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The legends of the Heritage Touring Cars series will be let loose on the high-speed bends of Queensland Raceways Lakeside Park this 11th to the 13th of August, when the series heads to Queensland for its fourth outing of the year.
Known in period as Lakeside International Raceway, the circuit is fast and flowing. It’s an iconic touring car venue and has played host to many magic moments of Australian motorsport over the years. Next weekend, the Heritage Touring Car series will add to that history when it returns to the track for the first time since 2015.
The series will feature in six events over the weekend, opening with qualifying on Saturday morning and contesting two races that afternoon and three on Sunday. Heritage Touring Cars will once again field a strong entry of Group C cars, raced between 1973 and 1984, and Group A cars, run from ’85 to ’92.
Current series leader Duncan MacKellar will continue his 2017 campaign in the ex-Anthony Reid Asahi Kiko JTCC BMW M3. Reid originally drove the car in EVO spec for Tomei Sport in the 1993 season of the Japanese Touring Car Championship, picking up an outright win at TI Circuit Aida and finishing the season in second.
He will not be the only driver employing Bavarian power over the weekend, joined by no less than three E30 BMWs. David Harris will be in the JPS Group A 325i, while David Towe will run his signature JPS M3 and Peter Jones his ’87 JPS M3.
Tony Alford will be looking for a good result at Lakeside and aiming to bump himself up one spot in the placings. He will once again unleash ‘Godzilla’, the technologically supreme GIO Skyline GT-R. On the other end of the horsepower spectrum, Craig Foster will keep everyone honest in the ex-Toyota Team Australia AE86 Group A Toyota Corolla Coupe. This closely-contested and extremely diverse top three demonstrates the awesome variety that makes Heritage Touring Cars racing so exciting.
John Abbott will bring an ex-Peter Williamson Toyota Supra out to play for its first points round of the year, while Wayne Clift will run the Deluxe Coachlines VK Commodore that he built back in 1986. Clift drove the car in the 1987 Bathurst 1000, and has owned it through its entire life. In the Holden camp, he will be joined by Mark Taylor on board a Commodore VL and Steve Axisa in the 1972 Torana XU1-GTR.
Sure to be playing at the pointy end is Terry Lawlor, who’ll be piloting the 1990 Dick Johnson Shell Sierra. Tony Pallas will be representing English muscle, running the ex-Garry Willmington Jaguar XJ-S, while Craig Neilson will be on board a Mitsubishi Starion.
Toyota’s giant-toppling Corollas will be out in force at Lakeside, with Terry O’Beirne running an AE82 FX-GT Sprinter originally purchased by Bob Holden from TOM’S Great Britain, David Paterson piloting his signature ex-Bob Holden Sprinter and Craig Foster’s aforementioned ex-TTA AE86 in the thick of things.
Ford fans will have two Group C cars to cheer on at Lakeside, with Glenn Gerster letting his Falcon XE loose on the circuit and Ed Singleton hopping back into the 1977 John Goss Racing Ford Falcon XC.
Finally, Peter Woods will compete in a Bathurst-hardened ex-Spencer Martin and David McKay Volvo 242GT while Bill Magoffin will bring some Italian flair to proceedings, running an Alfa Romeo GTV.
As well as the bounty of racing action at the Lakeside Classic, fans of classic Australian race cars will be able to enjoy the Race Through the Ages special event. Race Through the Ages will pit a Tander/Whincup GRM Commodore V8 Supercar against a Team Brock Torana, Big Banger Commodore and VS Shell Ford Sierra in demonstration events that will be held at lunch on both Saturday and Sunday.
The Lakeside Classic will be held next weekend, over the 11th to the 13th of August, at Queensland Raceways Lakeside Park. On-track action kicks off at 9:30 AM, and the pits and paddock will be free to explore – so make sure to have a wander and get up close and personal with the legends of Australian motorsport. Spectator passes are $20 on Saturday, $30 on Sunday or $40 for the weekend, and kids under 12 get in for free.
Stay tuned to www.heritagetouringcars.com.au for more from the Heritage Touring Cars series.
Images thanks to Ian Welsh of Shifting Focus Photography
