Drew Ridge will join the Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series for the final round of the championship this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park, partnering with experienced Central Coast rally driver and team manager Ron Cremen in a newly-launched TA2 arrive-and-drive race team.

The 19-year old will team up with the former Citroen Rally Australia Team Principal and Abu Dhabi Racing manager in the #3 ikon Signs Ford Mustang prepared by Cremen’s Racehire outfit, with plans to race the full season in 2019.

The Central Coast racer is a former junior national karting champion, and took a breakthrough victory at the Formula BMW Asia Cup Super Six event at Sepang in 2015. Ridge progressed to do three events in the inaugural Australian Formula 4 Championship that year, before stepping up to the Toyota 86 Racing Series in 2016.

Ridge moved to Europe to compete in the one-make Audi TT Cup Series last year supporting the DTM, before university commitments have seen him return to Australia with the aim to build a racing career close to home.

The 2018 season to date has seen him place third in the invitational class alongside Zane Goddard and Rob Thomson at the Bathurst 12 Hour with MARC Cars Australia, and raced a MARC-prepared BMW M1 alongside Brad Woods in the Australian Production Car Series at Sandown.

Ridge took part in a shakedown of Cremen’s Mustang at Queensland Raceway last month.

“We were up at Queensland Raceway to shake down Ron [Cremen]’s new car and to get a feel for the series. We decided together after that to do the final round of this year’s championship and look into doing the full season next year,” said Ridge.

“The car itself has a lot of mechanical grip, being a Hoosier rag tyre it likes to slide around on top of the surface but it’s still pretty stable.

“It naturally has a lot of oversteer but at the same time it’s very controllable. It’s a weird sensation to get used to because it’s not as sharp and pointy, not as direct as some of the other cars i’ve driven especially coming from the front-wheel drive Audi TT last year.”

Ridge is using the final round of the season as an introduction to the car and the series, with the aim to commit to a full season in 2019.

“The main reason for doing this last round is to get an understanding of what the championship offers and it’s a series that’s growing very quickly so it’s really exciting to be a part of it.”

“I’ve raced Aaron [Seton] since Go Karts and we’ve had similar career paths up until now.

“It’s going to be a great challenge, he [Seton]’s had far more experience than me in these cars and he’s the benchmark in the series so the goal is to be competitive and learn off him as quick as I can and hopefully challenge for race wins.”

For Cremen this marks a transition from rally to circuit racing and the launch of Racehire, an arrive-and-drive program for the TA2 Muscle Car Series.

“It’s a big step into the unknown after all the years spent in rallying to now come to circuit racing, but it’s a task we’re really looking forward to in a very exciting category,” said Cremen.

“I’ve spent the last decade overseas running junior rally programs for the Abu Dhabi government. There’s been a wide variety of drivers that i’ve worked with in the training process and it’s really nice to work with another young guy in Drew Ridge, i’m really looking forward to that prospect.”

“Realistically it’s great to have a driver in one car for the whole season, but i’ll work with the TA2 Muscle Car Series to promote the opportunity for other drivers to come and experience it, for a full season, a one-off race or a test day.”

Ridge joins a host of new cars and drivers with a record grid set for the series finale, with further details including a full entry list to be revealed on Wednesday.

Lighthouse Electrical Chevrolet Camaro driver Ashley Jarvis holds a 17-point lead in the Performax Cup standings from the RoadBees Transport Mustang of Russell Wright, with the McAlister Motors/Performax Mustang of Hugh McAlister a further 19 points adrift with one round remaining.

The final round of the Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 26-28, featuring at the penultimate event of the Australian Motor Racing Series.

Two-time Australian Saloon Car Champion Simon Tabinor will contest the final round of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series at Sydney Motorsport Park ahead of a full-season campaign in 2019.

The Victorian racer will make his debut at the seventh and final round of this year’s series in what represents a return to national-level competition after stints in HQ Holdens, Saloon Cars and the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series.

Tabinor will race the #45 Ford Mustang supported by South Eastern European - Prestige Vehicle Specialists and EPD - Exclusive Plumbing and Drainage.

The expat Brit first observed the series at the opening round at Winton before committing to enter with the Mustang.

“I saw the series at their first round at Winton and what impressed me most was how the cars are so well built, they’re proper race cars and everyone has the same equipment,” said Tabinor.

“I’ve won a couple of nationals championships, Victorian titles and races in England but after a while all you want to do is go to the track, race your car and enjoy yourself without requiring a rocket scientist to set it up.

“The cars are awesome, the parity is ace and the people are fantastic. They could not have been more welcoming and everyone is so enthusiastic about the series.”

Tabinor experienced the Mustang for the first time at a test outing last month at Winton.

“They’ve got heaps of power, they stop well, they turn well and the handling was fantastic because they’ve got a locking diff, so the car points really well.

“It’s not like a Supercar where they’re snappy and trying to fire you off the track. If a Supercar isn’t in their perfect setup window then they aren’t great to drive.

“The TA2 car is so easy to drive and you can drive around the setup. If the car’s not doing something at a certain corner than you can easily change your entry or your braking.”

