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The Heritage Touring Cars series will bring a record field of historic muscle to Muscle Car Masters this October 29th & 30th.
42 genuine historic Group C and Group A touring cars will take to Sydney Motorsport Park over the weekend in a field that features no less than three Bathurst-winning drivers. The Heritage Touring Cars series will contest the fifth and final round of the 2016 series in a set of tin top races that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Jim Richards will be back behind the wheel of the JPS Team BMW Group C 635CSi that he originally raced during 1983 in AMSCAR and the Australian Endurance Championship, and again in the Australian Touring Car Championship and AEC in 1984.
The car was built by Frank Gardner’s JPS team in 1982 and is now owned by New Zealand’s Peter Sturgeon. It sounds absolutely magic on full song, and Richards is sublime in it. He drove it during the season opener at the Phillip Island Classic, putting it second on the grid and going on to top the Group C tables and set a new outright Group C lap record.
Jim’s BMW will be in good company, with the Bavarian marque well represented. David Towe will look to move up from third in the points tables, driving his signature 1987 JPS BMW M3. The car is another ex-Richards machine, originally debuted in the 1987 James Hardie 1000 driven by Richards and Tony Longhurst. Other BMWs include Peter Jones in the ’92 E30 M3, David Harris in a JPS 325i and Duncan MacKellar in an M3.
Looking to our own shores and Ed Singleton will be back on board the 1977 John Goss Racing Ford Falcon XC that he first unleashed in Heritage Touring Cars racing back in round 1 of the 2016 series.
John Goss and Henri Pescarolo debuted the car in the 1977 Hardie-Frodo 1000, and Goss would go on to race it through the rest of the season. It made two more appearances at Bathurst in ’78 and ’79. With John Goss confirmed to be attending the event, we’re very much looking forward to seeing, and hearing, it romp around Sydney Motorsport Park in just a few weeks.
Two-time Bathurst winner and all ‘round legend John Bowe will bring more Bathurst history to the Heritage Touring Cars field, competing in a Volvo 242 GT.
The very pointy end of the field will no-doubt be hotly contested with the final entry in the season-long Group A duel between Carey McMahon in the ex-Tony Longhurst Ford Sierra RS500 and Tony Alford’s high-tech monster – the Sandown-winning 1991 ex-Mark Gibbs Nissan GTR ‘Godzilla’. Anthony Compton in the ex-Glenn Seton Peter Jackson Sierra RS500 has the muscle and race craft to keep them honest.
The ex-Dick Johnson Greens’-Tuf Mustang of Terry Lawlor may be one of the earliest examples of the Group A specification, but with Lawlor behind the wheel it’s sure to be a thrill to watch and competitive to boot.
Aussie legend Bob Holden will be joined at Muscle Car Masters by Rauno Aaltonen to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their win in the 1966 Gallagher 500. That year the pair piloted their Cooper S to the front of Australia’s great race, ahead of no less than eight other Morris Cooper S in a historic lockout.
Aaltonen will be at the circuit on main race day for the Heritage Touring Cars races. On the same day an all-Mini 50th anniversary race will be held featuring cars from the Group N Historic Touring Cars field.
Bob Holden, Jim Richards and John Bowe are not the only Bathurst winners confirmed to be attending the event. They’l be joined by four-time Bathurst winner Allan Moffat, Kevin Bartlett, Colin Bond, Bo and Glenn Seton and others.
Muscle Car Masters will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park over the 29th and 30th of October. It’s an unrivalled celebration of Australian motorsport history, and tin-top racing in particular, and Heritage Touring Cars is honoured to be a part of it. Don’t miss it.
Spectator passes are now available and can be found through the Muscle Car Masters website. Head to www.musclecarmasters.com.au for more details.
For more information stay tuned to www.heritagetouringcars.com.au.
Lead image thanks to Brent Murray of At Speed Images
