Nine entrants from the TA2 Muscle Car Series once again shone in the Combined Sedans support races at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

17-year old Nathan Herne continued his Friday form in the Gulf Western Oils Dodge Challenger to fight at the front of the field, setting a new TA2 track record at a 2:15.0 and lapping competitively against stronger thoroughbred Sports Sedans and V8 Supercars.

Herne finished second on track in Race 2 this morning before he was sent back five seconds to sixth in the official results after receiving a penalty for overlapping on the safety car restart. This handed the TA2 class victory in the race to debutant Jimmy Vernon (Mustang), who finished the weekend after this performance and sat out the final race due to the extreme heat at the circuit.

Dodge Challenger double Chris Formosa and Peter Robinson tangled at Turn 1 on the restart, with Robinson unable to finish the race.

In the final race, Herne quickly charged back to second on the opening lap behind Paul Boschert’s Corvette Sports Sedan. Herne lapped within half a second of the race leader and challenged across the top of the mountain, however Boschert’s straight-line superiority prevailed in a car with over 325 horsepower more than the TA2 cars.

Robinson charged through the field from 40th to 18th, while Cam Sendall (Camaro) worked his way forward to finish 13th outright and 3rd in the TA2 class behind Herne and Anthony Tenkate (Mustang).

Mark Crutcher finished fifth in class behind Peter Robinson in 19th outright and ahead of Chris La Rosa and Bill Robinson. Steve Coulter fought back to 27th outright from the back of the field after combatting power steering issues earlier in the day.

The TA2 Muscle Car Series is set for the opening round of the series at Winton Motor Raceway on February 29/March 1, headlining the opening round of the Australian Motor Racing Series.

Nine TA2 Muscle Car Series entrants are this weekend taking part in the 52-car Combined Sedans support category at the Bathurst 12 Hour.

The field took to the 6.2km Mount Panorama circuit for Qualifying and Race 1 today, lead by 2019 rookie of the year Nathan Herne in the Gulf Western Oils Dodge Challenger.

The 17-year old from Lismore in Northern New South Wales qualified in sixth with only two flying laps in the first hit out for the entire field marred by multiple red-flag interruptions. He climbed two spots to fourth in the opening race behind a thorough bred Sports Sedan, a former V8 Supercar and a MARC Car, with a top time in the 2:17s in traffic.

Second best of the TA2 cars was series debutant Jimmy Vernon in his first competitive drive of the Mustang owned by notable historic racer Carey McMahon, as the former Toyota 86 Racing Series champion finished seventh outright in the opening race.

Peter Robinson (Dodge), Anthony Tenkate (Mustang) and Chris Formosa (Dodge) finished line-astern in 15th through to 17th, while Cameron Sendall climbed 15 spots from 36th to 21st in his Chev Camaro.

Chris La Rosa (Mustang), Bill Robinson (Mustang) and Mark Crutcher (Dodge) were the other TA2 finishers in the pack, while Kobelco Racing’s Steve Coulter failed to finish with a fuel pressure issue.

The TA2 cars will return to action for the final two races of the program on Saturday at 7:20am and 3:25pm local NSW time, with both races streamed live at www.bathurst12hour.com.au.

QUOTES Peter Robinson, Owner - TA2 Muscle Car Series “The TA2 Muscle Car Series will stay true to its original DNA in offering the highest on-track reward experience at the lowest possible price point, all in a competitor friendly and social environment and honouring our promise to all competitors who have purchased cars to deliver a big-bang V8-racing alternative at an affordable price," explained Robinson. "We will continue to welcome all TA2 competitors in our Australian specification cars any time and at any venue to share the TA2 racing experience.” “The enquiry level and demand for cars has really stepped up so it will be another big year, plus we will have a number of significant announcements to make through the course of the season as part of our long term strategy to cement the TA2 Muscle Car Series as the most affordable, biggest reward racing opportunity around.”

