Bathurst 1000 champion Paul Morris is the latest name to join the growing TA2 grid in Australia, acquiring a Ford Mustang to add to the 60-strong national car count.

Morris first dabbled in TA2 competition by fielding his 18-year-old son Nash in a Ford Mustang owned by Karl Begg, and also prepares a car for Gold Coaster Chris Pappas through his Norwell Motorplex outfit.

Now, Morris has purchased his own team car, taking delivery in preparation for Nash to race this weekend in the third round of the Northern Series at Queensland Raceway.

Nash Morris scored a race win on debut in the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series at Sydney Motorsport Park in March this year, and scored a podium in the National Trans-Am Series’ last outing at Sydney in May. He also leads the TA2 Southern Series after a strong performance at Phillip Island earlier this year.

After welcoming the 50th TA2 car in the country last year, Morris’ arrival on the grid comes as the car count has rocketed up over 60 cars across all states in Australia, as the category expands its national and state-level footprint.

Whilst the national series has been put on hold this year due to COVID-induced interstate border restrictions, the TA2 Muscle Car Series has continued at a regional level.

17-year-old rookie sensation Jett Johnson leads the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series powered by Atlantic Oils after two rounds at Queensland Raceway, with the third round coming up this weekend on 23-24 October at the Ipswich circuit.

The TA2 Southern Series is looking to resume at Winton Motor Raceway on 12-14 November, before supporting the Bathurst 1000 on 30 November-5 December.

QUOTES Paul Morris - Norwell Motorplex team owner

“I just love the concept that Peter Robinson and the team at TA2 have come up with. These cars are the real deal and the perfect place for someone like Nash to develop his skills and race hard in a relatively low-budget environment,” Morris endorsed.

“I just hope no one changes the specs on these cars over the next few years as they are just perfect the way they are. Fast, competitive, cost-effective to race, easy to repair and totally-controlled so no team can get a technical advantage.

This is why guys like Aaron Seton, Nathan Herne, Chris Pappas, Jett Johnson and now Nash have jumped on board. It’s the best motorsport bang-for-buck around.”

16-year-old Jett Johnson has clean swept the second round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series, powered by Atlantic Oils.

Following his maiden circuit racing victory in Race 1 yesterday, Johnson put the metal down and cantered away to win the final three races of the weekend, by margins of 3.7 seconds, 2.1 seconds and a massive 7.5 second margin in the final.

Starting third, Pappas got the jump on Wright off the start of the first race of the day before Wright regained second place under brakes into Turn 3 and remained second.

After he was caught up in the first lap incident in Race 1, Adam Hargraves made up six spots from the rear of the grid to finish fourth from Karl Begg, Peter Robinson and Murray Kent.

Wright dropped back to fourth in Race 3, as Chris Pappas scored his personal best race finish in second. Karl Begg climbed two spots to score his first podium race result on his series debut.

Wright encountered a slave cylinder issue in Race 4 and dropped further back the field again, as Pappas maintained second place.

Murray Kent and Karl Begg battled for fourth position before the pair clashed on Lap 8 as Begg tagged Kent’s Camaro into a spun on the run out of Turn 3. Begg crossed the line fifth before he was handed a 30-second post race penalty for his part in the incident.

Johnson took his fourth win from as many races to win the round over Pappas and Wright, and take the lead in the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Northern Series standings by nine points over Wright.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series is targeting a return to Wakefield Park Raceway in New South Wales on October 22-24 pending changes to state border closures.

QUOTES

Jett Johnson, driver - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“I’m really happy with how the weekend went,” said Jett Johnson.

“From the first practice session we rolled out I knew we were on for a good weekend, the car was on rails and I knew it was up to my to conserve the tyres, conserve the car and not make any mistakes.

“I knew we had a chance to run up the front, but I never would have thought we would came away with pole and all four race wins, so it’s been a great weekend.

It’s been great to have the support of my family and friends this weekend, as well as all our partners on the car that make this possible, including Full Throttle BBQ, Pirtek, Signwayz, SS Media, Beaurepaires Beenleigh, APW Wentworthville, Fineline Fabrications and R&T Pumps.”

The TA2 Muscle Car Series has welcomed a new partnership for this weekend’s second round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Northern Series - powered by Atlantic Oils.

Established in 1997, Atlantic Oils is a proudly Australia independently-owned company providing high-quality engine oils and lubricants for the automotive, industrial, agricultural and mining sectors.

With a combined knowledge of over 100 years of technical excellence in the lubricants industry, Atlantic Oils specialises in the production of high-performance latest-specification oils and lubricants, and possess the ability to innovate and meet changing industrial needs with custom products.

