Nash Morris has scored his maiden TA2 race victory on his debut in the series, as Nathan Herne emerged victorious outright at Round 1 of the 2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series.

Herne cantered away at the start of Race 3, as Chris Pappas charged from sixth to third behind Paul Morris Motorsport stablemate Nash Norris by Lap 4.

The safety car was called on Lap 5 when Graham Cheney and Tim Shaw clashed exiting Turn 5, sending both cars into the inside wall, with the race ending under the safety car.

Veteran speedway driver Barry Kelleher finished a strong eighth, while George Kulig and Zach Loscialpo were both penalised five seconds for being out-of-line on the rolling start.

As Race 4 commenced, Mark Crutcher moved up to fourth before he spun at Turn 2 and was collected by Zach Loscialpo. Anthony Tenkate passed Murray Kent for fourth down the main straight on Lap 3.

Herne elected not to use all six tyres allocated for Round 1, instead leaving two new tyres for injured car owner Russell Wright when he returns to the wheel at Morgan Park for Round 2.

Herne built a gap early on in the race before Morris closed in on fresher tyres and took the lead on Lap 7 at the Turn 8 hairpin and was never headed.

Morris went on to score his first TA2 race win on debut by 20 seconds as Herne battled home on worn tyres, with Pappas scoring his second podium finish on the run.

The outright points saw Herne take round honours from Morris and Tenkate.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series returns to action at Morgan Park Raceway in Queensland on 16/18 April.

2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series

1st - Nathan Herne - 217

2nd - Nash Morris - 208

3rd - Anthony Tenkate - 191

4th - Murray Kent - 190

5th - Chris Pappas - 187

QUOTES Nash Morris - #40 Motorsport Sales Ford Mustang

“It was my first time racing a TA2 and I had a great time down here in Sydney,” said Morris.

“I didn’t think I would be that far up the grid but I’m really happy with how we progressed to take the win in the final race.

“From here I think we’ll continue on to Phillip Island next week and see how we go against the likes of Aaron Seton and Owen Kelly as well as Nathan in the Trans-Am Series.”

Nathan Herne - #55 Wright Property Investments Ford Mustang

“Hopping into Russell Wright’s car for the weekend, we had six new tyres allocated for the first round of the year, and as I won’t be competing the full TA2 Muscle Car Series I said to Rusty, “I’ll save the last two tyres for you and you can have a full set for the next round,” so I ran around on four tyres for the whole weekend,” said Herne.

“Personally I was using the weekend as a big test session for my own car and for Wright’s team as well.

“It wouldn’t have been great for the tyres to do a 30-minute flat-out qualifying run last night and it came back to bite me in the last race today, but it’s all about learning and a great experience to learn more about these cars.

“We threw the kitchen sink at this car with setup changes all weekend and we had a quick car throughout, so it’s a credit to Rusty, Jake and Wendy in the Wright Property Investments team and I wish them all the best for the season ahead.”

Anthony Tenkate - #69 Tenkate Plant Hire Ford Mustang

“I drove the wheels off the car all weekend, I had an absolute ball and the racing was fantastic,” said Tenkate.

“Racing with Murray Kent and Mark Crutcher, those guys are clean, fair and awesome to race with on track.”

“Thanks to Pete and Hughie for their support as always to keep the Tenkate Mustang on track, we can’t wait to get to Morgan Park.”

Former TA2 rookie of the year Nathan Herne has made a stunning last-minute comeback to the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series, dominating the opening two races at Sydney Motorsport Park including the feature night race.

Subbing for the injured Russell Wright, Herne took pole position by over a second, won the opening seven-lap race by 14 seconds and scored a commanding 40-second victory in the 17-lap night race.

Tim Shaw finished second in the opening race from Graham Cheney with a personal-best finish in third.

Starting fourth, debutant Nash Morris got by Zach Loscialpo at Turn 8 on the second lap, as the pair diced for the remainder of the race with Morris holding on for fourth spot.

Cheney got Shaw off the start for second place in Race 2, before Shaw got back in front as the pair rubbed on the opening lap.

Morris and Michael Coulter came to blows at Turn 5 on the second lap, as Coulter spun and hit the inside wall and retired from the race with damage to the front-left corner.

