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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 100th 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 100th 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   State Year Make Model Colour
6 Multispares Racing Ryan Hansford QLD 1974 Holden  Torana A9X Yellow/Blue
7 MOCOMM Motorsport Communications Jim Pollicina NSW 1974 Holden  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 Holden  Torana A9X Black
15 R&J Batteries Dean Lillie VIC 1974 Holden  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 Holden  Torana SL/R 5000 Black/White
25 Vawdrey Trailers Paul Freestone VIC 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Maroon
29 Brad Tilley Auto Garage Jamie  Tilley NSW 1964 Ford Mustang Coupe Black
33 Juice Plus Cameron  Mason NSW 1969 Ford Mustang Trans Am Silver/Green
35 Matt Stone Racing Jason Gomersall QLD 1978 Holden  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 Holden  VB Commodore White/Blue/Red
54 CTR Claud Taranto VIC 1980 Holden  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 Ford  Falcon XD White/Blue
75 Oknalux Windows Layton  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