Paul Morris holds off Davies, wins SST Darwin Race 2

Paul Morris‘ domination of the Boost Mobile Super Trucks‘ Darwin Triple Crown weekend continued on Sunday when he held off a last-lap charge by Shae Davies to win Race #2. Having won the first race the previous day, he is in prime position for a weekend sweep later in the day.

The finishing order from Saturday’s round was inverted to produce the starting grid for Race #2. Russell Ingall and Paul Weel, both of whom retired from Race #1 after a wreck, started on the front row while Morris was at the back.

Ingall cleared Weel as they approached turn one and led the first lap before Weel responded with his own overtake the following circuit. On lap three, Davies attempted a pass on the inside of Nash Morris in turn one, resulting in the latter spinning and forcing Rob Whyte to stop to avoid hitting him.

The following lap, Shaun Richardson took second from Ingall, who also lost positions to Paul Morris and Trav Milburn. Morris collided with Ingall while trying to pass him on the inside and briefly riding on his left-side wheels due to hitting the kerb. After the weekend, Morris quipped on Instagram about the contact, “The Enforcer all ways there when I need someone to lean on .”

The competition yellow flag was waved at the end of lap four, with Weel leading Richardson and Morris. Dave Casey exited the race with a blown fuel pump.

At the restart, Morris took the lead from Weel in turn one. On the other hand, the corner provided misfortune for his son again when Nash spun a lap later after contact with Ingall, whose left side went airbourne due to the kerb before also spinning. The elder Morris continued to lead for another lap as the second competition caution came out, with Davies and Milburn following.

A one-lap dash to the finish followed. Davies attempted an overtake on the outside in turn one, but Morris cleared him at the apex. Another try also came on the outside in turn six, but he was pushed into the grass and faced a challenge from Richardson for second. His final charge came as the leaders exited the final chicane and came to the finish, but he could not catch Morris as he was beaten by .132 of a second.

With two wins in SST’s inaugural trip in 2017 and two victories this weekend, Morris is now a four-time race winner at Darwin and a four-time victor in 2021. He also won the first two of three races in the season opener at Tasmania in April.

Davies settled for second while Richardson placed third; the trio also comprised the podium at Tasmania Race #3. It is the fifth career podium for Davies, who finished third in Saturday’s race, and the fourth for Richardson.

Race #3 will take place at 1:25 PM ACST.

Race results