• Championship begins under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park on Feb 18-19
• Six round national series in 2021 covering four states, supporting the Australian Motor Racing Series
• Back-to-back ‘King of the West’ events in Western Australia in July
• Northern, Southern and Western regional champions to be crowned
• Season finale to be at Winton in December with a grand ‘state of origin’ finale
• Invitational event at Bathurst International

The TA2 Muscle Car Series is set for it’s biggest year ever in 2022, with organisers announcing a six-round, nine-event provisional calendar for next season.

The series will take in six championship rounds supporting the Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS), visiting four states including a grand finale at Winton Motor Raceway.

The TA2 Muscle Car Series Champion will be crowned based on points accumulated over the six-round series, however each regional area will also feature its own four-round series and point score largely within the AMRS calendar.

The regional series have been created due to an increased in desire from competitors to minimise long-haul travel and time away from business by having a locally-based competition.

Each regional series will crown their own champion, while planning is underway for a grand finale State-of-Origin style shootout to wrap up the season.

From the season-opener under lights at Sydney Motorsport Park in March which will double as Round 1 of both the Northern and Southern Series, The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia hosts Round 2 at the state-of-the-art FIA Grade 2 circuit, ahead of the first of two visits to Winton in June.

The national series then takes a pause  ahead of two back-to-back invitational events to launch the TA2 Muscle Car Western Series in July. Perth’s Wanneroo Raceway and Collie Motorplex will play host to a host of national racers taking on local entrants to battle for the ‘King of the West’ title.

Queensland Raceway will host the fourth round of the national series in August before a second visit to Sydney Motorsport Park at the end of September for the penultimate championship round.

The season will conclude with back-to-back events in November, with the non-championship Trans-Am 100 at Mount Panorama followed by the final round at Winton.

While there wasn’t a national TA2 Muscle Car Series champion crowned in 2021, 16-year-old Jett Johnson took out the three-round Northern Series, while Mark Crutcher took out the Southern Series after a strong final round at the Bathurst 1000.

2022 TA2 Muscle Car Series Calendar

Round 1: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), February 18-19 (Northern and Southern round)

Round 2: The Bend Motorsport Park (SA), April 22-24 (Southern round)

Round 3: Winton Raceway (VIC), June 10-12 (Southern round)

Special: Wanneroo Raceway (WA), July 23-24 (Western round)

Special: Collie Motorplex (WA), July 30-31 (Western round)

Round 4: Queensland Raceway (QLD), August 19-21 (Northern round)

Round 5: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), September 30 - October 2 (Northern and Southern round)

Special: Bathurst International (NSW), November 11-13 (Trans-Am 100)

Round 6: Winton Raceway (VIC), November 18-20 (State of Origin)

QUOTES

Craig Denyer, TA2 Muscle Car Series Manager

“Given the challenges over the past two years, we believe the 2022 calendar offers TA2 Muscle Car Series competitors the best chance of getting as much track time at premium tracks with a calendar that offers six primary national events, combined with a regional breakout to complement the AMRS series.

“We are closing in on over 80 Australian-specification TA2 cars ordered or delivered for the start of the 2022 season, so the choice of where competitors want to race, how often and at what price point has never been greater.”

“We are excited to build TA2 racing as a truly national formula, we were eager to include an event in South Australia and what better venue to race at than the world-class circuit at The Bend Motorsport Park.

“We have experienced incredible interest already in the Western Australian regional series, so we are looking forward to launching that with a back-to-back festival in July with the King of the West challenge.”

“From what started as a club-level racing category for the gentleman driver, we are proud to have facilitated the enormous growth of TA2 Racing in Australia and we look forward to building on that in 2022.”

After Nathan Herne wrapped up the National Trans Am title yesterday for Dream Racing and Gary Rogers Motorsport, today’s final race at Mt Panorama will see three drivers tough it out for the PROMAXX TA2 Muscle Car Southern Series, being run this weekend as a co-round with Trans-Am. With Chris Pappas and Nash Morris nonstarters, Western Sydney’s Michael Coulter came into the final round with a slight points margin over Zac Loscialpo, with Mark Crutcher from Young in NSW in third.

Following Wednesday’s 100 kilometre 16-lapper, Coulter’s 14^th place behind Loscialpo’s 10^th place swung the points pendulum the other way with Crutcher also closing the gap. A tyre failure during yesterday’s event saw Loscialpo off the road at The Chase and dropping back to 14^th, while Crutcher had a great drive to 7^th outright, with Coulter finishing 11^th.

This moves all three drivers to within five points of one another with the final race scheduled for 9am NSW time Saturday morning. Crutcher has taken the series lead with 141 points, from Coulter on 139 and Loscalpio two points further back.

Gold Coaster Matt MacKelden and teammate Hugh McAlister came together at the top of mountain straight in Thursday’s race, when the two ran side by side into the braking area on the first lap, Mackelden admitted turning down on his team mate not realising he was there.  The Kubota Mustang was heavily damaged when it speared into the tyre wall on the left hand side. The team has worked hard to get the Mustang back on track for the final race with help from the NSW TAFE Repair Centre on track.  MacKelden will start from pit lane as a penalty for his role in the incident.

“Hugh did nothing wrong, I just didn’t realise he was there and turned in.  The car looks worse than it is, so I’m sure given the TA2 parts truck is on site we will have it ready for the final race.”   MacKelden said.

“Pretty frustrating really, I had a good run up the mountain and didn’t dive bomb into Turn 2, I was right alongside and Matt just didn’t know I was there. The first rule of racing is don’t take out your team mate! We’ve had a talk about it, so we will move forward from here,” McAlister said.

