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The Heritage Touring Cars series heads to Winton this weekend to contest the penultimate 2016 round with a magnificent field of classic muscle.
Fresh and ready to race after a two-month winter break, the Heritage Touring Cars series will return this weekend, August 6th & 7th, to contest round four of the 2016 series at the Winton Festival of Speed.
This year’s Winton Festival of Speed has seen record entries, with more than 300 cars going all the way back to the ‘40s entered. Our Group C & A Australian race cars will be amongst the youngest in the field, with the later Group A cars demonstrating the technical advances motorsport went through in that era.
The pinnacle of that technological achievement is no better represented than by the mighty ‘Godzilla’. Tony Alford will once again be competing in the Sandown-winning 1991 ex-Mark Gibbs Nissan GTR. For the first time this year he’ll be joined by Mark Eddy in a Skyline GTS-R.
David Towe and Carey McMahon are currently sitting just behind Alford in the 2016 points table and have both been running extremely well. Towe has his ex-Tony Longhurst JPS BMW M3 very well sorted and has been magnificent in recent runs, recovering gracefully after a tough weekend back in Queensland.
After enjoying the efforts of a huge Bavarian contingent in round one at Phillip Island, we’ll see just one other BMW hit the track in anger this weekend – the JPS BMW 325i of David Harris. David’s had some great runs this year and is one to watch.
Carey McMahon has also been consistent in the Benson & Hedges Sierra RS500 and enters the weekend’s competition in good form after topping the tables at the Retro Racefest. His RS500 will see strong competition this weekend in the form of the Caltex Sierra RS500 of George Nakas. This is Nakas’ first run with Heritage Touring Cars in the RS500 this year and we’re looking forward to his racing return.
Group A under two litres will see Bob Holden, Brian Henderson and David Paterson mixing it up in traditionally feisty fashion. Bathurst 500-winner Bob Holden will be on board the ex-TOM’s GB Corolla FX-GT and Paterson will be running another Bob Holden Corolla Sprinter. Henderson, meanwhile, will pilot the Gibson Motorsport Peter Jackson Nissan Gazelle that Mark Skaife used to beat the Toyotas in 1987. With the sheer pedigree and experience amongst these three there’s sure to be some fantastic dices throughout the weekend.
Holden muscle will be on full display at the Winton Festival of Speed, with four examples from the marque making up the over three-litre Group C class. Daniel Cotterill will run the Taylor/Kennedy VH Commodore and will be joined by Jeff Trembath who will once again compete in the ANL VC Commodore that 1980 (and at the time still reigning) Formula 1 Champion Alan Jones drove in 1981.
Shaun Tunny will return in the ex-Bob Forbes/Kevin Bartlett Torana A9X while Rod Hatfield will once again run the ex-Dustings & McRae Holden Torana L34.
The mid-capacity Group C cars will demonstrate some great variety, with 2015’s 2001-3000cc class winner Justin Nilsson unleashing a Nissan Pulsar EXA Turbo, Carl Muller on board a Ford Capri 3.0s driven in period by Capri legends Bo Seton & Don Smith and Peter Woods piloting an SVM Volvo 242GT.
The top three spots in Group C are currently held by under two-litre drivers Russell Keam, Steve Axisa and Gavin Adamson. The three drivers are separated by just 3.3 points, and are sure to delight with some feisty drives over the weekend.
Keam will be on board a third Bob Holden car, an Escort RS2000, and will go up against the Isuzu Gemini PF60s of Axisa and Adamson. Cole Spender will join the dice in a classic Ford Escort Mk. 1
When you need a break from all of that Heritage Touring Cars racing action, take a few minutes to explore the pits and paddock. Enjoy getting up close and personal with the magnificent historic race cars on display, and say ‘Hi!’ to their drivers and custodians.
The Winton Festival of Speed will be held this weekend over the 5th to the 7th of August. They’re offering free entry for practice on Friday and spectator passes are available for $30 on Saturday, $35 on Sunday or $50 for the weekend. Children under 16 are allowed entry for free.
The Winton Festival of Speed is the fourth round of the 2016 Heritage Touring Cars Series. The series kicked off at the Phillip Island Classic in March. We then went north to Morgan Park for round two and enjoyed round three in Sydney at the Sydney Retro Racefest in June.
We’ll be back at Sydney Motorsport Park this October 28 to 30 to wrap up the year at one of our favourite events – Muscle Car Masters.
Stay tuned to www.heritagetouringcars.com.au for more. Heritage Touring Cars – Come and see the real thing!