Also possessing its own fleet of trucks, Atlantic Oils is able to offer an efficient product delivery system surpassing that of its competitors.

Founded in 2016, the TA2 Muscle Car Series is one of the fastest growing motorsport series in Australia, with grids of V8 Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger muscle cars entertaining race fans across the country.

Catering for club-level racers through to aspiring professionals, the series has attributed its growth and success from a focus on cost control, strict technical regulations, promotion of close competition and driver talent.

The series heads to Queensland Raceway this weekend for the second round of their northern series. Ten cars will hit the track headlined by 16-year old Jett Johnson, the third-generation racer of the famous Johnson motorsport family.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series - powered by Atlantic Oil will have four races across two days of action this weekend.

QUOTES

Daniel Saleh, Queensland State Manager - Atlantic Oils

“Atlantic Oils is proud to team up with the TA2 Muscle Car Series. As an Australian-made muscle product supporting a fantastic Muscle Car series, we look forward to continuing to grow with the TA2 Muscle Car Series well into the future.”

Craig Denyer, Manager - TA2 Muscle Car Series

“It’s great to welcome another partner onboard that shares our vision of being the best bang-for-buck motorsport category in Australia, and sees the value of promoting their fantastic product to the motorsport audience.”

“Like TA2, Atlantic Oils is performance driven with a strong customer focus and we are looking forward to growing this partnership over the next few rounds.”

16-year-old Jett Johnson has scored his first circuit racing win of his career from pole position in Race 1 of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series powered by Atlantic Oils at Queensland Raceway today.

The third-generation of the Johnson racing dynasty scored his first PWR Pole Award earlier in the day by six-thousandths of a second from Russell Wright, with Chris Pappas impressing in third from Murray Kent.

Johnson made a strong start before carnage unfolded behind him. Front-row starter Wright was tagged and spun by Pappas at Turn 1, with Adam Hargraves collecting Wright on the way through.

The race was ‘cancelled’ (Queensland Raceway’s equivalent of a red flag) as teams hurried to patch up the damaged cars of Wright and Pappas before the race was restarted, with Hargraves unable to rejoin the action.

The race was restarted and reduced to ten laps, as Johnson got the jump on Wright again and was never headed from there, setting the fastest lap of the race at a 1:14.0933 on Lap 5.

His grandfather, three-time Bathurst 1000 winner and five-time Touring Car Champion Dick Johnson watched on as Jett took the chequered flag by 1.5 seconds from Wright and Pappas, aided by his Supercars race-winning father Steve Johnson and his Team Johnson squad.

Elsewhere in the pack, Kent slid off the track at Turn 2 and dropped back to seventh, before re-passing Peter Robinson and Karl Begg on his way back to fourth place.

Begg and Anthony Tenkate engaged in a close battle for fifth, before Tenkate experienced a brake issue and spun off at Turn 3 on Lap 8 and brought his race to an end.

Johnson, Wright, Pappas rounded out the podium, followed by Kent and Begg who finished in the top five on debut. Peter Robinson, Warren Wadley and debutant Rob Leonard completed the eight finishers in the field.

QUOTES

Jett Johnson, driver - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“I’m stoked to get my first race win today,” said Jett Johnson.

“It felt incredible to take that chequered flag, and to have my Grandpa here and my whole family here watching on the pit wall means so much to me.

“I was a bit nervous at the start when Rusty [Wright] was all over me, but after we restarted it was all good from there.

“I just tried to conserve myself, didn’t burn up the tyres, didn’t burn up the brakes and just tried to save everything for the final three races to come tomorrow.”

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series will return to Queensland Raceway this weekend for the second round of the Northern Series at this weekend’s Queensland Racing Driver’s Championship (QRDC) event.

After finishing on the podium in his debut event, third-generation racer Jett Johnson returns to the TA2 grid this weekend in the #117 Full Throttle BBQ Mustang for this weekend’s regional event, entirely made up of Queensland-based racers due to the strict border closures between NSW and Victoria now in place.

Two racers will make their competitive TA2 debut this weekend, including production car ace Karl Begg and former rally driver and Heritage Touring Car racer Robert Leonard.

Begg will steer his MotorsportSales.com.au Mustang for the first time in TA2 competition this weekend, after previously handing the car over to 18-year old Nash Morris to race in the TA2 Series.

Morris placed second in the opening round of the season at Sydney Motorsport Park in March, scoring a race win in the final race on his series debut.

Begg won the Queensland Production Car championship and the Willowbank 300 endurance race in 2017, before scoring a class win at the Bathurst 6 Hour in 2018.

He first raced his TA2 Mustang in state Sports Sedan and Tin Top events in 2020 before he’ll make his first competitive start in the TA2 series this weekend.

