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HISTORY REPEATS AS OJEDA WINS, BEST DENIED IN SUPER 3 THRILLER
As was the case in round two at Winton Best had looked to be in prime position to win the Ipswich round by virtue of wins in the first and second races of the weekend.
However damage to his car suffered during a climactic opening-lap battle for the lead with fellow young-gun Broc Feeney saw him out of the race on the opening lap.
It was the second time in two rounds that Best was in the lead of the final race only to be denied both a race and round victory the Benalla driver having dominated at Winton before his car failed in the finale.
While Best retired to pit lane with broken suspension Feeney inherited the lead only to be chased down and passed by Jayden Ojeda who did the same thing in the final race at Winton last time out.
The Anderson Motorsport Falcon pulled away in the closing stages to record his second race win of the season and remarkably the round victory as well.
Feeney was cleared of any wrongdoing in the opening-lap contact with Best and finished second overall becoming the third different championship leader of the season in the process.
Brad Jones Racing driver Josh Fife finished third overall his first podium finish in the Brad Jones Racing Commodore and also set a new Queensland Raceway lap record in what was a promising weekend.
Ojeda however was the big winner as he not only won his second straight round but rocketed into championship calculation in the process.
“The Anderson boys gave me a great car Ojeda said.
“We tweaked it after qualifying and made our way forward. There was a bit of misfortune there between Broc and Zak but later in the race I was able to capitalise on Broc a little bit and get past and I had great car speed in the end. Its a real credit to the boys to the work we put in between rounds.
Now firmly a title contender Ojeda is confident that the Anderson Motorsport team can continue their progression in the remaining two rounds of the 2019 series.
“(Title contention) That was the goal coming into the weekend even if we didnt win we wanted to work our way into the championship fight a little bit and weve done that coming out of the round in second place. Hopefully we can progress that in the next couple of rounds.
While Best was naturally gutted following his race three non-finish the teenager again proved his title credentials with an otherwise dominant weekend; another two race victories taking his tally to five this season.
The dramatic topsy-turvy weekend now has Feeney leading the championship by just 13 points as the series heads to the Bend Motorsport Park in August.
Jayden Ojeda sits second while former series leader Hamish Ribarits has slipped to third position.
Best who led the series following his race two victory dropped to fourth position however is only 49 points from the series lead.
Jim Pollicina clinched a climactic Kumho Cup round though the championship battle there is even more competitive than the outright fight.
The Holden Commodore driver and defending class champion was a major beneficiary of contact between Matt Stone Racing teammates Chris Smerdon and Bradley Neill as the pair came to blows in the final race costing Neill a higher spot on the podium and Smerdon a 15-second time penalty.
As a result Pollicina won the round ahead of Queenslander Jack Sipp while Neill finished third.
The Kumho Cup Championship standings remain fiercely competitive with Pollicina leading Neill by just seven points Smerdon a further seven back in third place.
The fourth and penultimate round of the 2019 Kumho Tyre V8 Touring Car series will be contested at The Bend Motorsport Park alongside the OTR SuperSprint event on August 23-25.
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER 3 of 5 ROUNDS
- Broc Feeney 327
- Jayden Ojeda 314
- Hamish Ribarits 289
- Zak Best 281
- Nic Carroll 228
- Josh Fife 209
- Jon McCorkindale 156
- Chris Smerdon 130
- Jim Pollicina 128
- Bradley Neill 119