TA2 Racing Australia is proud to announce that Maritimo Luxury Motor Yachts has signed as the Co Naming Rights Partner of the 2025 TA2 Australia Muscle Car Series beginning at Winton Motor Raceway this weekend February 28th to March 2nd.

Maritimo joins TFH Hire with the series being known as the “TFH HIRE TA2 Muscle Car Series Presented by Maritimo.”

Maritimo is a leading Australian luxury motor yacht manufacturer known for its commitment to quality, innovation, and craftsmanship. With a legacy of delivering exceptional offshore blue water vessels, Maritimo continues to set the standard for luxury boating worldwide.

Maritimo has the culture of motorsport in their DNA with decades of offshore powerboat racing, where it derives, develops and tests world-class technologies that form the heart of every Maritimo created, built and enjoyed by owners the world over.

Maritimo is unique as the only luxury motor yacht builder in the world with a dedicated racing division and world championship race team all in-house, to provide the intelligence to keep them at the leading edge of motor yacht design and construction.

QUOTES:

Simon Stewart, Marketing Manager, Maritimo
“The TA2 Muscle Car Series is a platform enjoyed not only in Australia, but also in the US, Europe, Asia and NZ, so we’re looking forward to using the partnership to further develop relationships with our customers both locally and internationally."

“Many of our existing customers enjoy motorsport and racing is at the heart of everything we do, so we can’t wait for the action to start this weekend”

Matt MacKelden, Category Manager, TA2 Muscle Car Series

“We’re extremely excited to welcome such a prestigious brand to the TA2 Muscle Cars Series and along with TFH HIRE look forward to what 2025 brings for all parties.”

“The TA2 Muscle Car Series has enjoyed a great off season with new ownership and management and round one at Winton this weekend is shaping up to be a brilliant start to the series, so 2025 couldn’t be a better time for Maritimo to join the action.”

Tasmanian racer Josh Webster is set to make his debut in the TA2 Racing Australia Series this weekend at Winton Motor Raceway, running from February 28th to March 2nd in his Auto Fix-supported TA2 Mustang.

The 22-year-old, who competed in the National Trans Am Championship in 2024, is now looking to further hone his craft in the TA2 Series—a platform that will see him compete against some of Australia’s top talents including Erebus Enduro and Super 2 Jarrod Hughes and Triple 8 Race Engineering’s Ben Gomersall.

Webster’s entry into the 2025 Series is bolstered by the support of fellow Tasmanian and motorsport icon Marcos Ambrose.

The former Supercars Champion and NASCAR star will lend his experience through his team, Marcos Ambrose Motorsport. Ambrose is no stranger to the TA2 platform, having previously contributed to GRM’s Trans Am program and the Marcos Ambrose Combine.

Round one of the TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series kicks of this weekend at Winton Motor Raceway February 28 - March 2. Four races will be featured across the weekend with all the action live on SBS, Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.

QUOTES: 

Josh Webster, #200 AutoFix Chevrolet Camaro 

“Teaming up with Marcos and Marcos Ambrose Motorsport is super exciting - me and my team can’t wait to get to Winton and get started.” said Webster. 

“Obviously we’re both Tasmanian and he’s always been there with support, even back in my Excel Racing days. To finally put together a deal is something I could only dream of.”

Marcos Ambrose

“I’m really excited to bring the Marcos Ambrose Motorsport Team in conjunction with Josh’s team to TA2, particularly as we’ve known Josh for many years.” said Ambrose. 

“We’re providing technical, logistic and mechanical support to Josh’s team in an effort to move him up the grid and achieve the success he and his team are capable of.”

“We’ve already tested with Josh and we’re really happy with his feedback and speed so I expect a lot from him this year, however as a new team, I’m sure it will take us all a little time to get acclimated with each other so we’re mindful that this week is round one and there may be some challenges.”

Former two time Trans Am Champion Nathan Herne is set to make a high-profile return to the series not as a driver, but as a team manager for his own team at Round One of the 2025 TA2 Racing Championship at Winton Raceway on Feb 28th-March 2nd.

Herne, who hails from Lismore in New South Wales, said while he’ll be returning to competing in Trans Am, he is excited to take on a broader role within the sport.

“It’s exciting to have the team grow for 2025 across two categories as the TA2 and Trans Am cars are exactly the same but on two separate calendars so it allows me to focus on what I’m doing with my own driving while being able to expand and work with some good talent in the TA2 Series,” he said.

“The goal for the team was to expand into more than a one man band and create a good platform for young guys to come in, work with the crew, and take some of the experience and knowledge I’ve gained over the years both in driving and setting up these cars and use that for their future in different motorsport categories, wherever that may be and whatever role that is in, we have some apprentice mechanics with us as well. It’s exciting to have that box ticked so early on”

“Tom Davies is joining the team for the 2025 TA2 Championship which is awesome, we had a quick shakedown test at the start of the year and I really liked the way he goes about his racing so I think together we can achieve some good things.”

