TA2 Racing Pty Ltd Blog

Seton delivers Muscle Car Magic on Day One at Queensland Raceway

Posted on 23 June 2018

With pole and two wins, Aaron Seton has dominated day one at round four of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series at the Two Days of Thunder at Queensland Raceway. The Ford Mustang driver set the fastest time ever for the TA2 Muscle Cars around the Ipswich circuit to score his second consecutive series pole ahead of Ashley Jarvis and series leader Russell Wright. Seton’s 1:13.6382 set him up for a dominant performance to win race one from Wright and Jarvis. The race was suspended on lap five after Don Dimitriadis’s Ford Mustang left the road and made contact with Darren Berry and Mark Crutcher at turn four. The three cars were heavily damaged and all three drivers received routine precautionary media checks and were cleared of any injury. Dimitriadis admitted fault for the incident and was penalised 50 championship points. At the restart, Seton controlled the race for the final two-lap dash to the chequered. In race two, Seton again took a green-to-flag victory, although veteran driver Russell Wright pushed Seton hard in the RoadBees Transport Mustang to finish second ahead of Jarvis. Dodge Challenger driver Peter Robinson finished in the top five, splitting the McAlister Ford father and son team of Hugh and Ian McAlister. Anthony Tenkate fought from the rear of the grid and enjoyed a race-long battle with Greg Willis before a tyre failure forced him to the pits. Michael Kulig and David Falvey were excluded for being under the minimum 1250kg weight limit and will start from the rear of the grid for race three tomorrow. Seton was pleased with today’s performance as he looks towards the two races left tomorrow. “It was a great day behind the wheel of the Castrol Harris Racing Mustang. I just can’t thank him enough for the opportunity to be out there and getting more miles under my belt.” “It was a good race up there with Russell, so I’m really looking forward to the two races tomorrow.” Gold Coaster Russell Wright continues to lead the Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series, with two twelve lap raced schedule for tomorrow to close out the Two Days of Thunder.

TA2 Grid Builds at Queensland Raceway

Posted on 20 June 2018

15-cars head to Queensland Raceway for round four of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series at the Two Days of Thunder this weekend, June 23/24. Fresh from scoring a clean-sweep of all four races at round three at the Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park only a fortnight ago, Ashley Jarvis jumped two spots in the series standings to sit in third behind Russell Wright and Hugh McAlister. Jarvis maintains an unbeaten streak in his own car this season after he clean swept the season opener at Winton Motor Raceway in March. That streak was strongly challenged by young-gun Aaron Seton at the Muscle Car Masters, and the third-generation racer returns to the seat this weekend after announcing he’ll race the #88 Castrol Harris Racing Ford Mustang for the remainder of the season. A consistent run of performances in the early phase of the season saw Russell Wright emerge from Sydney with a marginal series lead, only five points clear of Hugh McAlister, with Jarvis a further seven points behind. Michael Kulig will make his TA2 debut this weekend in the #7 Kulig Engineering Chevrolet Camaro. The former Sports Sedan racer will take the wheel for the remainder of the season after his father George Kulig debuted the car at round two. Darren Berry returns to the grid in the #20 Tooth Booth Dental Lounge Chevrolet Camaro after missing round three at Sydney, while Canberran racer Chad Cotton will not travel up to Queensland for this round. Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series manager Craig Denyer has reported strong growth in the category since the start of the year, with 20-car grids expected for the second half of the year. “This year is all about getting the building blocks in place to take the series to the next level, while at the same time ensuring the cost to compete from a competitors point of view remains significantly lower than most other motorsport categories,” explained Denyer. “The enquiry level since the last round at Sydney Motorsport Park’s Muscle Car Masters has been very strong, and when you consider you can race these cars each race weekend for less than the cost of a Saloon Car, it’s a very appealing option. “The fact that drivers like Aaron Seton can see the merit in using the category as a career path to Supercars gives enormous credibility to the TA2 Muscle Car Series, and it’s clear on the current enquiry level that we will be running grids of 20 plus cars next year.” The Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series is set for four races over Saturday and Sunday across the weekend at the Two Days of Thunder. ENTRY LIST2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series - Round 4, Queensland Raceway (QLD) #2 - Don Dimitriadis (NSW), Ford Mustang - Thunder Road Racing Team Australia #4 - Mark Crutcher (NSW), Chevrolet Camaro - Crutcher Developments #5 - Ian McAlister (NSW), Ford Mustang - McAlister Motors/Performax #6 - Hugh McAlister (NSW), Ford Mustang - McAlister Motors/Performax #7 - Michael Kulig (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Kulig Engineering #10 - Peter Robinson (QLD), Dodge Challenger - PBR Distributions/BStyled For Life #14 - Cameron Sendall (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - PBR Distributions/BStyled For Life #15 - David Falvey (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Thunder Road Racing Team Australia #20 - Darren Berry (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Tooth Booth Dental Lounge #22 - Ashley Jarvis (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Lighthouse Electrical #44 - Greg Willis (QLD), Chevrolet Camaro - Cross Torque Racing/Surety IT #55 - Russell Wright (QLD), Ford Mustang - RoadBees Transport #69 - Anthony Tenkate (QLD), Ford Mustang - Tenkate Plant Hire/Performax #88 - Aaron Seton (QLD), Ford Mustang - Castrol Harris Racing #92 - Scott Textor (QLD), Dodge Challenger - Textor Racing

