Outright top five and Pro-Am podium for Bob Jane T-Marts at Winton

It was a strong weekend for the two Bob Jane T-Marts entries in the Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia Championship at Winton as both finished the second round inside the top five in each class.

Simon Fallon drove his Porsche into 12th and fifth in Friday’s pair of practice sessions, before qualifying 13th in a rapid 10-minute session.

Solid progression was made by Fallon after dropping to 17th in the opening encounter. He scythed his way through the field during the 25-lap mini-enduro to be seventh by its conclusion.

In the final event for the weekend, Fallon moved further to hit the top five as he recorded a career-best Carrera Cup finish.

After a difficult start to the weekend, Fallon was over the moon with the final result.

“I had a decent ending to the weekend, but I’m pretty disappointed with the start,” Fallon said.

“On Saturday, we had a few issues that dropped us back to 17th on the grid, so I had my work cut out for me.

“I drove from 17th to seventh in Sunday’s first race, before progressing to fifth in the final event.

“I was happy because we definitely had enough speed in the first two races to win if we had the right track positioning. We made a good gain there, I’ve learnt a lot from the weekend, so I’m happy walking away.

“I would have liked to be a little further up the grid and not fight my way through, but it is what it is and done now so onto the next one in Darwin.”

Rodney Jane enjoyed a fruitful weekend in his entry, featuring support from Monster Off Road Wheels.

Now into his second round after almost a decade away from racing, Jane placed fourth and seventh in Pro-Am during practice.

Qualifying sixth didn’t represent Jane’s pace as he finished fifth in the opening race, but during a chaotic second event, he avoided the drama to challenge class frontrunner Matt Belford for the victory.

Belford’s defence was strong and he held on, though Jane remained runner up. He replicated this result in the final race and achieved the same result for the round in Pro-Am classification. Jane was pleased with the progress that he made over the weekend.

“First time back here for a race meeting in a while I was happy with first practice,” Jane reflected.

“Practice 2 I didn’t have the same speed as in the first and a short qualifying session followed to be sixth in Pro-Am.

“The first race I really enjoyed, no safety car and had pretty good pace, but didn’t do a good job at the start.

“Second race I was all over the back of Matt (Belford) and he drove very well to finish second for Pro-Am, while I made a good jump in the third to again be runner up.

“I was pretty happy with the outcome, just a few less mistakes at the next round and carry pace the boys have given me in the car.”

The next round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship will be held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin on June 17-19.