Opening half of AirTouch 500 dominated by wet weather
Three Safety Car periods called for adverse conditions
Chaz Mostert, Kai Allen emerging as key contenders
Chaz Mostert and Kai Allen have emerged as the key contenders for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend after a manic start to the Ryco Enduro Cup.
At the halfway point of the race, Jarrod Hughes led the way in Jobe Stewart's Erebus Camaro after a sterling performance, albeit with Mostert and Allen in second and third.
Erebus Motorsport was in a position where they were attempting to stretch fuel to the tyre crossover point on a drying track, and throw in primary drivers Stewart and Cooper Murray into their Camaros.
The sunshine was a stark contrast to what have been at times appalling conditions in South Australia, with three Safety Car appearances owing to the weather.
Despite the wet weather, PremiAir Racing's Declan Fraser was the only primary driver to take the start, as most teams elected to try and clear their minimum 54 co-driver laps as early as possible with the potential for more rain through the day.
Mark Winterbottom (#6 Monster Energy Ford) got a demon start off third on the grid as Todd Hazelwood (#17 Shell V-Power Ford) got a slow start from pole position, and went side-by-side with Will Davison (#19 Penrite Ford) into Turn 1. The pair collided at Turn 1, with Davison spun to the back of the pack, and Winterbottom picking up a 15 second penalty.
That was far from the only contact on lap 1, with James Courtney (#20 Snowy River Caravans Chevrolet) spun at Turn 6 by Scott Pye (#888 Red Bull Ampol Ford), who then made contact with Zak Best (#3 LIQUI MOLY BLAHST Ford) at Turn 7, with Brad Vaughan (#14 Farmers Union Iced Coffee Toyota) also swept up in the mess.
The Courtney/David Reynolds Camaro would return to the garage with steering damage, whilst the Pye/Will Brown Ford would change a punctured tyre, but quickly lost the lead lap after returning to the circuit.
Turn 6 was a bugbear corner for Red Bull Ampol Racing early, as Nick Percat (#88 Red Bull Ampol Ford) was spun by Lee Holdsworth on lap 2, with the #18 DEWALT Camaro slapped with a 15-second penalty.
Amid all the chaos, Tim Slade established an enormous lead in the #26 Penrite Ford, stretching out three and a half seconds over Reuben Goodall (#55 Castrol Ford), a margin which kept ballooning over the course of the first stint.
There were several drivers making stunning charges early, headlined by Richie Stanaway (#7 CoolDrive Ford), whose wet weather prowess saw him scythe through the field from 17th to fifth in the opening 14 laps. Hughes had gone from ninth to third, and Fabian Coulthard (#1 Mobil 1 Optus Toyota) had charged from 11th to fourth.
Hazelwood, meanwhile, had gone the other way in a big hurry, plummeting to 20th having started from pole, and complaining of a general lack of grip.
After 20 laps, a dry line was beginning to emerge, as Hughes, Goodall, Coulthard, and Stanaway all compressed for second. Coulthard offered the nose at Turn 8, and spooked Goodall into running off the road and back into fifth.
Coulthard was then up to second on lap 22, moving by Hughes at Turn 1, with Stanaway following him through into third as the rain began to fall once again.
By lap 25, the conditions had deteriorated to the point where the Shannons Safety Car had to be called as Slade, Hughes, Goodall, and Tony D'Alberto (#38 Shell V-Power Ford) all fired off the road at Turn 1.
The entire field came in to make their first stop of the day under the Safety Car, which remained out for an extended period as officials waited for the rain front to clear the vicinity.
Slade led the field back to green on lap 33, and Percat's day went from bad to worse as he was clobbered by an out of control Best at Turn 3, snapping the right rear toe link on the #88 Ford.
Coulthard was on the move, passing Stanaway for second, and by lap 37 he had charged into the lead as Slade made another mistake at Turn 1. Hughes was also back in his element on fresh tyres, and also moved ahead of Stanaway to get back onto the podium, with Stanaway falling back into the clutches of Harri Jones (#4 Sherrin Rentals Chevrolet) and Davison, both of whom had carved through the field.
Davison was complaining of a potential engine issue with the #19 Ford, however the Safety Car came back out on lap 45 as the weather returned, though this time without anyone having fired off the road.
With nine laps until the co-drivers who had started the race cleared their minimum lap requirement, there was a split on strategy, Coulthard, Jaxon Evans (#2 Mobil 1 Truck Assist Toyota), and Winterbottom all pitting to start a third stint, whilst the likes of Slade, Hughes, and Stanaway stayed out.
The race restarted on lap 50 in treacherous conditions, and Slade almost looped it in front of the entire field down the pit straight, with Hughes, Jones, and Stanaway all pouncing.
On lap 52, the Safety Car came back out with conditions worsening again, and Goodall was again facing the wrong way, this time after a helping hand from Pye, who was back on the lead lap.
A majority of teams elected to bring their co-drivers in when their minimum laps were completed, with the first of the primary drivers on the road being Allen in eighth off the restart, taking over from Slade after his heart-stopping moment.
That left an Erebus 1-2 at the head of the field at the lap 59 restart, with Hughes in control over Lochie Dalton, whilst Allen carved his way through the co-drivers ahead of him, and was up to second by lap 65, though Hughes was continuing to do an extraordinary job at the front of the field with a 6.7s lead.
As it turned out, the opening half of the race was almost bookended by collisions between the #6 Ford and the #19 Ford, this time Payne tagging Waters into a spin at Turn 6. Payne was slapped with 15 seconds for his role.
With fuel running low, Hughes continued to do a stunning job, extending his lead over Mostert, who carved his way by Allen and into the box seat just prior to the halfway mark.