Loscialpo dropped out of the top five and pitted with gear shifter issues, as Morris and Cheney battled for third place. Drama struck again on Lap 10 when contact saw Cheney and Morris collide at Turn 1, with Cheney spinning into the outfield.

Provisionally, Herne won Race 2 from Morris and Shaw.

Anthony Tenkate climbed five spots from ninth to fourth, as Graham Smith rounded out the top five.

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series returns to action tomorrow for Race 3 at 9:12am and Race 4 at 1:22pm.

QUOTES Nathan Herne, driver - #55 Wright Property Investments Ford Mustang

“It was awesome to race under lights here in Sydney,” said Herne.

“The track was lit up so well, it lit up like a Christmas tree, I had my tinted visor and was worried how I’d go with it but it was so good out there.

“Sydney Motorsport Park and the ARDC have done an awesome job, the lighting looks like you’re in the daylight and it was a real privilege to race under lights tonight.

“A massive thank you to Russell Wright and his crew for the opportunity to drive this weekend, it was such a nice car and I barely broke a sweat in that race.

“It was awesome to be back with TA2 this weekend and a great way to ease myself to the upcoming double-header with S5000 next week at Phillip Island.”

17-year old Super3 racer Nash Morris will join a new-look 18-car field for this weekend’s opening round of the PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Morris will take the wheel of the Motorsport Sales Ford Mustang courtesy of car owner Karl Begg for Round 1, with the car to be prepared alongside Chris Pappas’ Wealthrite Mustang out of the Paul Morris Motorsport stable.

Morris will be joined by two debutants from the NSW Sports Sedan ranks in John Ford and Steven Lacey, as well as former Speedway racer Barry Kelleher. Lacey will fill-in for series founder Peter Robinson in his Wagner Group Dodge Challenger, while Ford and Kelleher have purchased a Mustang for their respective TA2 entries.

A unique format for the series will see a 15-minute qualifying session followed by a 10 lap sprint race on Saturday, before a 30-minute feature race under lights commencing at 9pm on Saturday night following the four-hour Super GT race. The final two sprint races will be held  on Sunday.

Inaugural series champion Russell Wright returns to the grid, and is expected to feature at the pointy end of the field against the likes of Victorian State of Origin winner Graham Smith, Tasmanian Tim Shaw, Queenslander Murray Kent, Kobelco Racing’s Michael Coulter and former Toyota 86 series racer Zac Loscialpo.

Wright is recovering from surgery after recently breaking his leg in a cycling incident and will have 18-year old Lismore-based TA2 and S5000 driver Nathan Herne on standby if he doesn’t feel comfortable in the car.

Peter Herd returns in a RTC Motorsport assault, alongside the Illawarra Engineering Services team of Paul Hadley and Graham Cheney.

Series regulars Anthony Tenkate, George Kulig, Mark Crutcher and TA2 newcomer Jason Hassett complete the grid for Round 1. Crutcher, from Young in NSW, will debut a brand new Ford TA2 racer for the weekend, swapping the Mopar Dodge he has raced for the last few seasons for a new Mustang, recently constructed by Howe Racing Enterprises.

On-track activity begins on Friday with three official practice sessions. The TA2 night race will be shown on free-to-air channel SBS in a post-produced episode of popular Motorsport program Speedweek.

QUOTES

Nash Morris, driver - #40 Norwell Motorplex/Motorsport Sales Ford Mustang

“We know Karl Begg through Motorsport Sales who owns the TA2 car and he was going to race it this weekend but had to pull out at the last minute, so he rang me up to ask if we wanted to use his Mustang to get some laps under my belt at Sydney Motorsport Park,” said Nash Morris

“They’re a pretty cool car. They look awesome, they’ve got plenty of power, they move around on the tyre and there’s plenty going on with the H-pattern gear shifter which is a bit old school, so there’s a lot to learn from handling one of these beasts.

“I’ve done a couple of races there in my Excel, but the main reason to go there this weekend is to get some laps before I race there in the Super3 Series later in the year. The TA2s have similar sort of power to the Super3 so all this experience will help towards that.”

“The night race sounds really cool and I can’t wait to get out there and see what it’s like to race these cars under lights.”

