2021 Porsche Carrera Cup - Round 1 Sandown Raceway

Brilliant maiden race win for Michael Almond in Carrera Cup at Sandown

Bob Jane T-Marts driver Michael Almond has secured his first win in the Carrera Cup Australia in a standout weekend for the South Australian driver.

Now in his sixth year in the competitive all-Porsche category and his fifth in the Bob Jane T-Marts entry, the win was Almond’s first in the category as he establishes himself as one of the fastest Porsche drivers in Australia.

Almond started the weekend in scintillating form on Saturday, qualifying second around the famous 3.1km suburban Melbourne circuit, and capitalised on a first corner mistake from pole-sitter Harri Jones to take a lead he would not surrender.

On Sunday, Melbourne’s rain arrived, making for tricky conditions on the fast layout. Almond slid back through the field to eventually finish 12th in Race 2, before enduring a huge spin in Race 3, but fighting back to an impressive seventh place. Almond’s weekend efforts have netted him sixth place outright in the championship standings.

“Taking the win in the first race was amazing and very exciting,” said Almond.

“I found my feet early in the race, got into a rhythm and maintained the gap and I couldn’t be more grateful to the team for the result.

“I struggled with the car in the rain and went backwards pretty quickly, but I tuned the car and myself up for the last race and we got the most out of it.

“I still made a few mistakes and gave away a few points, but I scored points in all three races which I haven’t done for a while, so eyes forward from here.”

The second Bob Jane T-Marts Porsche entry of Simon Fallon had a tough initiation in his first-ever round of Carrera Cup competition, but by the final race, was punching inside the top 10 and looking strong.

Fallon, the former Porsche Sprint Cup champion, qualified 15th and progressed to 14th and 13th in the first two races. In Sunday’s last race, he ran as high a seventh, only to suffer steering damage after he collided with another car that was re-entering the circuit from their own spin.

Despite the challenging weekend, Fallon remains upbeat for the remaining rounds.

“It wasn’t the best results for our car, but we found a bit of pace in the end, so we need to look at that as a positive,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I finished with a DNF, but by the end of the weekend, we were in the top 10, showing good form.

“As long as we keep improving each weekend, then that is what we need to do. The team did a great job all weekend and I’m sure we’ll be better for the next event.”

The next round of the 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup Australia round will be held at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia on May 8-9.

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