Group one would be headlined by TTR’s Josh Muggleton in qualifying who set a 1:28.309 to sit on top of the time charts at the conclusion of their qualifying stage, Followed by Harrison Dengate & Sebastian Varndell who rounded out the top 3. Some drivers struggled to find their feet, The likes of seasoned veterans Michael Talijancich & Cameron Veacock finding themselves featuring a little lower in the standings than they would of liked.

Group 2 rolled out for the final 15 minutes of qualifying. The tone was set early, James Scott immediately making his presence felt. The likes of Dylan Rudd, Robert Gibbs & Ric Kuznetsov would challenge James at the top of the timesheets, Rudd finding himself only 7 thousands shy of pole position at the conclusion of the session. Impressive times saw the top 4 only separated by 5 hundredths of a second in total with the top ten separated by a staggering .268 of a second.

With gridding procedures complete, James Scott would lead the field into turn one closely followed by Dylan Rudd & Robert Gibbs. An uneventful opening account to the race for most, Drivers all choosing to take a balanced approach to the start of the race. Andrew Dyson found positions early, gaining 2 positions in the opening laps to move up into 7th. Rehan Liyanage, Adam Briggs & Damien Johnstone formed 8th through to 10th in one of the early battle packs that formed inside the top 10.

With two compulsory pit stops required across the 45 lap event, this opened up a variety of strategy selections. Andrew Dyson would be the first to transit the lane pitting at the conclusion of lap 9. This manoeuvre set of flurry of pit stops. Adam Briggs would be the first to follow suit on lap 10 with the likes of Brian Borg, Rehan Liyanage & Damien Johnstone all heading to the lane on lap 11.

With a majority of the field now making the decision to tour pit lane for the first of their compulsory pit stops, This left James Scott, Robert Gibbs & Dylan Rudd out front still setting the pace.

Adam Briggs and Andrew Dyson worked well together, Making their way through traffic comfortably as they tried to gain an advantage with their early pit stops.

After the first round of pit stops where completed it would be Robert Gibbs leading the field, his lap 16 pit stop provided him with ample opportunity to undercut Scott, who chose to run long.

Further down the field , Sebastian Flock along with Matthew Bowler were in a fight for the top ten, Closely followed by 2022 series competitor Luke Mitchinson who was having a strong showing in the opening round of the qualifying series.

A difficult first round of pit stops for Shawn McNamara saw the 9ine 5ive SimSports driver and 2022 competitor fall well outside the top ten after running as high as 6th early in the race. He was being trailed by Henry James Racing driver Thomas Hinns & ERT’s Bailey Fridd.

Lap 31 would mark a critical point of the race, Drop Bear Motorsports driver Tyson Broad pulling his ailing ZB Commodore off the circuit at Southern Loop triggering the first and only safety car of the race. Pit lane went into frenzy with a number of drivers making a visit to the lane to complete their final mandatory pit stop. A scintillating stop from Kurt Stenberg saw the TTR driver climb into 4th position under caution, Behind Andrew Dyson who stayed out on 9 lap old tyres having already completed his mandatory stop requirement prior on lap 24. Briggs would slot himself into 5th followed by Jobe Stewart, Dylan Rudd, Brad Rattew, Rehan Liyanage & Ric Kuznetsov who would round out the top 10. Gibbs and Scott would both also visit the lane under safety car, Gibbs retaining his lead for the restart.

Lap 35 would see green flag racing resume and it wouldn’t take long for fireworks to begin. Turn 4 again would provide arguably the biggest incident of the night, Brian Borg & Sebastian Varndell coming together at Miller corner setting off a chain reaction on corner entry with multiple cars being caught up in the scuffle.

Kurt Stenberg’s night also came unstuck at Miller corner on lap 41. After a brilliant run through the field to be comfortably in 4th, a late drama under brakes saw Stenberg miss his apex by a tight margin and get turned around by the pack of cars behind which included Briggs, Stewart & Dylan Rudd. Stenberg was able to rejoin the circuit in 23rd position though unfortunately would find himself demoted to 32nd by race end.

Further up the front Robert Gibbs and James Scott were trading blows. Gibbs putting up a fruitful defence showing he can race against the best there is. Scott though managed to find a way past on lap 40 at Doohan corner with a bold and assertive move up the inside. Gibbs would continue to apply the pressure but ultimately it would be James Scott who crossed the line for the win by .5 of a second over Gibbs. Dyson would put on a clinic to finish on the podium in 3rd followed by Briggs & Liyanage rounding out the top 5. Stewart, Kuznetsov, Rudd, McNamara & Damien Johnstone would round out the top 10.

Round 1 of the Logitech G Pro Invitational qualifying series sure has delivered some exciting racing. James Scott has set the benchmark during race 1. The question is who of the 45 field of drivers will step up and knock him off.

Be sure to stay up to date with all the latest at https://supercarsproinvitational.com.au to see who will reign supreme!