THE Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia night race has gone to Harri Jones in a commanding victory under the Sydney lights on Saturday night. 

Jones led home Dylan O’Keeffe and David Russell in a lights-to-flag performance to take Equity-One Pro, while non-finishes for Dale Wood and Jackson Walls could prove costly to their title hopes.

In SP Tools Pro-Am, Adrian Flack continued his winning ways, leading home Rodney Jane and Matt Belford in an action-packed battle.

In cold conditions, Jones made the best of the starts and charged his way to an early lead over O’Keeffe.

Walls lost ground early, while Fabian Coulthard was bumped wide on the exit of turn two, causing the BWT car to tumble down the order. It was in that opening exchange that Dale Wood struck issues in his Connected Spaces entry, damage to the left front corner of his car forcing him to the lane and out of the race.

As things settled down, Jones pulled away from O’Keeffe and Russell, who was holding of Jackson Walls and Marco Giltrap in a fight for third.

Walls wouldn’t remain there for long, however, the Objective Racing car slowly slipping down the order with what was later diagnosed as a slowly deflating Michelin tyre – thought to be from contact early in the race.

The Sydneysider would drop to eighth position before the tyre finally ran out of pressure, forcing him off at Turn one at high speed with two laps remaining. That incident brought out the Safety Car, under which the race would finish.

Walls was unharmed after the car made contact with the tyre barriers at turn one, however was forced out of the race.

The Safety Car safely delivered Jones his sixth win of the season and an extended championship lead, with O’Keeffe second and Russell third.

Marco Giltrap finished fourth, his best ever result in his rookie Carrera Cup season, and David Wall fifth at his home circuit. Behind them there were stories of progress through the field, including Ryder Quinn who grabbed sixth position and Angelo Mouzouris seventh.

Bayley Hall and Glen Wood were next, followed home by Garth Tander who climbed 15 positions after starting at the back of the field following his early collision in qualifying with Marcos Flack. 

Flack was another to storm though the field, rebounding from a stall at the start to finish in 15th position, from 26th.

In SP Tools Pro-Am Adrian Flack won for the ninth consecutive time, however had to fight for it after scrapping with several contenders throughout the race.

The Agas National / EBM driver had climbed as high as 13th on the opening lap and ultimately crossed the line 18th to take the Pro-Am win and extend his already considerable championship lead.

Rodney Jane chased Flack for second position prior to the race-halting Safety Car and finished in the same position, while Matt Belford celebrated his 50th Carrera Cup race start with third in class – ahead of Stephen Grove, on his first Carrera Cup start in two years.

The Carrera Cup field put on a spectacular show under the Sydney lights, with two races to complete round four of the championship and signify the halfway point of the season on Sunday.

Provisionally, Jones’ championship and Equity-One Professional class lead has built to 118 points over David Russell, with Walls slipping to third and Wood to fourth thanks to their zero-scores in race one.

Flack continues to lead in SP Tools Pro-Am with Matt Slavin second and Jane third.

Sunday’s two races from Sydney Motorsport Park will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 506 and Kayo Sports.