Leonard comes from a background in rallying in New South Wales in the 70s and 80s, before he started in circuit racing in a Group C Ford Falcon in the Heritage Touring Car category.

Leonard will line up in the #66 Access Linemarking Equipment Chevrolet Camaro this weekend, in a field made up of four Pro entries and six Masters racers.

With Northern Series points leader Nathan Herne not returning for this event, Russell Wright returns as the effective series leader, with 16-year old Johnson hot on his heels only eight points behind.

Elsewhere on the grid, Murray Kent returns to the grid in the #74 Fit Flask Camaro after a strong showing at Round 1 at Sydney Motorsport Park, while Peter Robinson, Adam Hargraves, Anthony Tenkate, Chris Pappas and Warren Wadley complete the ten car grid for this weekend’s regional event.

Series organisers formed the regional series to combat the state border closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The QRDC will host the second round of the Northern Series, after it was delayed from the August 6-8 weekend due to the latest lockdown in South-East Queensland.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series is targeting its national round at Wakefield Park in New South Wales on October 22-24, with Round 3 now scheduled for Winton Motor Raceway on November 12 -14  and the finale at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia December 3-5, all COVID depending.

The event format will see cars first hit the track for general practice on Friday. A single 15-minute official practice session will take place on Saturday morning, followed by a 15 minute Qualifying session and the first 12-lap sprint race in the afternoon. The final three 12-lap races will be held on Sunday.

ENTRY LIST 2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series Northern Series, Round 2 - Queensland Raceway, August 21/22

MASTERS, #10 Peter Robinson (QLD), Dodge Challenger - PBR Distributions/Wagner Corp MASTERS, #20 Adam Hargraves (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Local Search Racing PRO, #40 Karl Begg (QLD), Ford Mustang - motorsportsales.com.au MASTERS, #55 Russell Wright (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wright Property Developments MASTERS, #66 Robert Leonard (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Access Linemarking Equipment MASTERS, #69 Anthony Tenkate (QLD), Ford Mustang - Tenkate Plant Hire PRO, #74 Murray Kent (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Fit Flask PRO, #88 Chris Pappas (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wealthrite PRO, #117 Jett Johnson (QLD), Ford Mustang - Full Throttle BBQ MASTERS, #888 Warren Wadley (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wadley Developments

SCHEDULE PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series Northern Series, Round 2 - Queensland Raceway, August 21/22

SATURDAY 9:50am - Practice (15 minutes) 12:50pm - Qualifying (15 minutes) 4:05pm - Race 1 (12 laps)

SUNDAY 10:20am - Race 2 (12 laps) 11:50am - Race 3 (12 laps) 1:50pm - Race 4 (12 laps)

QUOTES Jett Johnson, driver - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“I had a ball at Queensland Raceway last time, there was a lot of respect between everyone I raced with on track, and it’s been great to chat with all the teams between races, there’s a great atmosphere in the paddock.

We raced at Townsville in the Tin Tops after our last TA2 event, and that required a different style of driving because it was a street circuit and I had to work around the grip level the track had, but It was good to learn and gain experience on another type of track.

“I’m still learning everything it takes to maximise these cars. We sit down after each session and look at whatever I’m doing wrong or whatever is slowing me up, and then trying to improve on those things in the next session.

Steve Johnson, Team Johnson - #117 Full Throttle BBQ Ford Mustang

“We’re Looking forward to getting back on track. We had a good run last time at Ipswich and we’ve had another race meeting at Townsville since then, so it will be good to get Jett back in the car and see if there are any differences in his driving and how quickly he can get to the level he finished his first event at Queensland Raceway.

“Our TA2 experience so far has been amazing, it’s been everything that racing should be in my opinion. There are some great people within the series, and if there are any issues the tech support is there in the background.

“They are cool cars to drive, they are great to setup, great to work on, they look cool, they sound right and most importantly they give Jett or anyone that drives them the opportunity to properly improve their driving technique because of what you’ve got to do with them with regards to braking, downshifting, heel-and-toe and that sort of stuff, I can’t speak any higher of them because they’re just the perfect category for someone who’s interested in racing tin tops.

"Any racing where we can gather enough cars to get a grid is great, especially when we’re limited state-by-state at the moment, this event was delayed by a few weeks so to be able to actually get get back out on track this weekend is fantastic.

“Even tough we’re slightly short compared to the last round I don’t think it’s going to deter anyones spirits, I think everyone is just thankful and grateful to be able to go out and have a run in their car let alone have a race.

“We’re excited to get the Mustang back out and learn more and do something that not a lot of people are able to do at the moment, especially down south.”