Seton Commits to TA2 Muscle Cars

Posted on 18 June 2018

Aaron Seton will complete the remainder of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series, filling in for Craig Harris in the #88 Castrol Harris Racing Ford Mustang.

The third generation racer subbed for Harris at the last round at the Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park, and has agreed to extend the arrangement to see out the 2018 season.

The 19-year old has been identified as a rising star of the sport after picking up a Class B title in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge in 2015, as well as victories in the 2016 and 2018 editions of the Bathurst 12 Hour, firstly aboard a Class I MARC Ford Focus, then with the Class C BMW M4 GT4 alongside Matthew Brabham and Tony Longhurst.

He was also a regular front runner in the first two seasons of the Toyota 86 Racing Series, picking up numerous podium results along the way.

Seton praised the TA2 series as a valuable step on his way to reaching the Supercars Championship.

“The TA2 cars are fantastic cars to drive and are a great stepping stone towards my goal of the Supercars Championship.”

“I really enjoyed the Muscle Car Masters event and I can’t thank Craig Harris from Castrol Harris Racing enough for the opportunity to drive his car for the rest of the season.”

One of the main players in bringing the TA2 category to Australia, Harris is thrilled to provide this opportunity to Seton, but plans to return to the seat in 2019.

“I am pleased to give this opportunity to Aaron [Seton] because he is a very capable driver whose goal is to get into the Supercars Championship,” said Harris.

“The TA2 category is one of the most exciting series out there and I feel this is a great stepping stone for him.”

The Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series returns to action this weekend at Queensland Raceway for round four of their championship, with a further three events at Wakefield Park, Queensland Raceway and Sydney Motorsport Park to complete the season.

On 276 points, Russell Wright leads the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series by 5 points over Hugh McAlister on 271, with Ashley Jarvis third on 264.

USA Drive for Australian TA2 Muscle Car Champ

Posted on 13 June 2018

Performax TA2 Muscle Car racer Russell Wright will travel to the United States of America to compete in a round of the American Trans-Am Series at the Circuit of the Americas in November.

The 2017 Australian TA2 Champion will race a Ford Mustang, prepared by Stevens-Miller Racing in the penultimate round of the 2018 Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli at the Austin, Texas circuit.

This deal is a reciprocal arrangement with TA2 car constructer Howe Racing Enterprises, which follows two-time American TA2 champion Gar Robinson’s appearance in the Combined Sedans support races at the Bathurst 12 Hour in February, placing second in a field of 50 in a TA2-specification Dodge Challenger.

Wright is looking forward to joining the American Trans-Am Series at an iconic circuit.

“To say i’m excited about racing at this level in the USA is an understatement, albeit a bit daunting,” said Wright.

“It’s truly bucket list stuff and i’m not getting any younger. I just hope I can get some reasonable results, at the least, not disgrace us Aussies, especially with a large Australian contingent hoping to support me at this event.”

