July 15, 2016 | General

UPGRADED FALCON SPRINT TO RETURN IN QUEENSLAND

JIM RICHARDS will unveil an upgraded Ford Falcon Sprint when he returns to his title-winning ride at the fifth round of the Touring Car Masters series next week in Queensland.

With his Shannons Insurance AMC Javelin garaged for repairs and maintenance Richards has upgraded his famous 1964 Falcon with a 302-cubic inch Ford V8 and several other developmental pieces designed to make it go even quicker.

He’s set to run the wildly popular Shannons-backed Ford for the remainder of the season and is looking forward to getting it back on track starting at next weekend’s Supercars Coates Hire Ipswich SuperSprint.

“It is very popular and every round I have people coming up to me and asking ‘when is the Sprint coming back†Richards said.

“We’ve gone up to a 302 from the 289 and the car has had a complete rebuild – the gearbox diff and we’ve been through basically every nut and bolt. It’s good to go.

“We could have raced the Javelin but the Sprint was good to go so we’ll run that and the intention is to run it for the rest of the year.â€Â

Richards’ believes the car will be quicker than ever – but maintains enjoying his racing remains the overall objective.

“It will be quicker but it will still be a big ask to go against the Torana’s†Richards added.

“As well as the engine I’ve been allowed to add a front spoiler and a small rear wing which should make a difference – and the car actually looks really nice.

“I’m not worried about winning – as long as the car is competitive I’ll be happy.â€Â

The revitalised Falcon should be a strong contender in Queensland given its track record at the venue: In Richards’ hands the Sprint won the inaugural QR TCM round in 2009 and was a race winner again in 2013.

Richards will be part of a strong 26-car grid contesting the Rare Spares Ipswich Tourist Trophy round next weekend.

Home-town hero Steven Johnson heads to the circuit in the best form of his Touring Car Masters season having won the most recent round held at Hidden Valley Raceway in Darwin. The top-end success behind the wheel of his Synergy Race engines Falcon GTHO drew him to within nine points of series leader John Bowe heading into the second half of the season.

Johnson won the 2015 round at Queensland Raceway scoring pole and three race wins driving Bowe’s Ford Mustang.

Just 72 points split first through fourth place in the ProMaster standings heading into the second half of the season Bowe and Johnson trailed closely by Eddie Abelnica and Glenn Seton in their flying Fords.

Abelnica scored his second podium of the season in Darwin while Seton scored his second second-place overall effort in his Thunder Road Racing Team Mustang and will like his chances for an overall round victory at the 3.1km six-turn Queensland circuit. 

iSeek Racing Holden Torana A9X driver Jason Gomersall will continue his search for an outright race victory at his home track fresh from another strong performance in Darwin.

Gomersall will be counting on the local knowledge he and his Matt Stone Racing outfit possess at QR the team having tested several times at the venue whilst developing the stunning HDT-liveried Torana prior to its racing debut at Winton earlier this year.

Another contender could be Adam Bressington who will make his return to the series driving the Whiteline Racing ’69 Camaro raced in Darwin by Bob Middleton.

The New South Wales driver raced in TCM between 2012 and 2014 including a competitive 2013 season racing a HQ Monaro GTS 350.

Bressington has a trio of top-three race finishes to his credit including a personal best of second outright in the second of three races at Bathurst in 2013.

An expanded Queensland grid includes the return of several Touring Car Masters regulars some of them for the first time this year.

Local TransAm series racer Brett Curran will compete in his 1967 Ford Mustang as will fellow local Grant Wilson in his 1968 Camaro while Allan Boughen will return his incredible 1963 Mercury Comet to the series for the first time this year.

Meanwhile four IROC Challenge Porsche 911 RSs will re-join the TCM grid: Sven Burchartz Greg Keene Rory O’Neill and Rohan Little all familiar faces to the series.

Popular racer Cameron Tilley will miss the round following their Darwin engine dramas: The Sydney-based team now working on a new powerplant for the ‘world’s fastest Pacer’.

Falcon GTHO racer Wayne Mercer will also be forced to miss the Queensland round despite scoring his maiden TCM race victory in Darwin’s Waeco Trophy race. Due to business commitments and repairs to his GTHO.

The Rare Spares Queensland Tourist Trophy event will be staged across three races next weekend – each to be shown live on FOX Sports.

RARE SPARES QUEENSLAND TOURIST TROPHY / ROUND 5 ENTRY:

No	Sponsor Name	Name	Surname	State	Year	Make	Model	Cap	Colour
2	Shannons Insurance	Jim	Richards	VIC	1963	Ford	Falcon Sprint	5000cc	White/Green
4	Skye Sands	Rusty	French	VIC	1970	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	Black
7	Werks Garage / Red Rock Winery	RohanÂÂ	Little	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 RS IROC	3600cc	Silver
8	Sportsmed SA	GregÂÂ	Keene	SA	1974	Porsche	911 RS IROC	3600cc	White
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew	Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	5800cc	Grey/Red
12	Giraffe Civil Contracting	Adam	Garwood	TAS	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	5047cc	White
13	Mark Poole Motorsport	Rory	O’Neill	SA	1974	Porsche	911 RS IROC	3600cc	Grey/Silver
17	Synergy Race Engines	Steve	Johnson	QLD	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	5800cc	White
18	Wilson Security / PAYCE	John	Bowe	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	5047cc	Red/White
19	Tincone Industrial Services	Darren	Beale	QLD	1972	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS Coupe	5800cc	Orange
21	Giraffe Civil Contracting	Greg	Garwood	TAS	1972	Ford	Capri Perana	5000cc	Blue
22	Aussie Muscle Car Run / PRT Fabrication	Graham	Stewart	SA	1972	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS Coupe	5800cc	Silver/Orange
25	Angliss Meats	Brett	Curran	QLD	1967	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	White/Red
30	Thunder Road Racing Team Australia	Glenn	Seton	QLD	1964	Ford	Mustang Coupe	5000cc	Black/Gold
35	iseek RacingÂÂ	Jason	Gomersall	QLD	1978	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X Hatchback	5000cc	Red/White/Black
46	THD Motorsport	Leo	Tobin	VIC	1969	Ford	Boss Mustang	5000cc	Orange
48	Brisbane’s Cheapest Cars	Eddie	Abelnica	VIC	1974	Ford	Falcon XB Coupe	5800cc	Red
52	Outbound Racing / wheels.com.pg	Keith	Kassulke	QLD	1973	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS Coupe	5800cc	Blue
57	Corio Auto Parts	Graham	Alexander	VIC	1969	HoldenÂÂ	HT Monaro	5800cc	Orange
65	Cannon Trailers	Michael (Blu)	Cannon	QLD	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	5800cc	Red
68	Trans Am Race Engineering	Grant	Wilson	QLD	1968	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Yellow
85	Whiteline Racing / King Springs	Mark	King	QLD	1970	Chevrolet	Camaro RS	5800cc	Red/White
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony	Karanfilovski	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	5800cc	Orange
90	Werks Garage / Kalus Kenny Iterlex	Sven	Burchartz	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 RS IROC	3600cc	Orange
95	Whiteline Racing / Fabre Australia	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Yellow
97	John’s Furniture Removals	Allen	Boughen	QLD	1963	Mercury	Comet	4736cc	Black/Blue

PHOTO: Michael Yates / via Facebook