TOURING car racing at its best, with big fields and close competition between many different makes and models, comes to Eastern Creek circuit, near Sydney, for the PROCAR Champ Series meeting next weekend.
The line-up of 57 showroom-based cars representing 14 makes and 27 models is one of the biggest on record for the PROCAR Champ Series, which is returning to Eastern Creek for the first time since 2001.
A total of 31 cars will contest round five of the Australian GT Performance Championship and a further 26 will race in the fifth round of the Australian Production Car Championship.
Each series will stage two races on Sunday, as part of a 14-race program also featuring the Australian Nations Cup Championship, Poolrite V8 BRutes Series, Australian Formula 3 Championship and Australian Porsche Drivers Challenge.
Popularity of the GTP and Production series has boomed this year, with drivers and fans attracted to the close racing, the opportunity for many different cars to be competitive and the relevance to everyday motoring.
“GTP and Production bring back the kind of racing that gave birth to Australians’ love of tin-tops,” said PROCAR Champ Series organiser Peter Boylan, who competes in GTP with a BMW M3 coupe.
“To see Holdens, Fords, Mitsubishis, Subarus, Nissans, Toyotas and even Daihatsus and Citroens battling it out is real touring car racing that brings back the heydays of the Sixties, Seventies and Eighties.
“Not surprisingly, the series are attracting increasing attention from manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Holden, Toyota, Proton and Mitsubishi, and many of almost 500 corporate guests we’ll have at Eastern Creek on Sunday will be there to watch the touring cars.”
GTP and Production each will welcome new cars to their starting grids this weekend.
Sydney’s Mike Fitzgerald debuts a Nissan 350Z in GTP, with the assistance of two engine computer experts coming specially from Japan. Also, Fitzgerald will use the event to raise awareness about cancer research at Sydney’s Royal North Shore hospital.
The Australian Production Car Championship will see the first Citroen in a national series in more than 10 years, with Asian Formula 2000 champion Ben Walsh behind the wheel of a Xsara VTS coupe.
Regulations for both series restrict ordinary road cars mainly to modifications for safety and reliability, except when adjustments are needed for performance parity.
The high-performance cars in GTP use slick racing tyres and run without interior trim, but Production remains even closer to showroom standard with complete interiors and road-legal Dunlop tyres.
“It’s the most exciting form of racing in Australia today,” said Garry Holt, one of nine drivers contesting GTP in Mitsubishi’s latest Lancer Evolution 8 sedan.
“All the cars have different qualities. We have all-wheel drives, rear-wheel drives and front-wheel drives; V8s, six-cylinders, four-cylinders and even three cylinders; coupes, sedans and hatchbacks.
“The variety is enormous and it creates tremendous interest among the fans.”
Holt is seventh in the series standings, led by Justin Hemmes in a Subaru, but predicts powerful cars such as fourth-placed Peter Floyd’s 400 horsepower Holden GTS will be difficult to beat at Eastern Creek.
Defending Production champion Scott Loadsman is hoping for wins in his V8 Holden Commodore SS, after battling all season with the nimble all-wheel drive Subaru Liberty GT of 17-year-old Sydney student Chris Alajajian.
“I’ve been in this series for six years and I can’t remember when it was so competitive,” Loadsman said. “I’m looking forward to a big race.”
Championship standings (after round 4) -
Australian GT Performance Championship: 262 Justin Hemmes (Subaru), 232 Paul Stokell (Volkswagen), 177 Ric Shaw (Mazda), 160 Peter Floyd (HSV), 142 Steve Knight (Mitsubishi), 141 Beric Lynton (BMW).
Australian Production Car Championship: Outright 199 Chris Alajajian (Subaru), 173 Scott Loadsman (Holden), 142 Leanne Ferrier (Toyota), 117 David Russell (Proton), 116 David Ratcliff (Toyota), 114 Ian Luff (Honda). Class A 234 Chris Alajajian. Class B 176 Ian Luff. Class C 194 Lynne Champion (Ford). Class D 159 David Russell.
