Adelaide 500 and Bathurst bookend 2020 TA2 Muscle Car Series calendar

The TA2 Muscle Car Series is set for an exciting year of racing in 2020 with the announcement of the series calendar, headlined by appearances at the Adelaide 500 and the Bathurst International.

The seven-event season will see six rounds of the series count toward the TA2 Muscle Car Series point-score and features a split of events supporting the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships, the Australian Racing Group’s Bathurst International, the AASA-sanctioned Australian Motor Racing Series and a standalone event at Queensland Raceway.

The season will kick off with a non-championship invitational event at the Superloop Adelaide 500, one of Australia’s biggest domestic motorsport events headlined by the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with live coverage of all three races on Fox Sports.

This will be the series’ second visit to South Australia after racing at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2018, while the Adelaide 500 will mark the series’ only South Australian race in 2020.

With the Adelaide opener an invitational non points-paying round, the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships will host the first two series rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park in March and then Winton in May.

This will mark the series’ first appearance on the Shannons bill facilitated by a strategic alliance between the TA2 Muscle Car Series and the Australian Racing Group, the promoter of a variety of events and categories including TCR Australia, S5000 and Touring Car Masters.

These events will see one TA2 race at each event broadcast live as part of ARG’s new TV deal with the Seven Network, and the remainder streamed on 7plus, the network’s on-demand streaming service.

Rounds 3 and 4 will see the series headline a pair of Australian Motor Racing Series events at Queensland Raceway in August and Sydney Motorsport Park in September. These events will feature live-streaming and a post-produced highlights package on Fox Sports.

The series will also return to Queensland Raceway for the fifth and penultimate round in late-October.

The season will conclude at Mount Panorama, Australia’s iconic race track in Bathurst for the inaugural Bathurst International event promoted by ARG. It is expected American and international TA2 drivers will aim to race at this event alongside the Australian regulars.

TA2 Category Manager Craig Denyer and Series owner Peter Robinson have consulted heavily with existing competitors to plan the best way forward for the category to cater for the current crop of racers and the growing interest in the series.

The series currently has 40 cars in Australia, with a further 20 on order, eight of which destined for Western Australia to establish their own state-based series.

20-year old third-generation racer Aaron Seton won the 2019 TA2 Muscle Car Series over former Super2, GT and V8 Ute racer George Miedecke in a thrilling final round which saw 17-year old former Formula Ford state champion Nathan Herne score his maiden TA2 round win over a field of 32 cars.

QUOTES

Peter Robinson, TA2 Muscle Car Series Owner and TA2 Australian importer

“We have been blown away by the support after just two short years on the national stage and it has grown far quicker than we could have imagined,” explained Peter Robinson.

“Our philosophy overall is to give our competitors the best bang-for-buck race experience at the lowest possible price and the 2020 calendar reflects a nice mix of high-profile events with live television combined with traditional tracks and events that have supported the growth of TA2 in the past, all aimed at keeping the overall entry cost as low as we can for the competitor.”

2020 TA2 Muscle Car Series Calendar

NC: Adelaide Street Circuit (SA), Superloop Adelaide 500 - February 20-23

Rd 1: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships - March 27-29

Rd 2: Winton Motor Raceway (VIC), Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships - May 1/3

Rd 3: Queensland Raceway (QLD), Australian Motor Racing Series - August 7-9

Rd 4: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), Australian Motor Racing Series - September 25-27

Rd 5: Queensland Raceway (QLD), TBC - October 24-25

Rd 6: Mount Panorama (NSW), Bathurst International - TBC Nov/Dec