Decina Racing’s Warren Luff has charged into second place in the HPDC V8 Supercar Championship after a strong performance in all three races at Eastern Creek.

Luff is now only 24 points behind championship leader Adam Macrow with just four rounds left in the series.

The Decina BA Falcon ran consistently in the top three all weekend with Luff’s starts a highlight, particularly in races two and three.

Race one saw Luff get off the line well tucking in behind Canto and Macrow, and the three Ford drivers were never headed as they consistently pulled away from the rest of the field.

With the three consistently matching times over the 12 laps, Canto eventually finished in front with the cars grouped within 0.7 of a seconds of each other as they crossed the line.

The reverse grid race saw Luff pull off the start of the season coming from 23rd to ninth by the end of the first lap. However it was almost brought undone when the close racing saw Luff’s Decina Falcon sustain minor damage to the left hand side of the car.

However, from then on Luff gathered up all in front of him with a skilful display of driving that saw him move through the pack and finally passing Mark Porter on the second last lap for second position.

Race two, won by Lee Holdsworth, was originally 12 laps, however it was increased to 16 after a four-lap safety car period.

However the blistering run ensured Luff would start on the front row, missing the position one by just two points to Canto.

Race three saw Luff again launch off the line and this time into the lead, with Canto dropping two places by turn one. However, Canto quickly regained position and a tight battle ensued before Canto regained the lead at the start of lap five and remained there until the finish.

Championship leader Adam Macrow received a drive through penalty in race three after an incident involving Tony D’Alberto who eventually finished third for the race.

“From a championship perspective it has been a great round for us,” said Luff.

“It would have been better to walk away with the round win, but taking second and almost halving the deficit to Macrow in the championship is what we came here for and we are coming away pretty happy.

“The reverse grid race was really good for us, I got a great start and I knew there was a lot of positions to be made up on that opening lap. I think I went from 22nd to ninth on the opening lap and just kept picking them off one by one and finished second for the race which was a great result for the team.

“In the final race I got what was the best start of the year and moved straight into the lead, but once Dean got through the traffic he was able to close in on us and we just didn’t have the car speed to hold him out.

“From about half race onwards we were able to match him, but his outright speed early on was a bit quicker than what we were capable of.

“But from a championship perspective it is a great result for the whole Decina Racing team.

“The goal was to come here and try and close the gap by 15 points and we did better than that so now going to Queensland Raceway, which is our home round, I think things are looking really positive for us,” said Luff.

Team Principal Paul Cruickshank was also happy with the performance of both Luff and the car at Eastern Creek and is looking forward to racing at Queensland Raceway in two weeks time.

“The main thing this weekend was to close in on the championship lead, which we have done,” said Cruickshank.

“We are now 24 points behind and at the start of the meeting we were 42 points behind, so if we can have another round like this we will be right on Macrow’s heels.

“We still need to find a bit more overall pace in the car, but we’ve got a good straight car that we can take to Queensland in two week’s and that is an important factor, so overall it has been a pretty good weekend.

“I can’t wait to get to Queensland, we have plenty of support up there and we have done three tests there this year, however DJR will also be quick there as will Howard Racing, but I reckon we will be in pretty good shape.”

HPDC V8 Supercar Series Round 3 Results
Eastern Creek - Top Ten

1. Dean Canto (Ford) – 188
2. Warren Luff (Ford) - 184
3. Tony D’Alberto (Holden) - 174
4. Phillip Scifleet (Ford) - 166
5. Adam Macrow (Ford) -166
6. Mark Porter (Ford) - 158
7. Grant Denyer (Ford) -150
8. Gary Macdonald (Ford) - 144
9. Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 140
10. Grant Elliott (Holden) 132

HPDC Supercar Series Championship Points
After 3 of 7 rounds

1. Adam Macrow (Ford) – 526
2. Warren Luff (Ford) – 502
3. Tony D’Alberto (Holden) - 494
4. Phillip Scifleet (Ford) – 488
5. Gar6y Macdonald (Ford) – 472
6. Dean Canto (Ford) – 444
7. Mark Porter (Ford) – 396
8. Aaron McGill (Holden) – 389
9. Mark Howard (Ford) 380
10. Grant Elliott (Holden) 343

Race Three – 22 Laps
Top 10
1. Dean Canto (Ford)
2. Warren Luff (Ford)
3. Tony D’ Alberto (Holden)
4. Lee Holdsworth (Holden)
5. Phillip Scifleet (Ford)
6. Grant Denyer (Ford)
7. Adam Macrow (Ford)
8. Mark Porter (Ford)
9. Jose Fernandez (Ford)
10. Gary McDonald (Ford)

Race Two – 16 Laps
Top Ten (Reverse Grid)

1. Lee Holdsworth (Holden)
2. Warren Luff (Ford)
3. Dean Canto (Ford)
4. Mark Porter (Ford)
5. Tony D’Alberto (Holden)
6. Phillip Scifleet (Ford)
7. Adam Macrow (Ford)
8. Gary MacDonald (Ford)
9. Tony Evangelou (Ford)
10. Grant Elliott (Holden)

Race One – 12 Laps
Top 10

1. Dean Canto (Ford) –12 laps
2. Adam Macrow (Ford)
3. Warren Luff (Ford)
4. Tony D’Alberto (Holden)
5. Phillip Scifleet (Ford)
6. Jose Fernandez (Ford)
7. Grant Denyer (Ford)
8. Mark Porter (Ford)
9. Gary MacDonald (Ford)
10. Tony Evangelou (Ford)