A good fight back from Mobil 1™ MEGA Racing has seen both cars move into the top 10 at the end of Race 15 at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin.

After a tough qualifying, both cars gained a combined total of 12 positions in the 120km, 42-lap race, after James Courtney started 14th, and Scott Pye 17th.

It was a chaotic opening few laps, which included a safety car, but both cars were able to avoid the drama and settle into a rhythm.

JC stopped at the half way point of the race, while Scott stopped with 14 to go, looking for the fresh tyre advantage to continue his charge forward.

Both sliced and diced their way forward after their stops, but for Scott, a few issues with the car in the last handful of laps put a halt to his momentum.

Overall, it was good to have both cars inside the top-10.

We will build from it overnight, and go again for a 200km race Sunday afternoon.

James Courtney

“It was a good fight back from everyone, they did a good job to get us inside the 10.

“The car was a lot better in the race today, it gave me something to move forward with which was nice.

“We didn’t qualify where we needed to today, but after some positives across practice, we will address it overnight and go again for Sunday.”

Scott Pye

“It was nice to move forward that’s for sure, but a shame about the issues we had with the car in the dying stages.

“Qualifying was disappointing but everyone kept their heads down and we made some gains in the race which was good.

“We need more of that overnight now, as we keep fighting to continue to move forward.”