September 10, 2018 | General

TOURING CAR MASTERS TO BRING RETRO BACK AT SANDOWN

THE MOST appropriate category for Supercars’ annual ‘Retro Round’ will bring a big and competitive grid to the Rabble.Club Sandown 500 this weekend in Melbourne.

The Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters returns reinvigorated following a mid-season break nearly three months since their last round in Townsville.

But the series doesn’t need any special one-off retro liveries to make an impact – the mix of ‘60s and ‘70s muscle cars is an instant throwback to a classic era of the sport.

Just two rounds – Bathurst and Newcastle – will remain following the series’ annual visit to Sandown making scoring points a key this weekend should drivers wish to remain either outright or class title contenders.

Just 18 points split series leader John Bowe and closest chaser Steven Johnson after five rounds of highly competitive racing.

Johnson has won on ten occasions this year compared to Bowe’s four – however non-finishes have hurt the Mustang driver while Bowe’s consistency has seen him score more often.

Bowe a three-time winner of the Sandown 500 will notch up an impressive milestone this weekend when he starts his 1100^th championship race in the Dometic Trophy Race on Saturday morning.

The amazing milestone comes in a career stretching back into the 1970s and encompasses two Australian Drivers’ Championships the 1995 Australian Touring Car Championship and two wins at Mount Panorama in 1989 and 1994.

Bowe’s Touring Car Masters career has been remarkable with five championship titles 94 race wins 49 pole positions and 36 round victories – all records for the series.

While Bowe and Johnson take a lions-share of the attention the fight for third place has increased in intensity in recent rounds.

Adam Bressington currently holds the podium spot 140 points from the series lead.

The Whiteline Racing / VDC Camaro driver is 93 points ahead of Bigmate Racing’s Jason Gomersall (Holden Torana) while Cameron Tilley’s Anglomoil Valliant Pacer sits fifth just 18 points behind.

Tilley will make the debut of V8-power beneath the bonnet of his iconic Valliant Pacer this weekend in an effort to chase the high-horsepower cars on the grid at the power-friendly Sandown layout.

90 points behind Tilley sits Mark King who has enjoyed a strong season in his Whiteline Racing / King Springs Chevrolet Camaro.

Tilley also heads the ProAm standings though will need to keep one eye looking over his shoulder at nearest class rival Ryan Hansford.

The Queenslander finally broke through for a maiden Touring Car Masters race victory in Townsville after nearly two years of trying.

Bruce Williams Andrew Fisher and Tony Karanfilovski complete the top five in the ProAm standings and complete the top-10 in the overall championship as well.

Just one solitary point separates ProSport contenders Jim Pollicina and Leo Tobin in a battle that closely matches the outright fight at the front of the field where Torana also leads Mustang in the points race.

Tobin started the year strongly however a zero-score in Townsville saw Pollicina claw back all of the points he lost in the early part of the season virtually locking them together heading into this weekend.

Sandown will welcome back several key names and faces this weekend.

Rusty French (1970 Ford Mustang) Paul Freestone (1969 Chevrolet Camaro) Brett Curran (1967 Ford Mustang) Blu Cannon (1971 Ford Falcon) and the father-son duo of Brad and Jamie Tilley (1964 Ford Mustang) will all return for their first starts in some time.

Tilley Snr in particular will be one to watch with his famous ’71 GTHO Falcon renowned for it’s grunt.

The green machine won a race and finished third overall in the 2012 Sandown round and will aim to be a contender again this weekend.

Three drivers are set to make their respective TCM debuts at Sandown.

Noted racer and team owner Dean Lillie will join Jim Pollicina as part of a two-car Ravage Raceworks-run team jumping aboard the race winning 1972 Holden HQ Monaro GTS 350 Pollicina acquired last year.

The car was a winner and podium contender in the hands of Les Walmsley in 2013.

As well as the well-publicised debut of former V8 Ute and Commodore Cup champion Marcus Zukanovic and his brand-new XD Falcon a second XD will also compete for the first time this weekend.

Victorian racer Darren Gambold will race for the first time in a car originally built for state-level racing but gradually evolved towards TCM regulations.