“Tom coincidentally followed a very similar path to me, although he only just started racing 4 years ago where I’ve been racing for 16 years now, he went to Formula Ford with Brett Francis Racing - who I also competed with in 2017/18 - and he is now with GRM in the Trans Am Series too! His progression was clear to see and I was blown away when he told me how fresh he was to the sport.”

“I did Trans-Am last year and I loved it, so I thought to get more seat time we would do both TA2 and Trans-Am. We decided to go with Nathan Herne as he is super experienced with these cars and a good bloke all round. My aim for this season is to go as hard as we can but keeping it clean, I would love to finish the year with the championship win but I have no doubt that this is going to be a difficult year with all the other tough competition.” said Davies

It sets up a busy 2025 campaign for Herne where a wildcard Supercars debut also looms in the background.

“It’d be cool to tick off, we’re working hard at it all, but for now my full focus is on the team and making sure that we put ourselves in the best possible spot to go for the number 1 in both series. Tom showed at the test he has the speed to do it, I’m extremely confident in the car package we have this year in both series, it could be a really good year if things go to plan.”

Round one of the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series kicks off at Winton Motor Raceway on February 28th to March 2nd and will feature 4 races across the weekend with all the action live and free on SBS or simulcast on Fox Sports and Kayo.

Fourth Generation racer James Simpson has announced his return the to the TA2 Muscle Car Series after suffering one of the most violent accidents seen in the recent history of the category.

James made contact with Ben Grice while competing in the Trans Am event at Symmons Plains in 2023 which resulted in a roll over and some physical damage but said he and the car are now ready to take on the challenge of the entire 2025 TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series.

“Despite what happened in Tassie, TA2’s are still the best bang for buck race cars in the country and while I’ve been competing in the Hyundai Excel Series in the last year, I can resist the temptation to get back in the Dodge and have a red hot crack,” said Simpson.

“The 2025 calendar suited what we want to do this year, especially the two driver event at Queensland Raceway in August so when we sat down to the do the numbers and put a program together, it all fell in to place and we’re super excited for Winton to roll around.”

Simpson will be engineered by multiple Touring Car Masters and V8 Ute Racing Championship winning engineer Rod Dawson who said that after 20 plus years of a family relationship with the Simpsons engineering James was like coming home.

“I’ve known, driven with and engineered most of the Simpson family over the years so to now be in James’s corner with Ian and Michael feels very special and I can’t wait to get started,” said Dawson.

“The TA2 platform is a really exciting product which I’ve been watching closely over the last few years and the category has a lot of momentum at the moment so James will need to be at his best to be competitive but for all of us, Winton cant come soon enough.”

The TA2 Muscle Car Series kicks off at Winton Motor Raceway on Feb 28^th to March 1^st and will feature as the premier category on the Hi-Tech Oils Super Series. You can catch all the action Free To Air on SBS Viceland, or simulcast on Kayo and Fox Sports.

Erebus Co Driver Jarrod Hughes, and Triple Eight Race Engineering Super 2 driver Ben Gomersall have both signalled their intent to compete in the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series in 2025, as both drivers step up their programs in an effort to gain more track time and experience.

With six rounds in Super 2 and seven in the TA2 Muscle Car Series both drivers in theory can double the amount of racing laps and gain plenty of experience in places like Mt Panorma and Queensland Raceway which Hughes said was invaluable particularly as he prepares for his maiden endurance campaign with Erebus.

“You can never have too many laps under your belt when it comes to preparation and the TA2 technical platform is a pretty nice way to keep sharp,” said Hughes.

‘These cars in some ways react not unlike a Gen 3 Supercar as they’re high horsepower, low aero and move around underneath you so when we sat down to decide how we would get better prepared for 2025, TA2 was the natural fit.”

Gomersall will compete in the TA2 series with the blessing of his Triple Eight Race Engineering Team and will be competing with 2025 Trans Am Champions “TFH Racing” which Gomersall said was a key to his commitment in 2025.

“We spoke to Wes McDougal at Triple Eight and he said TA2 and TFH Racing was the best place to go so we reached out to Brett Thomas (TFH Racing), he said he could get Josh Haynes 2024 Championship winning car, and we did a deal pretty quickly,” said Gomersall.

“I’ve only done a few laps so far and was totally surprised at how good the cars are and how much fun they are to drive so now I can’t wait to get to Winton and give it a crack.”

TA2 Category Manager Matt MacKelden said he was pleased and excited that both Jarrod and Ben had elected to join the series and hoped that both get a lot from the experience.

“The TA2 technical platform is fast becoming a vehicle of choice for those who are preparing for a career in Supercars and I hope both Jarrod and Ben gain a lot from their time with us”, said MacKelden. 

“It doesn’t matter whether you want to race in the TA2 Championship or Trans Am Championship, the TA2 technical platform allows you to do that, so I expect we’ll see more young competitors join either series in the years to come.”

The 2025 TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series will be contested over seven rounds beginning at Winton Motor Raceway on Feb 28^th to March 2^nd. All the action can be seen live and Free To Air on SBS Viceland or Simulcast on Kayo and Fox Sports.