Dylan Thomas and Nick McBride have driven their Sonic Motor Racing Services Porsche 911 to victory in the first one-hour Carrera Cup Pro-Am endurance race at Phillip Island today.
McBride started the race, pitting from third position at the half-way point of the race after battles with Alex Davison and Dylan O’Keeffe.
Thomas resumed the race in third and was able to pull a gap on O’Keeffe’s co-driver Adam Gowans, before chasing down and passing Aaron Ireland for second place. He was also closing on leader Geoff Emery, and when Emery was handed a stop-go penalty, Thomas assumed the lead, eventually taking the chequered flag 10 seconds clear of his nearest rival.
While it was a stunning start to the weekend for Thomas, and his second Carrera Cup victory at Phillip Island, the Narrabeen driver refused to get carried away.
“It was an excellent day, but not perfect,” Thomas said.
“Nick did an excellent job in qualifying but I made a few mistakes in my session, which ultimately cost us pole,” Thomas said.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself because Nick did his job superbly, and I felt I had let the team down.
“Fortunately, our race pace was excellent, especially towards the end. The Sonic Porsches have been very fast all weekend and that was demonstrated today.
“However, we’re not losing sight of the fact that it’s only half the job done – there’s still another one-hour race tomorrow, and with the potential for some wet weather, it will be challenging for everyone,” Thomas concluded.
The second Carrera Cup Pro-Am endurance race kicks off at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon, and will be live streamed via the Shannons Nationals website.