2020 TA2 Muscle Car Series Calendar Rd 1: Winton Motor Raceway, VIC (AMRS) - 28 February/March 1 Rd 2: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD (AMRS) - 3/5 April Rd 3: The Bend Motorsport Park, SA (AMRS) - 29/31 May Rd 4: Queensland Raceway, QLD (AMRS) - 7/9 August Rd 5: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW (AMRS) - 25/27 September Rd 6: Queensland Raceway, QLD (QRDC) - 23/25 October

The TA2 Muscle Car Series is set for an exciting year of racing in 2020 with the announcement of the series calendar, headlined by appearances at the Adelaide 500 and the Bathurst International.

The seven-event season will see six rounds of the series count toward the TA2 Muscle Car Series point-score and features a split of events supporting the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships, the Australian Racing Group’s Bathurst International, the AASA-sanctioned Australian Motor Racing Series and a standalone event at Queensland Raceway.

The season will kick off with a non-championship invitational event at the Superloop Adelaide 500, one of Australia’s biggest domestic motorsport events headlined by the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with live coverage of all three races on Fox Sports.

This will be the series’ second visit to South Australia after racing at The Bend Motorsport Park in 2018, while the Adelaide 500 will mark the series’ only South Australian race in 2020.

With the Adelaide opener an invitational non points-paying round, the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships will host the first two series rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park in March and then Winton in May.

This will mark the series’ first appearance on the Shannons bill facilitated by a strategic alliance between the TA2 Muscle Car Series and the Australian Racing Group, the promoter of a variety of events and categories including TCR Australia, S5000 and Touring Car Masters.

These events will see one TA2 race at each event broadcast live as part of ARG’s new TV deal with the Seven Network, and the remainder streamed on 7plus, the network’s on-demand streaming service.

Rounds 3 and 4 will see the series headline a pair of Australian Motor Racing Series events at Queensland Raceway in August and Sydney Motorsport Park in September. These events will feature live-streaming and a post-produced highlights package on Fox Sports.

The series will also return to Queensland Raceway for the fifth and penultimate round in late-October.

The season will conclude at Mount Panorama, Australia’s iconic race track in Bathurst for the inaugural Bathurst International event promoted by ARG. It is expected American and international TA2 drivers will aim to race at this event alongside the Australian regulars.

TA2 Category Manager Craig Denyer and Series owner Peter Robinson have consulted heavily with existing competitors to plan the best way forward for the category to cater for the current crop of racers and the growing interest in the series.

The series currently has 40 cars in Australia, with a further 20 on order, eight of which destined for Western Australia to establish their own state-based series.

20-year old third-generation racer Aaron Seton won the 2019 TA2 Muscle Car Series over former Super2, GT and V8 Ute racer George Miedecke in a thrilling final round which saw 17-year old former Formula Ford state champion Nathan Herne score his maiden TA2 round win over a field of 32 cars.

QUOTES

Peter Robinson, TA2 Muscle Car Series Owner and TA2 Australian importer

“We have been blown away by the support after just two short years on the national stage and it has grown far quicker than we could have imagined,” explained Peter Robinson.

“Our philosophy overall is to give our competitors the best bang-for-buck race experience at the lowest possible price and the 2020 calendar reflects a nice mix of high-profile events with live television combined with traditional tracks and events that have supported the growth of TA2 in the past, all aimed at keeping the overall entry cost as low as we can for the competitor.”

2020 TA2 Muscle Car Series Calendar

NC: Adelaide Street Circuit (SA), Superloop Adelaide 500 - February 20-23

Rd 1: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships - March 27-29

Rd 2: Winton Motor Raceway (VIC), Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships - May 1/3

Rd 3: Queensland Raceway (QLD), Australian Motor Racing Series - August 7-9

Rd 4: Sydney Motorsport Park (NSW), Australian Motor Racing Series - September 25-27

Rd 5: Queensland Raceway (QLD), TBC - October 24-25

Rd 6: Mount Panorama (NSW), Bathurst International - TBC Nov/Dec