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Heritage Touring Cars is set to open our 2025 historic touring car series with a landmark meeting at the VHRR Phillip Island Classic Festival of Motorsport March 7 – 9 2025. The series has seen a significant expansion this year, as we strive to embrace and promote every era of Australian touring car racing, and this weekend will see close to 50 historic Australian touring cars compete across both race and sprint grids in collaboration with the 5L Touring Car Association.
The traditional Group C & A touring car grid has benefited from strong support from competitors, with 27 cars set to compete. Group C & A will unite with Motorsport Australia’s new categories for five-litre touring cars (Group 3A) and two-litre Super Tourers (Group 3B), which are set for a strong debut and expect to bring a further 20 historic Australian touring cars to the track to compete in a sprint format.
The 5L Touring Cars & Supercars grid will include six cars run by Eggleston Motorsport, including the 2016 Bathurst-winning TEKNO Commodore VF and Ben Eggleston competing in the 2006 ex-Rick Kelly Championship-winning Toll HSV VZ Commodore. Andrew O’Connell’s 2001 Ford Falcon AU, restored to its 2001 Bud ‘King of Beers’ livery and wearing race number 888 is another highlight.
Looking to the C & A entry, Carey McMahon has announced his retirement from motor racing after a career that spanned more than five decades. He is set to retire on a high note, however, offering one more gift to spectators in the form of the recently restored Yellow Pages Mazda RX7, which will compete in the series for the first time.
The car was originally owned and raced in the Australian Touring Car Championship by Tony Kavich between 1982 and 1984, also running in the Sandown 500 and at Bathurst. It was sponsored by Yellow Pages in 1984, again driven by Tony Kavich, with Phil Alexander also getting behind the wheel. In 1985 it became a Sports Sedan in the hands of Ivan Mikac, and has recently been restored by Carey to its correct 1984 Group C specifications for competition.
We are also pleased to welcome two drivers making their Heritage Touring Cars debut at Phillip Island, each from storied motor sport backgrounds. Doug Westwood is very experienced in historic touring cars and has driven to some success in the Bathurst 6-Hour. He will compete in an ex-Peter Brock and Jim Richards car, also driven in the category by Peter Doulman.
Peter Xiberras, owner of ANDRA Top Fuel team PremiAir Racing, will make his Heritage Touring Cars debut at the Phillip Island Classic, driving an ex-Bob Jane T-Marts VK Commodore raced in period by Graeme Crosby.
Ed Singleton will run a pair of Commodores at the meeting, with Ben Grice set to pilot ‘Elvis’, the 1982 Roadways Holden Commodore VH that Ed has campaigned consistently for close to 20 years. Ed will be on board the 1982 Commodore VH that Ben’s father Allan Grice used to claim pole position for the 1982 Bathurst 1000, which Ed liberated from the National Motor Racing Museum at Mount Panorama and refurbished for a debut at the Repco Bathurst 1000 last year.
Outside our own field, some highlights of the meeting include a Sunoco Porsche 917/30 CanAm car – one of the fastest race cars of the ‘70s and one of the most powerful ever built, equipped with an air-cooled turbocharged 5,374cc flat 12. Guido Belgiorno-Nettis will also compete in an ex-Michele Alboreto/Stefan Johansson 1984 Ferrari 156/85.
Following the 2025 Phillip Island Classic, we are pleased to confirm a full five round series for the year, with Historic Warwick following May 10 – 11, the HSRCA Sydney Classic to be held over June 7 – 8, the Winton Festival of Speed finding us back in Victoria August 2 – 3 and The Bend Classic completing the series October 24 – 26.
