November 11, 2014 | General

TCM TITLES TO BE DECIDED AT PHILLIP ISLAND

The most open and competitive ENZED Touring Car Masters season yet will see all three of the series classes decided at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this weekend.

While Mark King (Chevrolet Camaro) has a substantial lead in the ProAm class the ProMaster and ProSports title fights will go down to the wire at one of Australia’s fastest circuits in the Shannons TCM Southern 90.

John Bowe (Ford Mustang) leads old foe Jim Richards (Ford Falcon Sprint) by just ten points in the outright ProMaster class while Chris Stillwell can seal the ProSports title for himself and co-driver Sven Burchartz with a strong weekend thanks to a solid 50-point lead over fellow Mustang driver Cameron Mason.

180 points are up for grabs in each class across the three races this weekend.

The Bowe-versus-Richards battle has ebbed and flowed since the opening round at the Clipsal 500 in March and has seen the pair finish 1-2 in rounds on three occasions this year – including Richards winning the Winton round on a count back after the pair ended racing tied on points.

Both have won two rounds this season however Bowe holds the advantage in race wins (6) and podium finishes (12) this year. Richards’ consistency has enabled him to stay in contention this season with a final-race DNF at Bathurst allowing Richards – who finished on the podium – to close on Bowe ahead of the final round.

Bowe has also scored pole position at every round contested this season – with no driver having ever scored pole in every round in TCM history to date.

Keith Kassulke (97.5 points from the lead) and Andrew Miedecke (132.5 behind) also remain in title contention should Richards or Bowe slip up this weekend – and both have had strong seasons.

Kassulke finished on the podium at Bathurst while only Bowe has more top-three race finishes than Lubrimaxx Camaro driver Miedecke.

Kassulke could be the surprise packet this weekend as he enters the round as the defending Phillip Island winner having won two of the three races held at the venue during the 2013 season finale.

His Savy Motorsport / Outbound racing teammate HQ Monaro driver Les Walmsley will also draw on last year’s form in an effort to end his challenging season on a high – the Victorian took his Savy Motorsport-prepared Holden to a race win and the class lap record at Phillip Island twelve months ago.

An absorbing ProSports class battle will also go down to the wire with former TCM class champion Chris Stilwell hoping to hold out young-gun Cameron Mason in the final round.

Mason is coming off the back of an outright race podium at Mount Panorama in October and the Sydney driver is the only driver in his class to win more than one ProSports round this season the six rounds split by five drivers in a competitive ‘race within a race’ this year.

Ford Mustangs fill the top two spots in ProSports with Rusty French (-96 points) third and Will Vining fourth only one point further back from the class lead.

Mark King all-but locked away the ProAm class fight thanks to his Bathurst class victory and takes a 157-point lead into the final round with 180 up for grabs. Mustang driver Tony Karanfilovski seems secure in second while Brett Youlden (Monaro) and Jason Gomersall (Torana) will fight for third this weekend.

Half points awarded in race two at Bathurst (due to 75% of race distance not being reached) have slightly altered the series standings ahead of the final round.

24 cars are entered for the Shannons-supported TCM 2014 finale’.

Wayne Mercer will switch from his regular Ford Falcon GTHO to the Phil Morris-owned XA Falcon GT while Sven Burchartz will race a Porsche 911 RS having alternated rounds with Chris Stilwell in the Ford Mustang so far this season.

10 Fords 5 Holdens 4 Chryslers 3 Chevrolets and two Porsche’s constitute the Phillip Island field.

Two races will be aired on the Seven network this weekend Race 1 live around Australia on Saturday November 15 at 3:30pm and race three shown on 7mate at 2:30pm on Sunday November 16.

 

ENTRY LIST – SHANNONS TCM SOUTHERN 90
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit – Victoria

ÂÂ	Sponsor Name	Driver Name	State	Year	Make	Model	Colour	Cap
1	Shannons Insurance	Jim Richards	VIC	1964	Ford	Falcon Sprint	White/Green	4700cc
3	Hercules Engines	Cameron Mason	NSW	1966	Ford	Mustang Fastback	Red/White	5000cc
4	Skye Sands	Rusty French	VIC	1973	Porsche	911 RS	Black	3600cc
6	Chris Stillwell Racing	Chris Stillwell	VIC	1968	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	White/Blue	5000cc
7	calga.biz	Bill Pye	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro	Orange	5800cc
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	Grey	5800cc
11	Lion Mill Solutions	Wayne Mercer	Vic	1973	Ford	Falcon XA GT	Violet	5768cc
18	Dunlop Super Dealers/Wilson Security	John Bowe	VIC	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	White/Black	5600cc
21	Treloar RosesÂÂ	Garry Treloar	VIC	1973	Chrysler	Charger E55	Yellow/Black	5570cc
35	iseek RacingÂÂ	Jason Gomersall	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	White/Blue	5047cc
43	Treloar Roses / Mick Wilson Plumbing	Mick Wilson	VIC	1972	Chrysler	Charger RT	Orange	4390cc
46	THD Motorsport	Leo Tobin	VIC	1972	HoldenÂÂ	HQ Monaro	Orange	5800cc
50	Flo-gineering	Carey McMahon	NSW	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	Green	5000cc
52	Outbound Racing / wheels.com.pg	Keith Kassulke	QLD	1974	Ford	Falcon XB Coupe	Blue/Silver	5800cc
56	Autolite Spark Plugs	Brett Youlden	VIC	1972	HoldenÂÂ	HQ Monaro	Green	5800cc
60	Tilleys Racing Equipment	Cameron Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer	Blue	4390cc
72	BMR Industries	Bruce McLeod	NT	1973	Ford	Falcon XA Superbird	Blue	5000cc
75	Mopar Performance	Greg Crick	TAS	1973	Chrysler	Charger E55	Black/Blue	5570cc
85	Whiteline Transport Racing / King Springs	Mark King	QLD	1970	Chevrolet	Camaro RS	Red/White	5800cc
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony Karanfilovski	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	Orange	5800cc
90	Kalus Kenny Intelex	Sven Burchartz	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 RS	Orange	3600cc
95	Whiteline Transport Racing / Lubrimaxx	Andrew Miedecke	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	Black/Blue	5800cc
98	Thunder Road Racing Australia	William Vining	NSW	1964	Ford	Mustang Coupe	Black/Gold	5000cc
99	Outbound Racing / Treloar Roses	Les Walmsley	VIC	1971	HoldenÂÂ	HQ Monaro	Blue	5810cc