Points tight after Walsh wins Winton

Infant’s Friend’s Ash Walsh led home series leader Paul Dumbrell in the second race at the Winton 400, cementing his spot as a title contender.

After his showing at the Victorian event, round winner Walsh is just 22 points behind the 2012 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 winner, and says ‘so far, so good’ on his hunt for the 2014 title.

“The points have been really good for us this round… but a lot can happen,” Walsh said.

The win meant Walsh made the Infant’s Friend crew the first Queensland based team to win in the Dunlop Series at Winton.

“This one’s a bogey track for us,” he said. 

“Last year we struggled so much, the year before even more than that – we came here not expecting so much.

“We worked lot on setup over the weekend, so really glad to get one for the team.”

Though his lead is shrinking, Dumbrell didn’t seem worried about his standing in the series.

“Have more speed, win races, win the Championship,” he said was simply the trick. 

“A lot of work to do but we’re no doubt confident we’ll get it right at the end of the year… it’s also me getting my head around the car as well. It’s a few years since I’ve driven at a number of these tracks so a bit to learn.”

It was a bizarre start to the second and final 25-lap race around Winton as Image Racing’s Taz Douglas – set to start on the front row with the reverse top 10 order in place – had to begin in pit lane after a broken axle on his Ford Falcon FG hindered his warm-up lap.

Walsh pounced on Andre Heimgartner, and did not fail to lose the lead, tearing out to an eventual 1.9sec lead over Dumbrell.

Meanwhile, Saturday’s race winner Cameron Waters started the second race 10th and found running in the pack tougher than the clear 10-second lead he had developed the day before.

“The car was really good early on in the weekend – it’s just easy being out in front in the races you can just keep it in your mark, optimise what you’ve actually got,” the young ENZED FPR recruit said.

“We struggled a bit today in that race with the reverse top 10, in behind cars you can’t maximise what you’ve got.”

In the final race of the Winton 400, Walsh crossed the line just 1.9sec ahead of Dumbrell, with Eggleston Motorsport teammate Garry Jacobson finishing top three.

Waters came home fourth, with Paul Morris, Andrew Jones, Chris Pither, Steve Owen, Ant Pedersen and Andre Heimgartner completing the top 10.

Click here for full race results.

Series standings see Dumbrell and Walsh separated by 22, with Waters, Jones and Morris in the top five. Click here for full points.

All five are confirmed co-drivers for the PIRTEK Enduro Cup later this season, with Dumbrell to pair up with Jamie Whincup for the third consecutive year; Walsh returning to Dick Johnson Racing, this time alongside Scott Pye; Waters joining Jack Perkins at Team JELD-WEN; Jones continuing with Jason Bright; and the most fascinating duo, Morris pairing with Chaz Mostert in the Pepsi Max Falcon. 

The next Dunlop Series round will be at the Perth 400, from May 16-18.