November 29, 2016 | General

DOWN TO THE WIRE IN SYDNEY

SYDNEYSIDERS will have a big chance of seeing some home-town heroes taste success in the final round of the 2016 Touring Car Masters season this weekend at Sydney Olympic Park.

The ProMaster class championship will be decided at the season-ending Coates Hire Sydney 500 event to be staged at the Olympic Park this weekend with John Bowe Eddie Abelnica and Glenn Seton all very much in contention heading into the final three races of the year.

Bowe’s Wilson Security / PAYCE Torana leads Abelnica’s Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars Ford Falcon XB Coupe by just 67 points after the most open season of TCM competition yet recorded.

Glenn Seton sits a further five points further back in third place following the best ever season for his Thunder Road Racing Team Ford Mustang coupe.

With Jason Gomersall (Torana A9X) and Adam Garwood (Torana SL/R 5000) both in unbeatable positions in their respective ProAm and ProSports classes should Bowe win his fifth championship this weekend it will also be the first time that one model of car has won all three classes in the same year.

However it’s the return of a famous Sydney driver and the continued good form of his brother that are likely to delight the local fans watching trackside this weekend.

Northern beaches brothers Brad and Cameron Tilley will be on track together for the first time this year as Brad returns to the series behind the wheel of his Ford Mustang Coupe.

Famous for his bright Green GTHO Falcon Tilley had intended on returning his iconic Aussie Ford to the track this weekend however had to ‘settle’ for the Mustang after falling short in getting their original car ready in time.

Meanwhile Cameron Tilley will look for more strong form in his immensely popular Valliant Pacer the only full-season six-cylinder car tackling the TCM V8’s.

Four New South Wales drivers will compete this weekend Sydney’s own Tony Karanfilovski and Adam Bressington also set to represent the blue state this weekend.

Bressington returns for another strong showing aboard the Whiteline Racing Camaro this weekend after an immensely strong performance at Mount Panorama last time out.

He’ll be angling for another good result in Sydney too given the priors his car has at the challenging bumpy and concrete-lined canyon around the Olympic precinct: in the hands of former driver Andrew Miedecke the No. 95 car won two of the three races and the round overall the last time TCM visited the circuit in 2011.

While the battle for the outright / ProMaster battle is likely to draw much of the attention this weekend there’s more to the weekend than just that.

While Jason Gomersall has all but sealed the ProAm title in his iSeek Racing Torana just nine points split Tony Karanfilovski (2^nd) and Rusty French in the battle for third.

This weekend marks just the third time in the history of the Touring Car Masters that the category will have tackled the Sydney Olympic Park circuit.

It’s the only track currently on the TCM calendar where multiple champion John Bowe is yet to win a round or score a pole position – though he does have won race victory at the circuit to his credit.

His title rival Glenn Seton however has a strong record there: scoring pole and finishing second in all three races when the series’ last visited in 2011.

Andrew Miedecke (2011) and Gavin Bullas (2010) won the two rounds previously held at Sydney Olympic Park while Jim Richards is a double race winner at the venue.

The final round of the 2016 Touring Car Masters series presented by Total Lubricants Shannons and Rare Spares will see competitors tackle three races this weekend – all of them broadcast live on FOX Sports Motorsport.

COATES HIRE SYDNEY 500 – TCM SEASON FINALE ENTRY LIST

No	Sponsor Name	Ch Name	Surname	State	Year	Make	Model	Cap	Colour
2	Shannons Insurance	Jim	Richards	VIC	1972	AMC	Javelin	5898cc	Grey/Green
4	Skye Sands	Rusty	French	VIC	1970	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	Black
8	Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars	Rob	Burns	VIC	1972	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS	5800cc	Black
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
28	Tilley Auto Garage	Brad	Tilley	NSW	1964	Ford	Mustang Coupe	4735	White/Blue
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	Sydney’s Cheapest Cars	Eddie	Abelnica	VIC	1974	Ford	Falcon XB Coupe	5800cc	Red
60	Glennan Transport/ANGLOMOIL Lubricants	Cameron	Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer	4390cc	Blue
74	Lyndways Builders	Wayne	Mercer	VIC	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	5800cc	Light Blue
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
95	Whiteline Racing / Fabre Australia	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Yellow