past Bruce Williams with a strong move on the fourth lap.

He then passed Jason Gomersall following a laterace restart to trail Johnson home in a US muscle car 1-2 finish.

Jim Richards was fifth in the Shannons Insurance Falcon Sprint, while Ian Woodward posted his best ever Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters finish in sixth.

Bowe’s recovery drive saw him finish seventh, despite damage to the front and rear of his Torana on the righthand side.

Earlier in the day, Mark King spectacularly charged to victory in the Dometic Trophy Race, which featured a jumbled grid from the qualifying order.

The race featured four different leaders across the 10-lap duration as Tony Karanfilovski jumped out to an early lead in his Ford Mustang.

He and Bruce Williams battled for the top spot while King was only sixth at the end of lap one.

The lead changed on the fourth lap when Williams and Karanfilovski bumped while battling for the lead at turn one, the Mustang spearing off to the outside of the circuit.

That elevated Jim Pollicina to the lead as he took advantage of Williams’ lack of momentum and wrestled his way to the front — a position he would hold for the next four laps.

A brief safety car interruption bunched the field, with a stunning restart from King setting up his charge to victory.