Championship leader Thomas Reib powered his Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina to a third place and a win in the fourth round of the Dunlop V8 Supercars championship, which took place on the coldest weekend of the year at Red Star Raceway, to extend his lead in the race for the 2025 title.
Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Mustang) scored his first win of the year last time out. He was all smiles after Friday’s practice sessions, confident that he was prepared for whatever his rivals would throw at him in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. His confidence was not misplaced, and he grabbed pole position over a second and a half quicker than Warren Lombard (PepBoys Automotive Ford Mustang), with Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina) in third place.
Further down the grid, Alan Ryan (Wellness Group Ford Falcon) led the GT2 class from Wayne Spicer (Wellness Group Chevrolet Corvette) and Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang).
In the opening heat, Wilford cruised to a comfortable win, but the fight between the two drivers at the top of the championship standings continued all race long behind him. When the flag came out after ten hard-fought laps, it was Lombard who was in front, taking three points out of the lead Reib held over him coming into the event. Red Star Raceway is renowned for being very challenging for the Dunlop V8 Supercars, with drivers often having to shift down to first gear for most of the corners, which places a tremendous strain on the rear suspension and drivetrain. Ryan and Spicer both fell victim to mechanical maladies in the early stages of the opening race, leaving Compaan to take the GT2 win.
There was early drama in the second heat, when Lombard pulled into he pits and retired at the end of the warm-up lap. The reverse-grid race got underway without him, and Wilford, who started at the back of the grid, only took a couple of laps to work his way to the head of the field. He had built up a comfortable lead over Reib and looked to be heading for a double win on the day when Red Star Raceway’s gremlins struck and he coasted to a halt, handing the lead, and a couple of laps later, the win to Reib. Compaan brought his Mustang home in second, with Wilford classified in third.
In the day’s overall standings, Reib claimed the GT1 honours from Wilford and Lombard, while Compaan took GT2. Reib’s advantage at the top of the overall championship standings has now grown to 31 points over Lombard. Compaan is a further 44 points back in third, 12 ahead of Wilford, whose recent run of good form has seen him move up to fourth. Steve Herbst and Spicer round out the top six.
The Dunlop V8 Supercars have a winter break before they head for the very fast East London Grand Prix Circuit for the fifth round of their 2025 season on 22 and 23 August.