The sixth round of the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters series will see the category return to the regular four-race format including the return of the Dometic Trophy Race as part of a busy weekend.

Practice and qualifying will be held on Friday 14 September while a busy Saturday will see three races contested.

The Dometic Trophy Race kicks off proceedings in the morning to be followed by races 16 & 17 of the championship later in the day.

Sunday will see the 18^th championship race of the year contested as a precursor to the Rabble.club Sandown 500.

Qualifying and all four races will be shown live on FOX Sports 506 while races 16 and 18 will be shown on Network Ten.

SCHEDULE – ROUND 6 SANDOWN 500

Friday 14 September
Practice – 10:10am
Qualifying – 15:00pm (LIVE ON FOX SPORTS)

Saturday 15 September
Dometic Trophy Race – 9:05am (LIVE ON FOX SPORTS)
2018 Race 16 – 12:15pm (LIVE ON FOX SPORTS / CHANNEL TEN)
2018 Race 17 – 17:05pm (LIVE ON FOX SPORTS)

Sunday 16 September 
2018 Race 18 – 11:30 (LIVE ON FOX SPORTS / CHANNEL TEN)

ENTRY LIST – ROUND SIX

No	Sponsor Name	Ch Name	Surname	State	Year	Make	Model	Cap	Colour
3	Lake Macquarie Sheet Metal / Toronto Hotel	Cameron	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	Holden	Torana SL/R 5000	5000cc	Blue
6	Multispares Racing	Ryan	Hansford	QLD	1974	Holden	Torana SL/R 5000	5000cc	Yellow/Blue
7	MOCOMM Motorsport Communications	Jim	Policina	NSW	1974	Holden	Torana A9X	5000cc	White
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew	Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO	5800cc	Red
11	Halkin Developments	Graeme	Crawford	VIC	1973	Ford	Falcon XA GT	5800cc	Purple
15	Accelerated Excavations / Downeys Group Aust	Dean	Lillie	VIC	1972	Holden	Monaro GTS Coupe	5800cc	Blue
17	WM Waste / Herrod Performance	Steve	Johnson	QLD	1969	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	Yellow/Green
18	Wilson Security / PAYCE	John	Bowe	VIC	1974	Holden	Torana SL/R 5000	5000cc	Red/White
25	Maxi-Trans Trailers	Paul	Freestone	VIC	1968	Chevrolet	Camaro	5800cc	Maroon
28	Speedgas / ANGLOMOIL Lubricants	Brad	Tilley	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO	5800cc	Green/Black
29	Burrells Soils & Sand / Brad Tilley Auto Garage	Jamie	Tilley	NSW	1964	Ford	Mustang Coupe	5000cc	Black/Green
35	Bigmate Racing	Jason	Gomersall	QLD	1978	Holden	Torana A9X Hatchback	5000cc	Red/White/Black
37	Gambold Mechanical	Damien	Gambold	VIC	1980	Ford	Falcon XD	5800cc	Maroon
46	THD Motorsport	Leo	Tobin	VIC	1969	Ford	Boss Mustang	5000cc	Orange
52	Angliss Meats	Brett	Curran	QLD	1967	Ford	Mustang Fastback	5800cc	White/Red
57	Graham Alexander	Graham	Alexander	VIC	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Blue
60	Carry On Victoria / ANGLOMOIL Lubricants	Cameron	Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer	5800cc	Blue
65	Cannon Trailers	Michael (Blu)	Cannon	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT	5800cc	Red
69	Fataz Competition Engines	Ian	Woodward	QLD	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Gold
71	Action Racing / LMF Constructions	Markus	Zukanovic	VIC	1980	Ford	Falcon XD	5800cc	Dark Grey
75	Ranger Lifting-Rigging-Safety	Aaron	McGill	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT	5800cc	White/Blue
85	Whiteline Racing / King Springs	Mark	King	QLD	1970	Chevrolet	Camaro RS	5800cc	Yellow
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony	Karanfilovski	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	5800cc	Orange
95	Whiteline Racing / VDC	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	5800cc	Yellow
97	Johns Furniture Removals	Allen	Boughen	QLD	1963	Mercury	Comet	4736cc	Black/Blue