Wild and woolly conditions make for eventful TGRA GR Cup round at Sandown 500

The third round of the 2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia (TGRA) GR CUP has concluded at the Sandown 500 in Melbourne, with cold and wet spring conditions contributing to an action-packed weekend of driving.

After three rounds of wet and wild driving, Victorian native Matthew Hillyer emerged as the clear winner, putting his skill on show to sweep all three races – the perfect weekend for himself and his Morris/Walkinshaw Andretti United team.

Hillyer’s performance continued on from the dominance shown in the previous round at Sydney SuperNight in July where he also swept the competition in all three races.

Back on home turf, Hillyer started the weekend in dominant fashion by jumping out to an early lead after the first lap of race 1 and couldn’t be caught in wet conditions as he broadened the gap to a considerable 7.4 seconds by the end of the 10-lap race.

Queensland native Lincoln Taylor drove well to come in second place, while New South Welshman Brock Stinson showed the first sign of a consistently excellent weekend with third place – his first of three podiums.

A much closer race 2 saw Hillyer narrowly pip Stinson after the latter closed ground following a re-start, while Bradi Owen scored his first podium of the weekend after Ben Gomersall was handed a penalty.

The third and final race of the weekend took place in drier conditions on Sunday, with Hillyer holding off a strong charge from New Zealand guest driver and Supercars alumni Chris Pither to make it a perfect weekend, with Stinson bringing up third ahead of Owen and Lachlan Gibbons.

The weekend was not without its drama, with multiple DNFs across the three races due to the slippery conditions and hotly contested racing.

The clean sweep meant that Hillyer took Owen on the 2024 TGRA GR Cup season leaderboard, ahead of Max Geoghegan and Stinson whose strong performance saw him climb from seventh to fourth.

The penultimate round of the 2024 TGRA GR CUP season will take place at the iconic Mount Panorama circuit for the Bathurst 1000, which will no doubt be a dream come true for many of the competition’s young racers who have grown up watching their racing icons take on one of Australia’s most famous and beloved circuits.

The 2024 Bathurst 1000 will take place from October 10-13.

Race 1 results:
Matthew Hillyer
Lincoln Taylor
Brock Stinson

Race 2 results:
Matthew Hillyer
Brock Stinson
Bradi Owen

Race 3 results:
Matthew Hillyer
Chris Pither
Brock Stinson

Event results:
Matthew Hillyer
Brock Stinson
Chris Pither

2024 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Australia GR CUP leaderboard: