Team Motion Racing’s Adam Marjoram and EFS 4×4 Accessories’ Cameron Crick each claimed a race win in the Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes Series today at the NTI Townsville 500.
In Race 1, Marjoram led the field home for the first Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes race in Townsville for the V8 era of the series, setting a new lap record of 1m25.0898s along the way.
Marjoram got the jump on polesitter Cameron Crick, the pair running side by side through Turn 1 before Marjoram moved across to protect his line in the #1 Motion Racing Isuzu D-MAX. Crick (#7 EFS 4×4 Accessories Isuzu D-MAX) kept the pressure on for the full 20-minute green flag run but was ultimately unable to find a way past, while Cody Brewczynski (#18 Wanless / Custom Lithium Toyota HiLux) climbed from fifth on the grid to complete the Race 1 podium.
As the top two began to stretch a gap back to third, battles for position throughout the rest of the field began to heat up as Brewczynski, David Sieders and Aaron Borg (#4 Team Motion Racing Isuzu D-MAX) continued to fight for position. The trio swapped positions a number of times, with Sieders and Borg going on to round out the top five respectively.
Craig Woods (#64 Western Sydney Motorsport Toyota HiLux) ran a clean race, keeping out of trouble to finish in sixth while Rossi Johnson (#333 Shorebarge Holden Colorado) held on to seventh from start to finish. Johnson would go on to start the Reverse Grid Race 2 from provisional pole when the top seven were inverted in the post-Race 1 draw.
Zak Best (#78 Bob’s Bulk Booze Ford Ranger) finished inside the top 10 in his first Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes race, coming home in eighth, making up five positions after initially dropping slightly down the order early on.
By the end of lap one, both Jimmy Vernon (#50 Team Ultima Mitsubishi Triton) and Brad Vereker (#96 Western Sydney Motorsport Toyota HiLux) had also found their way into the top 10, where they would finish the race in 9th and 10th, respectively.
Dave Casey was the biggest mover and shaker in the race, making up eight positions to claim the Yuasa Batteries Hard Charger Award to finish 16th.
In Race 2, the action began early when provisional polesitter Johnson lost several places off the start after missing a gear, allowing Borg, Marjoram, Sieders and Brewczynski through. But the real shake-up came just a few laps in when contact between Crick and Johnson on the run to Turn 3 sent Johnson’s Holden Colorado into the wall. Woods was collateral damage trying to avoid the #333 and was bumped from behind, sending the #64 hard into the concrete wall at pit entry.
Brewczynski was also caught up but managed to continue, while the resulting damage forced Johnson and Woods to retire, triggering the Safety Car.
Ellex Best (#76 Best Leisure Industries Mazda BT-50) and Michael Sherwell (#55 Nova Air and Electrical Mitsubishi Triton) each suffered their own misfortunes during the Safety Car period, with the #76 blowing an engine and a cracked oil filter on the #55 ending the race early for both.
When racing resumed with just over six minutes to go, Borg controlled the restart while Sieders looked to have gear issues while moving to the side which allowed Crick and Marjoram through. Crick was also running with the leading pack, however, he was effectively out of contention after being handed a 30-second post-race penalty for his role in the earlier incident with Johnson.
The top three looked to be decided until the final laps, with Marjoram putting pressure on Borg, Brewczynski and Sieders trying to take advantage of the Team Motion teammates locked in battle. As the leading pack ran four wide into the final lap, Sieders and Brewczynski connected, resulting in the latter striking the wall and being unable to finish the race.
Zak Best set the fastest lap of the race with a 1m26.2154s, and finished just shy of a podium in only his second Tyrepower V8 SuperUtes race, while Adrian Cottrell and Brad Vereker crossed the line fifth and sixth respectively, delivering strong results for both entries.
Jimmy Vernon, Jason Norris, Luke Webber, and Holly Espray also improved on their race one results, rounding out the top ten in seventh through 10th, respectively.
Jensen Engelhardt (#805 AIV Racing Toyota HiLux) climbed 11 positions and claimed the Yuasa Batteries Hard Charger Award for the race, having started at the rear of the grid after a DNF in race 1 to finish 13th.
Post race the stewards reviewed additional evidence and deemed the incident between Crick and Johnson did not warrant the 30-second time penalty and “Camshaft” was reinstated as the race winner.
Round 4 of the 2025 Tyrepower V8 SuperUte Series concludes tomorrow, 13 July with Race 3 at 8.00am and Race 4 at 10.55am (all times local, with both races broadcast live on Kayo and FoxSports 506).