Vesko Kozarov continued his winning form in the second of three TC/TCA/TCB races at Miller Motorsports Park today.
In TCA, Jason Wolfe also scored his second victory of the weekend, whilst championship leader Johan Schwartz was on the top step of the podium in TCB.
Touring Car
John Weisberg had his lead usurped at turn one by Ernie Francis, Jr., who took advantage of the open track at the outside of the corner.
Kozarov had to start in eighth position following a post-race technical infraction from yesterday’s round 13. By the first few corners, he was up to fourth. Once again, Adam Poland retired on the first lap, this time with a coolant hose issue.
Kozarov passed Alex Welch on lap two for second position and began to target the leader, still Francis, Jr. He successfully made the pass just two laps later and from that point he extended his lead, which was 3.845 seconds at the finish line.
Corey Fergus and John Weisberg were engaged in a battle for fourth position until the last couple of laps, when they caught third-placed Alex Welch. Fergus lost a position when he made a failed overtake move, dropping back to fifth.
On the penultimate lap, Fergus managed to make his way past Welch for third, following a spin from Weisberg.
At the chequered flag, Fergus came home behind Kozarov and Francis, Jr. Fourth and fifth positions were taken by Welch and Weisberg respectively.
“I got another good start,” said Kozarov. “It was a little entertaining in the early laps but all went smoothly. We cleaned up the car pretty well last night and I thought the car was really tuned up for this morning’s race. Being cooler this morning was very good for us too. This afternoon’s race will be tougher in the hotter conditions.”
Credit: PWC
Touring Car A
Whilst TCA polesitter Jason Saini had mechanical issues, it was Patrick Seguin who led the first portion of the race ahead of Jason Wolfe and Emilee Tominovich, who gained an impressive six positions at the start.
It took three laps for Wolfe to pass Seguin, and the Kia driver held onto this lead for the rest of the race.
Kris Wright took third position just after the half-way mark, but he was passed by Tony Rivera two laps later. The top positions remained the same until the end of the 19 lap race.
Behind Wolfe, Seguin and Rivera were Wright and Tominovich.
“I had a horrible start as my hand slipped right off the shift knob,” explained Wolfe. “We had to work our way back up then and I used traffic to my advantage to get the lead. The first half of the race was super critical to be smooth and consistent. I had to watch my tires again this morning with the front wheel drive car. I really like this track, especially the long corners. It’s fun to drive.”
Touring Car B
Friday’s race winner Glenn Nixon, Johan Schwartz and Andrei Kisel were in a three-way battle for the lead at the start of the race, with Schwartz eventually taking the class lead.
Kisel was soon challenged by Nixon for second position, and on lap nine, the Honda Fit made the move.
Schwartz remained out front in a relatively uneventful TCB race, one second ahead of Nixon and Joey Jordan, who had navigated his way up the field after starting in the pits. Kisel finished fourth, in front of Wei Lu.
