July 3, 2018 | General

FIREBIRD RETURNS AS TCM FIELD SET FOR TOWNSVILLE

 

ANOTHER iconic US Muscle Car brand will return to the ranks of the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters series this weekend in Townsville.

In a sign of their long-term commitment to the series Queensland-based Wellpro Racing has purchased the Pontiac Firebird once raced by Ian Palmer to up the ante’ in their first year of TCM competition.

The Pontiac will join iconic Muscle Cars from Holden Ford Chevrolet Valliant and Mercury on the series’ first trip to the Watpac Townsville 400 event.

A contemporary rival to the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro in its day the Firebird is the only one of it’s kind to have raced in TCM to date.

Wellpro Racing made their debut at the season-opening Adelaide 500 in March this year utilising their existing TransAm Mustang. After missing the subsequent three rounds driver Rob Hackwood will now contest the remainder of the series aboard his new ride.

 

“Adelaide was a foot in the water for us with our TransAm car†Hackwood said.

As well as leading the Wellpro Racing TCM charge the Brisbane-based driver also serves as the Team Manager alongside his other role as a high-performance driving instructor.  

“We loved it felt very welcome to decided to build a long-term program for TCM.â€Â

The Firebird was constructed in 2014 and made it’s TCM debut in the hands of Ian Palmer in 2015. The car has only raced sporadically since then before being purchased by new owner Rob Prefontaine.   

“The car is still a relatively new build so there’s a lot of potential for development which we’re excited about.

“Townsville is the best round to debut a new car at because most guys haven’t raced there before – so it’s a level playing field the first time we roll out onto the track.â€Â

The highly anticipated Townsville debut of Touring Car Masters comes after four years of campaigning by local fans.

North Queenslands first taste of the category comes at a critical time in the championship battle after Steven Johnson wrestled the lead away from John Bowe last time out in Darwin.

Johnson’s Ford Mustang now has a narrow 21-point lead over Bowe’s Torana heading into the 13^th 14^th and 15^th races of the season this weekend.

Chasing them down will be the in-form Adam Bressington who sits third overall in his VDC / Whiteline Racing Chevrolet Camaro having won twice already this year.

Giant-killer Cameron Tilley sits fourth outright in his six-cylinder Valliant Pacer and continues to trouble the cars with more horsepower at every round.

Tough it lacks outright grunt the Pacer is much lighter than its V8 rivals and is expected to suit the technical 2.8km Townsville street circuit which will likely place an emphasis on braking and cornering rather than outright grunt.

Jason Gomersall sits fifth in the championship with his A9X Torana Hatchback making it five different models in the top five of the series standings.

Former TCM race winner Wayne Mercer will make his first start of the season this year while fellow Falcon GTHO driver and former Super2 series racer Aaron McGill is set for his second round of 2018.

After enduring more engine dramas in Darwin another herculean effort will have Allan ‘Cusso’ Boughen back on track in his Mercury Comet complete with new engine.

Eight drivers in this weekend’s field hail from Queensland – Ryan Hansford Steven Johnson Darren Beale Robert Hackwood Jason Gomersall Ian Woodward Mark King and Boughen.

Of those eight Beale will be flying the flag for North Queensland while racing his 1972 Holden HQ Monaro GTS Coupe’ – hailing from Mackay he’s the closest thing to a local this weekend.

The Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters series will tackle three races this weekend at the Watpac Townsville 400.

ENTRY LIST – ROUND 5 PAYNTER DIXON TOURING CAR MASTERS

No	Sponsor Name	Driver	State	Make	Model
3	Lake Macquarie Sheet Metal / Toronto Hotel	Cameron MasonÂÂ	NSW	Ford	Mustang Fastback
5	ACDelco	Bruce Williams	VIC	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000
6	Multispares Racing	Ryan Hansford	QLD	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000
7	MOCOMM Motorsport Communications	Jim Pollicina	NSW	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew Fisher	NSW	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO
17	WM Waste / Herrod Performance	Steve Johnson	QLD	Ford	Mustang Fastback
18	Wilson Security / PAYCE	John Bowe	VIC	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X
19	Tincone Industrial Services	Darren Beale	QLD	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS Coupe
21	Wellpro Racing	Robert Hackwood	QLD	Pontiac	Trans-Am
35	Bigmate Racing	Jason Gomersall	QLD	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X Hatchback
46	THD Motorsport	Leo Tobin	VIC	Ford	Boss Mustang
60	Glennan Transport / ANGLOMOIL Lubricants	Cameron Tilley	NSW	Valiant	Pacer
69	Fataz Competition Engines / Brisbane Builders	Ian Woodward	QLD	Chevrolet	Camaro SS
74	Lyndways Builders	Wayne Mercer	VIC	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO
75	Ranger Lifting-Rigging-Safety	Aaron McGill	NSW	Ford	Falcon XW GT
85	Whiteline Racing / King Springs	Mark King	QLD	Chevrolet	Camaro RS
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony Karanfilovski	NSW	Ford	Mustang Trans Am
95	Whiteline Racing / VDC.com.au	Adam Bressington	NSW	Chevrolet	Camaro SS
97	Johns Furniture Removals / Century Batteries	Allen Boughen	QLD	Mercury	Comet

SCHEDULE – ROUND 5 2018 / WATPAC TOWNSVILLE 400

Friday 6^th July

Practice 1 – 9:20am
Practice 2 – 12:55pm (Live on FOX Sports 506)

Saturday 7^th July

Qualifying – 9:50am (Live on FOX Sports 506)
Race 1 – 12:40 (12 Laps) (Live on FOX Sports 506 Channel Ten)

Sunday 8^th July

Race 2 – 9:45am (12 Laps) (Live on FOX Sports 506)
Race 3 – 12:45pm (12 Laps) (Live on FOX Sports 506 Channel Ten)