Bathurst Carrera Cup Recap

Round 7 of the 2022 Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship at Mount Panorama was cut short by torrential rain, but the laps that did run were exciting ones for Harri Jones.

Practice

Thursday brought a single 50-minute practice session on a wet track. Jones was quick from the start and was third fastest, but ran slightly wide at The Cutting and went into the fence. The impact was not heavy, but the damage was significant. With an eight-hour gap to qualifying, the McElrea Racing crew had time to repair the car.

Qualifying

The sun came out for a fast 20-minute qualifying session. Jones lost his front splitter on Conrod Straight and had an actuator malfunction, but made the most of what he had to qualify fourth. A second-row start was a good result, all things considered.

Race 1

Race 1 was run in the worst conditions Jones has ever driven in. Visibility through the windscreen was poor, standing water caused high-speed aquaplaning, and there were several close calls. After some close battles he finished fourth.

Race 2

Race 2 was cancelled, with the rain making conditions too dangerous to race.

Race 3

The start of Race 3 was delayed, and the field started on slicks on a half-damp track. From fourth, Jones gained a place at the first corner, and after three laps he was the fastest car on track and closing quickly on the leaders. An incident further back brought out the safety car, and the race was then red-flagged. Jones was classified third, but no points were awarded for the shortened race.