October 3, 2017 | General

TILLEY WILLIAMS RETURN PAST OF BUMPER BATHURST GRID

ONE OF the most popular cars in Touring Car Masters history will finally return to the track this weekend at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Brad Tilley’s bright green Ford Falcon GTHO will return to the track for the first time in years having undergone a lengthy rebuild over the last two seasons.

Having last raced at Bathurst in 2014 Tilley was testing the car ahead of the 2015 season opener only to endure a tyre delamination and a hefty crash at Sydney Motorsport Park that badly damaged the car.

The lengthy ground-up rebuild will see the car return for the first time this weekend to a circuit where it has had plenty of success.

The Sydneysider powered the big Falcon to an enormously popular race win at Bathurst in 2012 doggedly holding out John Bowe and Jim Richards in a stunning drive to win on Sunday morning.

It was only the second time a GTHO had scored a TCM win at Bathurst – Tilley winning for the first time there in 2009.

The Sydneysider is responsible for 10 of the XY Falcon’s 16 TCM race victories and also won the first ever TCM race at the beginning of the 2007 TCM season.  

Bathurst will be a scene for another ‘from the ashes’ story as Bruce Williams returns in his AC Delco Torana SLR.

In his first full year of competition in the category Williams’ car was badly damaged at Queensland Raceway in July this year however has been comprehensively rebuild by Les Small and the Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars team. 

“It’s been a big effort by a number of people to get Tess back on track for Bathurst this week and I’m grateful to all that helped out†said Williams.

“Having the support of ACDelco has been great motivation to get the car repaired and back on track and I can’t wait to feel the speed that a modern TCM car is capable of on the Mountain.

“Gary O’Brien who built and runs John Bowes Torana did a great job to fix the chassis and Les Small his team have been putting in the hard yards over the past weeks to get Tess back on four wheels.

“Gary’s team at Bendigo Retro Muscle Cars have done a brilliant job on the repair Tess is as good as new and I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel after missing the Sandown round”

This weekend also marks Williams’ first start at Bathurst since he contested the 1997 race driving a VS Holden Commodore with journalist Paul Gover.

Another notable returnee will be the Ford Falcon XB Coupe of Keith Kassulke – another car that has undergone a significant rebuild over the last few years.

Kassulke is a two-time TCM race winner however has driven his existing HQ Monaro in recent rounds after his Falcon was badly damaged in a Queensland Raceway crash several seasons ago.

The car prior to Kassulke taking ownership was a Bathurst race winner in the hands of Glenn Seton.

The 30-plus Bathurst field includes the Jesus Racing entry of Andrew Fisher finally back on track after a lengthy wait for a brand-new engine for his similarly new Falcon GTHO.

Fisher made the debut of his newly built Falcon earlier this season however a series of engine dramas has delayed further running until this weekend the team completing a shakedown of the car recently.

Allan Boughen is also set to bring his enormously popular Ford Mercury Comet back to the track having missed the Sandown round.

Popular Newcastle driver Cameron Mason will debut a fresh new livery on his Mustang coupe’ while Paul Freestone (Camaro) and USA driver Dave Roberts (Camaro) are also entered.

The Bathurst round will be critical to the TCM title race with the top four drivers now covered by just 56 points.

John Bowe leads Adam Bressington by just 13 points while Steven Johnson is a further five back in third place with the Mustang coming on strong in the second half of the year.

 

Also finishing quickly is the Multispares Torana of Queenslander Ryan Hansford with the Peters Motorsport-run car having become a regular race win contender since a storming performance at Queensland Raceway in July.

Jason Gomersall will miss Bathurst the BigMate Torana still under repairs after it’s hefty crash at Sandown two weeks ago.

Looking to take advantage of his absence will be Adam Garwood and Eddie Abelnica the pair just four and 19 points behind the A9X Torana driver respectively.

Young Tasmanian ace Garwood is coming off a strong weekend at the Baskerville Historics in his home state – making up somewhat for a tough weekend at Sandown that still showed plenty of pace.

Every session of the Bathurst weekend will be broadcast live on FOX Sports Bathurst Channel (506) with selected races live on Network Ten.

Two practice sessions will be held on Thursday ahead of Qualifying Friday morning with two races making Saturday an all-important day on the Mountain.

Sunday will include the traditional morning sprint race as a key curtain raiser prior to the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

ENTRY LIST – BATHURST / ROUND 6

No	Sponsor Name	Ch Name	Surname	State	Year	Make	Model	Cap	Colour
1	Hawk Brake Pads	Dave	Roberts	USA	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Orange
2	Shannons Insurance	Jim	Richards	VIC	1964	Ford	Falcon Sprint	5000cc	White/Green
3	Hercules Engines / Lucky’s Hotel	CameronÂÂ	Mason	NSW	1966	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5000cc	Red/White
4	Skye Sands	Rusty	French	VIC	1970	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	Black
5	ACDelco	Bruce	Williams	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	5000cc	Blue
6	Multispares Racing	Ryan	Hansford	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	5000cc	Yellow/Blue
7	Wisely Motorsport	Bob	Wisely	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	5000cc	Yellow/White
8	Lady Luck Racing	Terry	Lawlor	NSW	1964	Ford	Mustang	5000cc	Black/Green
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew	Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO	5800cc	Red
11	Vic Roads Custom Plates / Castrol	Melinda	Price	VIC	1974	Ford	Falcon XA GT	5800cc	White
12	Giraffe Civil Contracting	Adam	Garwood	TAS	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	5000cc	White
17	WM Waste / Illusion Gas Log Fires	Steve	Johnson	QLD	1969	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	Yellow/Green
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
25	Maxi-Trans Trailers	Paul	Freestone	VIC	1968	Chevrolet	Camaro	5800cc	Maroon
28	Speedgas / Tilley Auto Garage	Brad	Tilley	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO	5800cc	Green/Black
46	THD Motorsport	Leo	Tobin	VIC	1969	Ford	Boss Mustang	5000cc	Orange
48	Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars	Eddie	Abelnica	VIC	1974	Ford	Falcon XB Coupe	5800cc	Red
52	Outbound Racing / wheels.com.pg	Keith	Kassulke	QLD	1974	Ford	Falcon XB Coupe	5800cc	Blue
60	Glennan Transport/ANGLOMOIL Lubricants	Cameron	Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer	4390cc	Blue
72	GFR Industries	Geoff	Fane	QLD	1972	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Orange
74	Lyndways Builders	Wayne	Mercer	VIC	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GTHO	5800cc	Light Blue
77	Red Rock Winery / Werks Garage	Rohan	Little	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 IROC	3600cc	Aubergine
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	Kalus Kenny Interlex / Werks Garage	Sven	Burchartz	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 IROC	3600cc	Orange
91	Performance 9 / Werks Garage	Stan	Adler	QLD	1974	Porsche	911 IROC	3600cc	Blue
95	Whiteline Racing / Fabre Australia	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Yellow
97	Johns Furniture Removals	Allen	Boughen	QLD	1963	Mercury	Comet	4736cc	Black/Blue
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