Heading to the season finale at Sydney Motorsport Park, Tabinor aims for a trouble-free weekend to further the development of the car leading into the 2019 series.

“If we can bring the car back straight without any issues that’s the main thing, but we’ll see how we go in practice and qualifying and go from there.”

“We’re certainly not expecting anything at this stage, but we’ll race as hard as we can at every round and if we’re good enough than we’re good enough, if not then we’ll have to get better!”

Tabinor joins a host of new cars and drivers with a record grid set for the series finale, with further details including a full entry list to be revealed shortly.

Lighthouse Electrical Chevrolet Camaro driver Ashley Jarvis holds a 16-point lead in the Performax Cup standings from the RoadBees Transport Mustang of Russell Wright, with the McAlister Motors/Performax Mustang of Hugh McAlister a further 19 points adrift with one round remaining.

The final round of the Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series will be held at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 26-28, featuring at the penultimate event of the Australian Motor Racing Series.

TA2 Racing Australia management have today announced the sale of over 25 cars as the grid continues to build in Australia ahead of a planned expansion in 2019.

Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series manager Craig Denyer and PBR Distribution’s Peter Robinson made the announcement alongside a new Ford Mustang for former Sports Sedan racer Tim Tritton that will hit the track at the series’ final round at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 27/28.

The series launched in Australia in 2016 as a cost-effective state-level racing platform, but expanded to a national calendar of events for the first time in 2018.

The series has already welcomed the likes for former Toyota 86 Series racer Aaron Seton, Prodrive Racing Australia co-owner Rusty French, and next round former national Saloon Car champion Simon Tabinor along with Audi TT Cup racer Drew Ridge will join the field.

The category recently placed an order for another eight cars to head down under, taking the total car count to 33 cars by the end of this year, including a two-seater Chevrolet Camaro ride car for corporate rides and drive days.

Denyer confirmed ongoing discussions are being held with a variety of event promoters to put together a national calendar of events for 2019, and aims to have a calendar revealed shortly.

“It’s a very exciting time for the TA2 Muscle Car Series at the moment, we are shaping up to have grids of over 20 cars at every championship round in 2019, which could be as high as 24 or 26 at some events.”

“These cars are landed in Australia for about $130,000 fully turn-key, ready to race and cost less than $2000 per round to run, which is outstanding value for a racing package of this calibre.

“Engines can last up to four seasons, tyres are only $250 each, and you would be hard pressed to wear out a set of pads or rotors in a season.”

Aaron Seton dominated the penultimate round of the series at Queensland Raceway, taking pole position and a clean sweep of all four races as he climbed to sixth in the Performax Cup standings. The third-generation racer rates the series very highly.

“They’re somewhere between a NASCAR and a Supercar to drive, they’re high horsepower, low aero and low grip so they’re a lot of fun to drive and a platform that produces great racing, plus because the series is so tightly controlled and the cars are so even, it’s great for honing your race craft,” Seton said.

Denyer believes the series can cater for both aspiring racers and gentleman drivers.

“It’s not just the gentleman drivers that enjoy the category, there’s more young drivers coming through and a real dynamic change as the series establishes itself as a true feeder category for Australian motorsport.

“There’s currently a big step for example between the Toyota 86 Series and Kumho V8’s or Dunlop Super 2, so for any driver aspiring to a Supercars career, TA2 fits perfectly as a bridge between those categories.”

Peter Robinson, the importer of the TA2 cars has been overwhelmed by the growth of the series this year.

“The interest in the TA2 cars from the racing industry and the general public has been unbelievable, I don’t know another class of motorsport in Australia that’s taken off like this category has,” said Robinson.

“We have received many enquiries from first time racers, Speedway racers and drivers who have been around in other categories of circuit racing and are looking for a great bang-for-buck racing experience.”

PBR Distribution's Peter Robinson with TA2 newcomer Tim Tritton and Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series Manager Craig Denyer making the major announcement of over 25 cars sold for the series. 

The Howe Racing Enterprises-constructed TA2 platform is used in a variety of categories around the world, including the Trans-Am Series in America, the Costa Rican Touring Car Championship, the V8 Thunder Cars in Scandinavia, the Danish Thundersport Championship, Trans-Am Euro Racing, and a TA2 series has recently been launched in Asia by expat Kiwi Craig Corliss.

“TA2, based on the American Trans-Am formula and a Trans-Am class in its own right has proven itself to be an extremely popular and successful category in America and Europe, and now we are seeing huge growth here in Australia as well as in Asia,” explained Robinson.

“We are very busy in the workshop with more cars coming from America later this year. We now have a technical engineer full-time working on the cars as the series continues to grow from strength-to-strength.”

Just 16-points separate series leader Ashley Jarvis in the Lighthouse Electrical Chevrolet Camaro from second-placed Russell Wright’s RoadBees Transport Ford Mustang with one round remaining.

The final round of the 2018 Performax TA2 Muscle Car Series takes place with the Australian Motor Racing Series at Sydney Motorsport Park on October 27/28, with an awards presentation dinner to be held on the Sunday night.