February 14, 2020 | General

TOURING CAR MASTERS READY TO CELEBRATE A CENTURY IN ADELAIDE

THE GULF Western Oil Touring Car Masters series will celebrate the series milestone 100^th round as a new era begins at the Superloop Adelaide 500 next week.

Launched at the same event in 2007 the series has evolved to become a fan-favourite thanks to star drivers loud and exciting cars and close racing across each of its past 13 seasons of competition.

The first of seven scheduled rounds this year the Adelaide event has become the staple season-opener for the TCM field with the series having raced there on twelve previous occasions.

The round 1 grid features remarkable depth of competition between a broad array of both drivers and cars.

The debut of the VB Holden Commodore will be one of the series’ biggest stories this year two entered for the Adelaide 500.

Gerard McLeod unveiled his Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Commodore earlier this week while TCM newcomer Claud Taranto is also set to debut a similar car.

Five-time champion John Bowe returns to continue his battle with now three-time champion Steven Johnson.

While Bowe will be back aboard his familiar Holden Torana Johnson will switch from his iconic Mustang to a brand-new XD Falcon which will race for the first-time next week with only a brief Lakeside shakedown under its Hoosier tyres.

There’s also the chance of a double century celebration on the streets of Adelaide as the series’ most successful driver Bowe chases his 100^th TCM race victory.

Bowe who has contested 87 of the 99 TCM rounds and made 266 race starts in the series to date won the final two races of the 2019 season to leave him on 99 ‘not out’ heading into the off-season.

Bowe’s chances in South Australia are better than average too – he’s won more rounds (5) and more races (10) than any other TCM driver on the famous street circuit.

Third in the championship last year Ryal Harris returns aboard the EFS 4×4 Accessories Chevrolet Camaro SS for a second full-season tilt at the TCM title – the Queenslander one of the star performers last year.

Adelaide-based Whiteline Racing are back with their two-car Camaro attack Adam Bressington aboard the ’69 Camaro and young Tasmanian ace Adam Garwood in the 1970 example.

Garwood contested three rounds for Whiteline last year scoring six top-three race finishes and finishing on the overall round podium at Winton while Bressington was fourth in the championship overall. 

Having won the ProSports and ProAm titles in consecutive years Sydneysider Jim Pollicina will aim for an outright championship this year aboard his MoComm communications Torana while Ryan Hansford will also return to Multispares Racing and his similar four-door Holden.

Having made an impactful debut last year the Allan Moffat-inspired 1969 Mustang driven by Cameron Mason returns while a year’s development on both the XD Falcon of Marcus Zukanovic and Jeremy Gray’s Ford Capri Perana should see each competitive this season. Jesus Racing’s Andrew Fisher will also rebound on the streets of Adelaide following a challenging 2019 season aboard his XY GTHO Falcon. 

In a race against time to rebuild his car after a monster late-season accident last year Cameron Tilley has entered his wildly popular Valliant Pacer for Adelaide.

Race winner Jason Gomersall also returns to the grid in his Matt Stone-prepared A9X.

Steven Johnson won all three championship races and the round in Adelaide last year with Adam Bressington second in his Whiteline Racing Camaro.

The field of 22 will tackle practice and qualifying on the Thursday of this year’s Superloop Adelaide 500 the Trophy Race and the first championship race of the season to fill Friday’s program.

One race each on Saturday and Sunday will conclude the opening round – qualifying and all four races to be shown live on FOX Sports 506 and Kayo Sports this weekend with selected races also on Channel 10.  

ENTRY LIST – ROUND 1

No	Sponsor Name	Driver	ÂÂ	State	Year	Make	Model	Colour
6	Multispares Racing	Ryan	Hansford	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	Yellow/Blue
7	MOCOMM Motorsport Communications	Jim	Pollicina	NSW	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	White/Black/Red
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew	Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO	Red
12	The Lighthouse Hotel – Burnett Heads	Peter	Burnitt	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	Black
15	R&J Batteries	Dean	Lillie	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X	White/Black
17	Kubota / Full Throttle Custom Garage	Steve	Johnson	QLD	1980	Ford	XD Falcon	Tru Blue
18	PAYNTER DIXON	John	Bowe	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000	Black/White
25	Vawdrey Trailers	Paul	Freestone	VIC	1968	Chevrolet	Camaro	Maroon
29	Brad Tilley Auto Garage	JamieÂÂ	Tilley	NSW	1964	Ford	Mustang Coupe	Black
33	Juice Plus	CameronÂÂ	Mason	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	Silver/Green
35	Matt Stone Racing	Jason	Gomersall	QLD	1978	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X Hatchback	White/Blue
46	Hillier Brothers / THD Motorsport	Leo	Tobin	VIC	1969	Ford	Boss Mustang	Orange
50	Motorsport Parts Australia	Gerard	McLeod	VIC	1980	HoldenÂÂ	VB Commodore	White/Blue/Red
54	CTR	Claud	Taranto	VIC	1980	HoldenÂÂ	VB Commodore	Grey Metalic
58	EFS 4X4 Accessories	Ryal	Harris	QLD	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	Grey
60	ANGLOMOIL Lubricants/Tim Miller Electrical	Cameron	Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer	Blue
67	Bilstein/JMG Racing	Jeremy	Gray	NSW	1972	Ford	Capri Perana	Blue/White
71	Centec Security Industries	Markus	Zukanovic	VIC	1980	FordÂÂ	Falcon XD	White/Blue
75	Oknalux Windows	LaytonÂÂ	Barker	TAS	1971	Ford	Falcon XW GT	White/Blue
85	Whiteline Racing / Giraffe Civil Contracting	Adam	Garwood	TAS	1970	Chevrolet	Camaro RS	Yellow
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony	Karanfilovski	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am	Orange
95	Whiteline Racing / VDC	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS	Yellow