Racing closes out manic Friday at 2 Days of Thunder
Two races on Friday completed a big opening day at the 2 Days of Thunder hosted by Queensland Raceway holding Round 3 of the 2025 Hi-Tec Oils Super Series.
It was for the Replica Tourers Trophy Series and Australian Excel Super Sprint as racing got underway for those two categories in the dark.
Australian Excel Super Sprint
In the Australian Excel Super Sprint, BPRO Racing’s Tyler Collins scored victory from third place on the grid in the opener.
Collins led the way from McLaren and Paterson in the opener, which was set in the dark providing a thrilling spectacle.
Collins led the way in the first practice session from Josh Richards and Caleb Paterson.
It was.a BPRO lockout in the second practice session as Collins led Brett Parrish and Paterson.
Qualifying fell the way of Paterson on a 1m 30.464s from McLaren and Collins as the top 10 were covered by less than a second highlighting the closeness of the Excel formula.
Replica Tourers Trophy Series
Jason Grimmond in his Coca-Cola replica Holden Commodore sealing the opening victory of the weekend from pole.
It was a case of Australia vs Japan as Grimmond overcame the advances from the Subaru Impreza WRX STI of Paul Hudson to win the opening race of the round.
Mitch Rice set the pace in the opening practice session, but finished third in the opener.
Commodores led the way in all three practice sessions courtesy of Rice, John Davidson and Grimmond.
TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series presented by Maritimo
Alice Buckley nearly made the perfect start to her debut appearance in the TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series by Maritimo by ending two out three sessions fastest in her Chevrolet-backed entry.
Hayden Hume led the first session in the Total Parts Pro Ford Mustang from debutant Lachlan Evennett completing double duty alongside his Formula Ford commitments was second ahead of Buckley.
Buckley led the second session on a 1m 13.043s from Hume and UNIT Racing’s Ben Gomersall.
Continuing her strong early form, Buckley led Gomersall and the IES Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro of Tyler Cheney to complete the day.
Formula Ford Stars & Renegades Series
Kobi Williams and Lachlan Evennett split the two practice sessions, but it was the latter ending the day fastest.
A 1m 15.562s did the job for series leader Williams in the opening session, but Evennett lowered the mark in the afternoon to a 1m 15.218s.
Williams led Marcos Ambrose Motorsport’s Brad James and Will Lowing at the end of the first session, then played second best to Evennett in the second. Lowing maintained third.
Hi-Tec Oils APC Enduro Championship
Tony Quinn and Matt McCutcheon in the Game Over Chevrolet Camaro will start from pole after setting a 1m 17.798s in Qualifying ahead of the 30-minute sprint race on Saturday
Ford Mustangs will challenge from second and third led by the Ultimate Diesel Tuning example of Trent White, who will pair with Glen Walker. The CMA Car Mods Australian Mustang of Lindsay Kearns is third from the BMW of Paul Buccini in the lead B1 entry.
Tom Hayman in the Grifcorp Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG led A1, Jake Camilleri led Class C in his Mazda 3 MPS and the Kirkworks BMW 130i of Rob O’Connor took pole in Class D.
IRC Racing Series
Geoff Taunton dominated the opening sessions for the Australian IRC Racing Series as he remained fastest in all three sessions throughout Friday’s running.
A sole practice session led into Qualifying, which was split into two 13-minute segments.
Taunton secured both pole positions setting a fastest time of 1m 08.887s to gain pole for Race 2, while a 1m 08.976s proved enough to score the prime position in the opener.
John Goodacre appears Taunton’s biggest challenger and will share the front-row in both encounters. Danny Stutterd will likewise start third for both events.
TFH Hire Legend Cars Australia Championship
Robert Hogan emerged the fastest in both practice sessions in his White Rhino/Langes Auto ’34 Ford Coupe.
Setting a 1m 23.101s in the first session and a 1m 23.505s in the second, Hogan was only marginally ahead of his rivals.
In the opening session, Hogan was just 0.133s clear of Riley Skinner and Aidan Williams was a further 0.160s in arrears.
Hogan extended his lead to 0.221s in the second session to Brendon Hourigan and Skinner.
Australian Super TT Championship/Australian Trans Am/Ute/Hot Hatch
Dylan Cothill in the rapid Skid Control Toyota GT86 set the pace in Super TT at his home circuit.
Cothill was well clear of the Ford Falcon XR6 of Brent Edwards to the tune of 1.492s, with Stephen Chilby in his BMW rounding out the top three.
The second session of the day was led by Cothill from Cory Gillett in his Nissan Silvia and Peter Ryder in a similar model.
Local classes Australian Trans Am, Production Utes and Hot Hatch join Super TT for the 2 Days of Thunder.
Zak Hudson led the Trans Am division in his Ford Mustang, while Troy Montgomrie led the way in the Utes driving his Ford Falcon.
