Fawcett claims a pole and podium at The Bend

JOE Fawcett has stamped himself as a championship contender, continuing his strong start to the inaugural Mustang Cup Australia season with another impressive weekend at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park, Tailem Bend, during round 2 of the championship.

After showing promising pace throughout practice and qualifying, the Ballarat racer delivered a composed and competitive performance across both races aboard the #23 Mustang Dark Horse R.

Race 1 proved challenging in mixed conditions, with Fawcett battling at the front of the field before an unfortunate spin dropped him down the order.

“The windscreen fogged up and I had very limited visibility,” he said.

Despite the setback, Fawcett recovered strongly to secure a fifth-place finish and valuable championship points.

Sunday’s second race saw Fawcett rebound in style.

After securing his first pole position in a nail-biting qualifying session, he launched well off the line and fought hard among the lead group throughout the 40-minute encounter.

A determined drive saw him recover from an early shuffle in positions to finish third and claim a well-deserved podium result.

The strong weekend leaves Fawcett sitting first in the Dark Horse junior class and second in the Mustang Cup Australia standings, continuing his consistent run of results in the highly competitive one-make category.

2022 Aussie Racing Cars champion Josh Anderson leads the series on 188 points, with Fawcett in hot pursuit on 155, ahead of Josh Trappett on 122.

“It was a really positive weekend overall,” Fawcett said.

“We had strong pace from the start and to come away with a podium and solid points is a great reward for the whole team.

“The field is incredibly competitive, so every result counts.

“The car felt strong all weekend and we’re learning more every session.

“Huge thanks to everyone involved for their hard work and support.”

The Mustang Cup Australia category offers all competitors the chance to race in equal machinery and compete at some of the country’s best race tracks.

Acting as the introductory point in the Ford Racing pyramid, Mustang Cup is designed to be the first step for a young driver’s racing journey that could lead to a career in Australia’s home-grown Supercars Championship, or reach the heights of the blue oval’s new Hypercar program.

Round 2 highlighted Fawcett’s growing confidence in the Mustang Dark Horse R package and reinforced his status as one of the championship contenders.

The Mustang Cup Australia field now heads to Queensland Raceway for round 3 in June.

Round 4 will be run at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin, with the final two rounds staged at Sydney Motorsport park and Sandown Raceway.