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SIERRA SCRAPS AND STRAIGHTS VS EIGHTS IN C&A

August 13, 2019 By ARDC Leave a Comment

Heritage Touring Cars’ Legends of Bathurst are set to storm Sydney Motorsport Park at Sydney MasterBlast, bringing the true monarchs of muscle back to Sydney for the first time in 2019.

The iconic Australian racing cars from Group C and Group A will be headlined by a three-way RS500 Sierra scrap. Terry Lawlor’s run away with the last two Heritage Touring Cars rounds in Dick Johnson’s Shell RS500, but Tony Karanfilovski has been on the hunt in the ex-Glenn Seton Peter Jackson Sierra and is looking strong. Sydney Master Blast will see the pair joined by an ex-Colin Bond Caltex Sierra that has been recently restored by Chris Stillwell.

An ex-Paul Morris BMW M3 piloted by Eddie Sansil will make its debut at the event, as will Neil Schembri’s Gary Rogers Motorsport VL Commodore.

These and more will join a packed field of C & A legends that are set to bring the golden age of Australian touring car racing back to life at Sydney Motorsport Park. This is classic motorsport at its finest, don’t miss it!

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Filed Under: NEWS Tagged With: 2019, c&A, heritage, Touring

PRODUCTION TOURING TITLES ON THE LINE AT SYDNEY MASTERBLAST

August 13, 2019 By ARDC Leave a Comment

The 2019 NSW Production Touring Car Championship is set for an intriguing season finale at the Paynter Dixon Sydney MasterBlast ft. Muscle Car Masters event on 31 August-1 September, with titles to be decided across all seven classes, as well as the crowning of the outright champion.

The unique points structure for NSWPTC places an emphasis on class results rather than outright finishing positions – as a result, there are six drivers from four different classes with a chance of winning the overall title.

Leading the way is Class B2 (Performance Naturally Aspirated) driver Geoff Kite, who leads the outright points by virtue of winning his class in all five rounds this season aboard his Commodore SS-V.

Kite’s nearest challenger is series veteran Matt Holt, in his Class A2 (High Performance Naturally Aspirated) HSV Clubsport R8. Holt has been a consistent front-runner in NSWPTC for many seasons now, and has been the driver to beat in Class A2 all season.

Coming into the weekend third in the overall standings is Michael King, who holds the ascendancy in Class A1 (High Performance Forced Induction) aboard his Mitsubishi Evo X. The turbocharged performance and all-wheel-drive traction of the Evo continues to make it a popular choice for production car racers, and King was particularly strong in the Wakefield Park rounds, where he was able to exploit the Evo’s handling prowess against the heavier Aussie V8s at the technical Goulburn circuit.

After several seasons racing an Evo, Daniel Oosthuizen switched to an HSV for this season and is fourth in points (second in Class A2), while the overall top six is completed by a couple of Class D (Other Touring Cars) drivers, Harrison Gray and Edan Thornburrow in their Toyota 86s. The fight for Class D honours has been one of the most intense in the field, with Gray and Thornburrow separated by just four points heading into the season finale.

While the contenders in the other classes may not be in contention for outright championship honours, there are still bragging rights up for grabs. In Class B1 (Performance Forced Induction), Bathurst driver Peter O’Donnell heads the points in his BMW 335i, ahead of Darren Herbert (Mitsubishi Evo V).

Class C (Sports Touring Cars) is led by former outright champ Chris Reeves, who started the season in a Suzuki Swift before slotting into a VW Scirocco for the remaining rounds.

Making a return to the production car racing scene in 2019 has been Phil Alexander, who has driven his Pulsar to three round wins in Class E (Small Capacity Touring Cars), and holds a handy advantage over Bruce Colbey (Suzuki Swift).

While the outright and class championship battles will be the weekend’s main focus, competitors will also have the chance to experience the thrill of racing in the dark, with the event including a novel night-time qualifying session and race on Saturday evening, in addition to the three day-time races across Saturday and Sunday.

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Filed Under: NEWS, NEWS ARCHIVE Tagged With: 2019, production, Touring

TCM COMMENCES 300TH RACE COUNTDOWN EN ROUTE TO SYDNEY MASTERBLAST

August 12, 2019 By ARDC Leave a Comment

THE PAYNTER DIXON Touring Car Masters will celebrate a major milestone in the series history at the 2019 Paynter Dixon Sydney MasterBlast ft Muscle Car masters at Sydney Motorsport Park, with the category to contest its 300th race at the event.

The major milestone will come as the series races under lights for the first time on the Saturday evening of the August 30 – September 1 event.

Formed in 2007 by a core group of Group N competitors looking to race on the national stage, Touring Car Masters (TCM) evolved from Historic Touring Car racing to add reliability and additional safety to classic racers.

The resulting category has proved to be one of the most successful of the last decade with a host of famous names and remarkable cars tackling the 298 races contested to date.

182 drivers have contested at least one TCM race since the categories formative race at the Adelaide 500 in March 2007. Thirty-five of those have won races, while 13 different models and six different brands have tasted race winning success.

Five-time series champion John Bowe remains not only the series’ most successful driver, but also its most experienced. His 96 race wins have come from 254 race starts, with only Jim Richards and Tony Karanfilovski joining Bowe in the 200-club.

