Rosella and Haber claim first Invitational Cup enduro of 2023
Luke Rosella and Harley Haber have scored a breakthrough victory in the first endurance race of the 2023 Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup season at the Sandown 500.
The duo’s victory came off the back of a brilliant charge in the later stages of the race, while Brady Meyers and Emily Jones ended the event in second place ahead of Madison Down and Corey Shepherd.
Rosella and Haber kicked off the weekend in style with an impressive seventh place in what was also the series’ first split qualifying session of the season, which saw the top 23 ranked drivers with the track all to themselves to determine the starting order.
A fast start to the race saw Rosella make up some places off the line and controlling the temp, before Haber took the reigns on lap 50 in fourth place.
After battling for places in the top five for the majority of the race, the duo then found themselves in the lead before a safety car intervention on lap 128 – where they opted to make an extra pit stop for a fresher set of tyres.
Rosella would implement the strategy to perfection, picking off his rivals one by one to eventually take back the lead of the race from the Dylan O’Shea and Corey Macfarlane entry on lap 150, with nothing but clean air between himself and the chequered flag.
Although O’Shea would go on to cross the line in second place, he would later be penalised post-race for passing under safety car conditions, ultimately promoting Meyers and Down into the podium positions.
Taking out fourth was Tom Freer and Jarrod Stovold, who finished a mere two-tenths ahead of Ethan Grigg-Gault and Ian Ford in an entertaining dual to the line.
There were plenty of incidents along the way in the three-hour race, with the first coming on lap 11 when 9ine 5ive SimSports stablemates, Todd Hayne and Griffin Gardiner came together – resulting in a five second time penalty to Hayne.
The first safety car of the race was then called upon lap 54, with many of the front runner's option to take the opportunity to refuel, before another safety car was called on lap 73 saw more big strategy calls change the dynamic of the contest.
A final safety car was released when Luke Mitchinson found himself stranded with a blown engine at turn nine, leading to Rosella making the all-important pit stop that resulted in the race win.
With a third-place finish, Down has now taken command of the championship ahead of James Scott – who could only muster seventh after a difficult outing.
With the first endurance event of the season now complete, competitors will now turn their attention to the next round of the Motorsport Australia Logitech G Pro Invitational Cup, the Bathurst 1000 on 1 October.