Nathan Herne is on for the hat trick if he can win the final race today, with Tim Brook and Kyle Gurton also having a strong weekend. Eden Thornburrow, who only finished his HSC exams last week sits equal 4^th on points with Ben Grice, son of twice Bathurst winner Allan Grice. Grice’s Mustang is being prepared by Melbourne’s Les Small, who also built the Chickadee Chicken Commodore that Ben’s father first won Bathurst in back in 1986.

The final TA2/Trans Am race will be televised live by the Seven Network on Saturday morning.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Southern Series will conclude this weekend with the third and final round of the regional series held alongside the National Trans-Am Series at the Bathurst 1000.

Following a successful round alongside the National Trans-Am Series at Phillip Island, the TA2 Muscle Car Series will join the Trans-Am field again for their final event at the week-long Bathurst 1000 festival, Australia’s biggest annual motorsport event.

After a strong performance at Sydney Motorsport Park and Phillip Island, Nash Morris leads Graham Smith and Chris Pappas in the points, however with those three absent from Bathurst the Southern Series title will be fought over between Michael Coulter, Zac Loscialpo, Jason Hassett and Mark Crutcher.

On 90 points, Coulter is the effective leader in the standings by only one point from Loscialpo, with Hassett a further two points behind in effective third with Loscialpo one point behind Hassett. They will join Jett Johnson as TA2 regional series champions in 2021.

Loscialpo was the quickest of the Southern Series runners in Qualifying on Tuesday, setting the seventh fastest time of the 19-car field at a 2:15.1669. Crutcher was 13th fastest from Coulter in 14th and Hassett in 19th on his Mount Panorama debut.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Southern Series will have three races this week live on Fox Sports and Kayo. Race 1 will be held on Wednesday at 1:15pm local time, with Race 2 on Thursday at 11:50am and Race 3 on Saturday at 9:05am.

TA2 Racing Australia has expanded its national footprint by announcing the formation of a Western Australian series set for launch in 2022.

Over 10 cars have already been sold or ordered for the Western Australian series, which will be known as the ‘TA2 Muscle Car Western Series’.

The Western Series will race for their own series point-score and will crown a Western Australian TA2 champion at the end of each season.

To promote the launch of the Western Series in 2022, plans are underway for two back-to-back events at Wanneroo Raceway and Collie Motorplex in July, where national racers from the eastern states will be invited to challenge the local racers for the ‘King of the West’ title.

The TA2 category launched in Australia at a state-level in Queensland in 2016 and has since become one of the most popular racing categories in Australia due to its affordability, accessibility and technical stability.

The category has grown to cater from club level, to state-level racing and to national competition with the TA2 Muscle Car Series and National Trans-Am Series.

The national car count now sits at over 80 cars, with multiple containers of cars on order from car constructor Howe Racing Enterprises in Michigan, USA to arrive in early 2022.

Perth-based Historic Touring Car racer Peter George has been appointed as the state manager for the Western Series, and will work closely with national category manager Craig Denyer and the Queensland-based TA2 management team to organise the operations of the series in accordance with national regulations.

George himself has acquired an ex-Nathan Herne Dodge Challenger to race in the series, while International endurance racer Brett Niall, who raced in the national TA2 Muscle Car Series at Winton in 2020, was one of the first racers to bring a car over to Western Australia, racing his Chevrolet Camaro in local Sports Sedan events this year.

Other racers signed up to race include Sports Sedan racer Ron Moller in an ex-Dream Racing Australia Chevrolet Camaro, Saloon Car father and son pair Brad and Brock Boley in a two-car Camaro team, Historic Touring Car racer Clinton Rayner in a Camaro, Chad Johnston in another ex-Herne Challenger, and Gary Melling.

The 2022 TA2 Muscle Car Western Series calendar will be announced alongside the full national TA2 Muscle Car Series calendar shortly.

QUOTES

Peter Robinson, Series Founder - TA2 Racing Australia

“It has always been our strategy to grow the TA2 Muscle Car Series as a state-based or regional championship, and we commenced that this year with the successful breakout of the Northern and Southern regional series.

“Adding a Western series to the current plan is a natural progression, giving the West Australian competitors their own home-based series without the extensive interstate commitments required for national competition.

“We look forward to working with Peter George in supporting and growing the series over the next 12 months and when border restrictions allow we plan on getting a number of eastern-state competitors over for a couple of special TA2 “King of the West” events in Western Australia to challenge the locals.”

Peter George, TA2 State Manager - Western Australia

“With 10 cars already likely to be on the grid in Western Australia next year and more interest every week from potential competitors looking for cars, we are keen to launch the TA2 Muscle Car Western Series in 2022.

“The local state-based series will give those interested in TA2 a place to race on a regular basis without having to do the long-haul trip to the Eastern States.

“We will manage and run the series locally, but with full spares and administration support through Peter Robinson’s PBR Distributions and the TA2 management team.”

Brett Niall, driver -  #54 Chevrolet Camaro

“I signed up to do the full national TA2 season in 2020 but we only did the first round at Winton before COVID hit.

“I’m still hoping to base my car over on the Eastern state for the national series, but if there is an opportunity to do local meets depending on borders I will compete locally, but the main goal is the national series.

“We’ve been racing in the Sports Sedan field over here but the racing between the TA2 cars has been so close.

“When we’ve had the car out locally they definitely have a lot of interest with the look, the sound and how they go out on track, there’s been people approaching us at the track to find out how to get one and they’re excited to see the category grow in WA.”