Craig Denyer, TA2 Muscle Car Series Manager

“Given the border and lockdown issues we have all had to deal with over the past 12 months, this weekend’s first round of our 2021 series looks strong with good representation from all Eastern States.

“When you look at the line-up its hard to pick a winner so I expect the racing will be very close. Throw in the curve ball of a 30 minute race under lights,  and it could be anyone’s weekend.  It’s just great to be at the track again.”

Entry List

2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series

Round 1 - Sydney Motorsport Park, March 5/7

#3 Barry Kelleher (NSW), Ford Mustang

#4 Mark Crutcher (NSW), Dodge Challenger - Crutcher Developments

#7 George Kulig (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Kulig Engineering

#8 Chris Pappas (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wealthrite

#10 Steve Lacey (QLD), Dodge Challenger - PBR Distributions/Wagner Corp

#11 Michael Coulter (NSW), Ford Mustang - Kobelco/Sydney Truck & Machinery

#12 Peter Herd (NSW), Ford Mustang - RTC Motorsport

#21 Zac Loscialpo (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Tempest Solutions/Excelerate Motorsport

#26 Jason Hass (VIC), Chevrolet Camaro - Hass Pumps

#27 Graham Smith (VIC), Ford Mustang - Hazard Solutions

#40 Nash Morris (QLD), Ford Mustang - Norwell Motorplex/motorsportsales.com

#41 John Ford (NSW), Ford Mustang

#50 Paul Hadley (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Illawarra Engineering Services

#51 Graham Cheney (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Illawarra Engineering Services

#55 Russell Wright (QLD), Ford Mustang - Wright Property Developments

#66 Tim Shaw (TAS), Chevrolet Camaro - Shaw Property Developments

#69 Anthony Tenkate (QLD), Ford Mustang - Tenkate Plant Hire

#74 Murray Kent (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Retro Motorsport/Fit Flask

Schedule

2021 PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series

Round 1 - Sydney Motorsport Park, March 5/7

Friday

Practice 1 - 10:18am (20 minutes)

Practice 2 - 1:15pm (20 minutes)

Practice 3 - 3:57pm (30 minutes)

Saturday

Qualifying - 12:12pm (15 minutes)

Race 1 - 3:50pm (14 minutes)

Race 2 - 9:00pm (30 minutes)

Sunday

Race 3 - 9:12am (17 minutes)

Race 4 - 1:22pm (17 minutes)

The PROMAXX Performance Exhausts TA2 Muscle Car Series will go racing under lights for the first time next Saturday, with a strong turnout expected for their opening round at Sydney Motorsport Park on March 5/7.

Race 2 of the season opener will see drivers take on a 30-minute single-driver mini-enduro race after dark on Saturday, with the Gardner Grand Prix layout of the Western Sydney circuit now fully lit to accomodate night racing.

A grid of 20 cars is anticipated for the first round of the 2021 championship, including the return of popular inaugural series champion Russell Wright.

The veteran Queensland racer won the inaugural national TA2 series in 2017, earning himself a drive in the penultimate round of the 2018 American Trans-Am Series at the Circuit of the Americas, where he ran up to the top five before being taken out late in the race at the Texan Formula 1 circuit.

2020 Round 1 winner John McLaughlin is expected to miss the season launch after welcoming the arrival of his first child.

The TA2 Muscle Car Series will welcome a host of new competitors to the grid including New South Wales Sports Sedan racer John Ford, with entries officially closing this Wednesday.

A draft format for the first of six rounds for the year will see the first sprint race taking place on Saturday afternoon, followed by Race 2 under lights, and the final two sprint races on Sunday.

All four races of the TA2 Muscle Car Series’ opening event for the year will be covered in a post-produced show on free to air network SBS via their longstanding motorsport programme Speedweek.

QUOTES

Matt Baragwanath - AMRS Series Manager

“On the back of a very challenging 2020 we are very excited about our upcoming season opener at SMP,” said Baragwanath.

“We continue to work with TA2 Management to ensure we are providing a valued-based, high-excitement series through the AMRS platform and to that end we are very excited about providing TA2 competitors a 30min ‘mini enduro’ on the Saturday night under lights.

“It’s the first time this has been offered since the beginning of TA2 in Australia, so we are very pleased to be able to offer such a spectacle for both competitors and fans.”