21 drivers have started more than 100 races: Adam Bressington the most recent to join the elite club while, assuming he starts the first race in Sydney, Steven Johnson will be the next.

Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars’ Gary O’Brien was one of the series’ founding fathers and as well as racing, has played a key role both behind the scenes and in preparing vehicles for some of the biggest names in the paddock.

“We were burning around in 2006-’07 in Historic Touring Cars and reliability was a bit of an issue,” O’Brien remembers. 

“A group of guys got together to form what we now know as Touring Car Masters and put better running gear in them, make them more reliable and we were off and racing. It’s proven to be a great entertainment package.

“I think every time I went to a track it was a highlight! To be there and see the stuff you saw on TV was a highlight.

“We were racing guys who had been around a few years as well. I was an upstart – a club racer, so If I could run second or third to those guys you were doing a good job.”

While his own TCM career has to date delivered 92 races and 31 round starts, O’Brien is perhaps best-known for being the man behind John Bowe’s switch to the iconic Paynter Dixon Holden Torana SL/R 5000 he has raced since the 2015 season.

The Torana recently notched up its 100th race start and has taken Bowe and team boss O’Brien to the 2015 and 2016 titles.

“As soon as we rolled it off the trailer it was quick and we’ve never looked back,” O’Brien said.

“It’s never had a big dollar spent on any major upgrades. It’s how it was when we built it.

“JB’s proved over time that he can peddle it pretty hard. He’s driving it as hard as he can.”

Sydneysider Steve Mason was the inaugural champion, winning the 2007 title aboard his 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS.

Still one of only seven drivers in category history to win 10 or more races, Mason edged out future champion Gavin Bullas by just a handful of points in a Camaro-versus-Mustang battle that would set the tone for years to come.

Like O’Brien, Mason has now swapped helmet for headset but continues to be involved in the category as he watches son Cameron race at the pointy-end of the grid.  

“I’ve got really great memories of that time,” said Mason of the formation of the class.  

“I could see that the category was always going to be a winner – I mean, who doesn’t like the old cars? They’ve got soul, they’ve got the sound and pace. They’re not easy to drive with not much tyre, not much brake and lots and lots of horsepower. It’s a great recipe.

“I think the crowd really love it. I know I loved driving them at the time.

Mason finished third in the first ever TCM race on the streets of Adelaide but would edge out Brad Tilley and Garry Treloar to win the series’ first ever round.

“I can remember it – I think I went alright in the round! There’s lots of great battles over the years. Drew Marget was one rival and car is of course now Mustang Sally, John Bowe’s old car. Gavin Bullas, he also ran a ’69 Mustang. We’ve got the Jimmy Richards, John Bowe’s – even Glenn Seton’s had a steer. There’s some great names in this category. It’s really stepped up – it’s not amateurish anymore and the bar has realty been lifted.”

The Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters will headline the Sydney Master Blast – incorporating the Muscle Car Masters as the event returns to the traditional father’s day weekend this year.

Follow the Touring Car Masters via www.touringcarmasters.com.au, or @TCMAustralia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Filed Under: NEWS, NEWS ARCHIVE Tagged With: MASTERS, tcm, Touring

Touring Car Masters

March 12, 2019 By ARDC 1 Comment

tcm

Since its inception in 2007, the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters – just ‘TCM’ to fans and competitors – has rapidly grown to become one of Australia’s premier racing categories.

Evolving from Historic Group N racing through to Biante Historic Touring Cars, the series emerged as the Touring Car Masters for its inaugural season in 2007. Setting itself apart from traditional Historic racing, the Touring Car Masters pioneered a new class of racing by introducing innovative technical regulations aiming to improve safety, reliability, cut running costs and provide an exciting and entertaining race package while maintaining the visual appeal of its period race cars.

The Touring Car Masters immediately struck a winning formula, with its mix of classic hero cars and modern improvements, such as disc brakes, dry-sumped engines and radial tyres, producing intense, dynamic racing right from the outset. Since then, the popular retro series has continued to go from strength-to-strength, lifting the class to become a successful, highly-competitive, affordable and commercially-viable category.

Though many think of it as a historic category, TCM is just as much of a ‘tribute’ to the classic era while allowing it to be viable in today’s commercial and competitive environment.

Showcasing a selection of immaculately prepared touring cars of the pre-1981 era, the Touring Car Masters boasts some of the sport’s most iconic muscle cars from Falcon GT’s, BOSS Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros, Chrysler Chargers and Holden Monaros to the giant-killing Holden Toranas and nimble Porsche 911 RS’s. Pontiacs, Mercuries, Ford Capris and more make a variety-packed field.

The Touring Car Masters series is structured across three classes at each round:
ProMASTERS – For the professional drivers
ProAM – For part-timers or drivers doing it as much for fun as they are success
ProSPORTS – allows entrants to cross-enter in the same car, enabling two (or more) drivers to score points for the vehicle and still compete for the class championship.

Filed Under: NEWS, RACE CATEGORIES Tagged With: category, class, group, racing, tcm, Touring, Touring Car Masters

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