TA2 field set for first round in Western Australia

The first standalone TA2 event in Western Australia will take place this weekend at Wanneroo Raceway for the first of two rounds for the Access Linemarking Equipment King of the West title.

The Access Linemarking Equipment King of the West Series will be fought over two back-to-back events at Wanneroo Raceway and Collie Motorplex, with 12 TA2 cars set to lineup for the dual weekend contest.

The TA2 Muscle Car Series features low-cost, V8-powered Ford Mustangs, Chevrolet Camaros and Dodge Challengers in a same-specification formula, ensuring a level playing field across the board for great racing.

New South Welshman Mark Crutcher and Queenslanders Peter Robinson and Rob Leonard have made the trek across to Western Australia to take on the local racers, with the highest point scorer of the combined events to be crowned the King of the West.

The Western Australian contingent features Super3 racer Garry Hills in an ex Nathan Herne Dodge Challenger, as well as endurance racer Brett Niall in a Chevrolet Camaro. National Series racer Brock Boley will lineup for the King of the West title in a two-car Team Boley Racing Camaro outfit alongside his father Brad.

The grid is dominated by nine Chevrolet Camaros including Sprintcar racer Jason Pryde, Historic Touring Car racer Clinton Rayner and Sports Sedan racer Ron Moller, while Greg Freeman and Glen Melling complete the field.

The TA2 Western Series will be managed locally by Peter George who has targeted a 15-car grid for a standalone series to begin in 2023, with the Western Series acquiring their own parts trailer to cater for the growing cohort of cars in the West.

Queenslander Rob Leonard jumped at the opportunity to tick off a couple of his ‘Bucket List’ race tracks, and has upped his support of the category with national company Access Linemarking Equipment coming on board to back the first King of the West series.

The TA2 field will share the grid with the WA Sports Sedan Series for two races on Saturday, followed by three standalone races on Sunday. The second King of the West event at Collie Motorplex the week after will also feature standalone races for the TA2 Western Series.

Cars will first hit the track for practice on Friday, followed by Qualifying and Racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Post-produced highlights of the event will feature on the TA2 Muscle Car Series YouTube channel and in the package for the post-event coverage of the next round of the TA2 Muscle Car Series from Queensland Raceway on free-to-air channel 7Mate.

QUOTES

Peter George, TA2 Western Australia State Manager

“There’s been a lot of build up to get to this moment. The competitors were wondering if it was ever going to happen after the last couple of years but we committed to it and we’re ready to put the series on show this weekend. 

“We had a couple of outings at Wanneroo last year when we only had a couple of cars, now the numbers are building up a bit and we’ve had six cars out on track, and now we’ll have double that for the King of the West events.

“We see it as being an exciting national category that we can be a part of locally. We’re working towards having our own grid in Western Australia next year. We’re targeting 15 cars for the start of next season and then into the 20s soon after and hopefully to the point where we have 40 cars here in seperate divisions.

“We’ve had tremendous support from Peter Robinson and Cameron Sendall from PBR, they’re bringing over the spare parts trailer for us so we will have a bigger build up of parts inventory, and having that as a physical presence at the track will also draw attention to what we’re doing as a category that’s going places.

“The serviceability, reliability and ease of maintenance of these cars is a big plus among our competitors and we have quite a number people on the sidelines coming out this weekend who are looking to get into it. 

Rob Leonard, Director - Access Linemarking Equipment, Driver - #66 Access Line Marking Equipment Chevrolet Camaro

“We’re very happy to be onboard for the Access Line Marking Equipment King of the West TA2 events in Western Australia.

“It’s a good opportunity for us to be involved from a business perspective as we do have a lot of customers all over Australia, including Western Australia.

“One of the things about getting into TA2 was the opportunity to race at tracks I wouldn’t be able to normally, and Wanneroo was definitely one on my bucket list, so to do this trip this year and then race Collie a week later which in the last couple of years has been extended and upgraded, so that’s two I can tick of which is fantastic.

“It might be a bit embarrassing as I’m getting help from some of the guys in WA but we certainly want to stick it to the West Aussies that’s for sure, I’ve got to be careful we don’t go too hard as we’ve got a commitment for someone to buy the car over there as I’ve got a new one coming a little bit later in the year.

“It’s a fantastic category, the best in Australian motorsport and we are absolutely over the moon that we can be involved as a competitor level and now helping get the WA Series off the ground and help them out a bit, so we’re excited from that point of view and to raise the profile of the company in Western Australia.”

Entry List

2022 Access Linemarking Equipment King of the West TA2 Series

Round 1 - Wanneroo Raceway, July 23-24

#4 Mark Crutcher (NSW) - Ford Mustang, Crutcher Developments

#10 Peter Robinson (QLD) - Dodge Challenger, Wagner Corporation

#14 Jason Pryde (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro - Industor Industrial Solutions

#15 Greg Freeman (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, Axis Hire/GT Fabrication

#29 Garry Hills (WA) - Dodge Challenger - GHR

#33 Brock Boley (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, Team Boley Racing

#54 Brett Niall (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, STR/Tribridge Holdings

#55 Brad Boley (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, Team Boley Racing

#65 Glen Melling (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, Jasmat Steel Fabrication

#66 Robert Leonard (QLD) - Chevrolet Camaro, Access Linemarking Equipment

#77 Ron Moller (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro, AMS Racing

#98 Clinton Rayner (WA) - Chevrolet Camaro