“In Australia we normally run short eight-lap sprint races, while the US championship race for over an hour, so i’ll need to work on my match fitness in the meantime.”

“My major supporter RoadBees Transport have business affiliations in the USA, so it is great to bring them along with this partnership.”

Series management has expressed plans to send an Australian driver to compete in a round of the US championship annually.

“Russell will be very fast and a fitting representative for Australia, i’m sure he will surprise with his pace once he gets his head around the amazing F1 track in Austin,” explained Series Manager Craig Denyer.

“Peter Robinson came up with the concept which is a fantastic initiative for the series, and our plan is to hopefully make this an annual opportunity for the winner each year, plus make it reciprocal for the US title holder.

“Our series in Australia has really kicked on with 30 cars likely to be on track next year, proving yet again that V8 muscle cars still rule when it comes to giving the driver and fan a good bang-for-buck experience.”

Round four of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series takes place at Queensland Raceway on June 23/24 for the Two Days of Thunder event.

On 276 points, Wright current holds a five point margin over New South Welshman Hugh McAlister on 271, with Ashley Jarvis a further seven points behind on 264 after he clean swept round three at Sydney Motorsport Park.

Jarvis Clean Sweeps Muscle Car Masters

Posted on 11 June 2018

Ashley Jarvis has won the third round of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series at the Australian Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park. The Chevrolet Camaro driver scored a clean sweep of all four races to claim overall round honours ahead of Russell Wright (Mustang) and Hugh McAlister (Mustang). On his series debut, Aaron Seton (Mustang) earned pole position by 1.9 seconds over Jarvis in a very wet qualifying session, the largest pole margin in series history. Ian McAlister (Mustang) bested son Hugh (Mustang) to claim the second row of the grid for the McAlister Motors Ford team. Seton lead from the start in race one, before spinning off after turn three on the second lap, falling back to eighth before driving back through to second. This left Jarvis to win race one after building a ten second margin by the chequered flag. Peter Robinson (Challenger) battled hard to earn third place ahead of Wright and Hugh McAlister. Ian McAlister sat in third for the majority of the race, before he suffered a puncture on the final lap and dropped back to sixth. On a wet but drying track in race two, Jarvis drove away from the field to win by 15 seconds over Wright and Robinson. A gamble to run slick tyres didn’t pay off for Seton as he dropped back to 11th, with the remainder of the field sticking to wets. Jarvis took a lights-to-flag win ahead of Wright and Hugh McAlister in race three. Seton charged through the field to third, before a spin at the turn eight hairpin on the final lap while chasing Wright let Hugh McAlister past, dropping him to fourth. Seton made his way to second by lap three of the final race and hounded the back of Jarvis’ Camaro right until the chequered flag. Jarvis fended off Seton to take the win by two-tenths of a second to seal the clean sweep. Mark Crutcher (Camaro) and Anthony Tenkate (Mustang) failed to finish after Crutcher spun around at the turn eight hairpin on lap six and was collected by Tenkate. Jarvis, who maintains an unbeaten streak this season in his own car, was ecstatic with his performance all weekend. “A few things fell our way this weekend. The last race I really had to work for it, but i'm absolutely stoked to come away with four wins from four races.” “We didn’t make quite the right tyre pressure adjustment leading into the last race. It was fast to begin with and I could see Aaron coming but I just kept it straight, slow-in and fast-out and just tried to make the car as wide as I could.” “We go to Queensland Raceway in two weeks. It’s my home track and i’ve done many laps around there, so we’ll just go back to our basic setup and hope to be somewhere in the pointy end of the field come race day.” “I’ve got to make a huge thanks to my parents who sacrifice so much to take this car around the country, to Ben Croft my number one spanner man, and my amazing wife and two girls at home. Without their support, as well as Ormeau Physio and Nexgen Transport I couldn’t do what I do.” On 276 points, Russell Wright now leads the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series by 5 points over Hugh McAlister on 271, with Jarvis moving up two spots to third on 264. The 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series heads to Queensland Raceway for round four at the 2 Days of Thunder on June 23/24.

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