Tim Blanchard took his first race win of 2011 with a strong performance in Race 2 of the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in Townsville today. The second race inverts the top 10 finishers from race one and saw Tim start on the front row of the grid for the 14 lap journey. Tim jumped well at the green light and led the field into the first lap determined to build a gap to the pursuing pack.

'The start was critical and I knew I had to really put in some hard laps at the start even risking the tyres going off towards the end.' an elated Blanchard said after the race. 'With all the other quick guys behind me it was a matter of head down and a focus on building a gap. I knew I would need it at the end' Tim added.

The early laps were in fact where the race went Tim's way building a gap of over 1.5 seconds by mid race distance to pole sitter Daniel Jilesen and the hard charging Jack Perkins and Jayco team mate David Russell. Whist the gap fluctuated over the closing laps Tim had done the job and crossed the line in front of Perkins to take the win. Following a 9th in race one and the win in race two, Tim lined up in 6th place for the final 18 lap race.

As tyres became a critical factor for the final, Blanchard knew that the longer race would be tough. He started well and ran in a solid 8th place for the first third of the race. Rod Jane's Tmart Falcon passed Tim on lap 8 but the #27 Jayco / Cool Drive Falcon was back in eighth the next lap.

As the final laps counted down Tim's tyres were well past their best and he could not defend his top 10 spot slipping to 11th at the chequered flag. The race was won by Andrew Thompson from Jack Perkins & David Russell.

'The final race was tough but the tyres really held in well in the early laps. But as the race went into the final laps they just went away very quickly.' Tim said after the race.

Blanchard remains in 6th place overall in the 2011 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series.