Bob Jane T-Marts and Aaron Love fall just short of Carrera Cup title

Aaron Love has gone tantalisingly close to claiming a remarkable championship victory in the Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia title, falling 11 points short.

Due to overseas racing commitments, the West Australian missed two rounds during the year, but in the six of the eight rounds where he was in Australia, he was supreme.

On the Gold Coast, the Bob Jane T-Marts driver's race form was as hot as the brilliant Queensland conditions.

Despite a poor qualifying result after missing a fast lap due to a red flag, Love burned his way through from 15th to fourth in Race 1.

He wasted little time in Race 2, leaping from fourth to first in the opening laps and, once in front, was never headed.

Love dominated the final race, doing everything in his power to pinch the title and the round, falling just short of overall champion Harri Jones.

For the second Bob Jane T-Marts 'Pro' driver Simon Fallon, it was a solid event starting from 13th, but dropped to 15th in what was an action-packed opening race. The shortened 25-lap endurance race was a much better encounter for Fallon as he climbed five positions to sit inside the top 10, while a prolonged safety car period hampered his run in the finale as he finished eighth to cap off an improved performance from the rising star.

Bob Jane T-Mart's Pro-Am driver Rodney Jane continued his improvement, building speed through the weekend while he reacquainted himself with the famous Gold Coast street track – 14 years after his last drive around the Surfers streets. An incident in Race 2 was the only blemish on his scorecard.

Although falling short of the title, Sonic Motor Racing Services is proud of its season running four entries in the Paynter Dixon Porsche Carrera Cup Australia Championship and is excited for 2023.

Aaron Love Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic

“It’s been a pretty decent weekend you could say, but I definitely had a difficult start by getting caught up in the red flag during qualifying,” Love said.

“I had to start from 15th in the first race and we definitely had our work cut out for us, but it was awesome fun to get all the way back to fourth.

“To get our heads back down for Races 2 and 3 as we came away with the win in both of those, in addition to getting second for the round we can’t complain given the start of the weekend.

“It’s been a mega year. To have only done six rounds and to finish up second taking the championship down to the last race has been an awesome achievement in itself, so I couldn’t be happier with the team and what we’ve done this year.”

Simon Fallon Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic

“Not the greatest weekend, but not the worst,” Fallon said.

“The weekend started off with a few negatives like tapping the wall and getting the red flags hurting not only myself, but Aaron as well.

“Unfortunately the start wasn’t good, but we did creep our way through the field to finish inside the top 10, so that was positive. The speed at the weekend was great and we’ll move forward.

“We’ll move forward as we try to work out some things and hopefully be on the grid for next year.”

Rodney Jane Bob Jane T-Marts/Sonic

“It’s been a bit of a mixed weekend for me,” Jane said.

“I haven’t been here for 14 years, so a long time and when I was last here it was a very different track, a bit longer.

“I didn’t qualify very well, but I started to get the hang of it in the race. The first race I made a few spots, the second I made a mistake and clipped a wheel with Geoff Emery, which ended my event.

“I just chipped away in the third race from nowhere to somewhere. But, I could have had a better weekend, though I’m glad to be back, awesome track and I have a lot of fond memories from here.

“It’s been a great season for the Bob Jane T-Marts team.”