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BRAGGING rights well and truly belong to Tasmanian Darren Pearce after he piloted his Ford Mustang to three straight victories in the Historic Touring Car category at the Bathurst International Motor Festival on the weekend.
Although not part of a recognised championship series, drivers in the three-race program still had plenty to fight for as they pitted their classic machines against the ultimate test – Mount Panorama.
And after venturing from the Apple Isle, even Pearce was surprised with how well his Mustang handled Australia's most well-renowned and challenging circuit.
Pearce set the pace in practice but had to settle for second in qualifying after being pipped by another Ford Mustang driven by NSW's Des Wall.
But that was to be the only joy for the rest of the field as the Tasmanian went on to record three commanding victories.
In race one on Friday he took victory by over four seconds from the Chevrolet Camaro of Queensland's Grant Wilson before repeating the dose by again holding out Wilson in the second race the following morning, this time by three seconds.
The Ford Falcon XY GT of David Stone (race one) and Cameron Worner's Ford Falcon XW GT (race two) filled the minor placings.
In Saturday afternoon's finale, the dominance of Pearce was confirmed when he extended his winning margin even further, covering the seven lap distance in a time of 18 minutes and 29.0267 seconds, over 12 seconds faster than nearest rival Jervis Ford (Ford Mustang). Wall completed the trifecta for the Mustangs.
"I have had a great weekend," Pearce said.
"I was hoping to finish in the top four so to win three from three plus to do the lap times I've done, I'm absolutely rapt."
Pearce had thought his Ford Mustang would cover the 6.213 kilometre circuit in around two minutes and 35 seconds so was delighted following the three-race program after consistently lapping under two minutes and 33 seconds.
His fastest time came on the second lap in race two when he stopped the clock in 2:32.3184.
"I'm pretty happy with that," Pearce said.
"This is a stand alone event so I suppose it doesn't really mean a great deal but it is all about bragging rights
"It's all about confidence at this place because if you make a mistake it bites you.
"It rewards the brave but it also destroys you ... it's one of the best [tracks] in the world as everyone knows and we'll definitely be back next year."
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Pearc...ing performance
