Under the glaring northern sun, John Bowe has once again muscled his way to the front to take his sixth win in the Touring Car Masters five years at Hidden Valley Raceway.   The twelve laps seemed like a marathon for the Masters with the classic muscle feeling the heat on and off the track, but Bowe had kept his cool like a true champion, with confidence and clarity.   From the outset, Bowe had another great launch off the starting grid to place side by side with Richards on approach to turn one, and that would be the story at the head of the field for the full 12 laps of the valley. Miedecke bogged down, but eyes were on current Class A leader Youlden and long-time series competitor Garry Treloar as they went two abreast almost against the pit wall on the charge to the first corner. As the pack turned in to start the opening lap, Pye fired his Camaro down the inside of Miedecke, contact sending Pye, Youlden and Stillwell onto the grass.   With Richards leading Bowe, the mighty Falcon of Tilley was back with the series and showing just why Tilley Racing have been racing since the first series events, drifting and sliding with style through the turns as the muscle mania behind him put the pressure on, Kassulke, Edwards, Miedecke and Treloar all forging on.   As Nittis parked his GTHO on the gravel and Pye returned to the pits with front end damage, the safety car entered the circuit to clear Nittis, allowing the line of cubic inch classics to bank up for the restart with 10 to go. As the circuit returned to green, Bowe was all over the rear of the Javelin, Richards closing the door as Kassulke slid his XB through turn two.   Karanfilovski was going strong in seventh while Bowe posted the fastest first sector – it was time for the Mustang to truly take flight. Edwards was muscling his Torana around the turns, more than a handful of horsepower working to keep the Torana in the leading battles.   With lap four came another record for Bowe, taking two tenths from Miedecke’s 2011 effort to post the fastest ever race lap in the series with a 1:16.6091, and Richards wasn’t far behind, just one tenth off the pace of the leading Mustang.   After a tough couple of years, Garry Treloar was in the top ten and looking strong, making the move around Alexander, while series debutant Michael Almond moved under the Mason Shelby Mustang to secure ninth before the clutch pedal broke, marking an early end to a promising start for the series youngest entrant.   Richards found a gap under Bowe through turn four, the champions showing their craft with Bowe moving into the lead once more just corners later, the pair locked in a battle, but still having pulled some two seconds on the following cars.   It was a hot spot in tenth, Mason, Youlden and Keene entertaining a three way battle as the laps fell away, now five to go. Treloar was holding strong inside the top ten, all over the rear of the Karanfilovski GTHO, the charging pack now gaining on the Alexander HT Monaro that would soon retire to pit lane. A big moment for Tilley allowed Kassulke to slip through, keeping it clean, Tilley and Edwards were soon closing in on the Falcon’s bumper, Edwards using the Torana’s power to weight to drive past Tilley along the straight, and there were just two laps remaining. It was a close call for Mason as Mercer spun his Falcon out of turn six, there was nowhere to hide from the bright blue GTHO facing the wrong way, but all made it through clearly and went on to start the final lap.   The King HQ GTS had started the race after ongoing work to overcome fuel and engine issues that had plagued his weekend so far, an impressive effort seeing King charge from last on the grid to the verge of the top ten before the problem struck once more and saw an end in the pits.   An ongoing battle, Bowe and Richards were out ahead, Bowe bringing it home at the valley once more to take the chequered flag, with a new lap record to boot. Pleased with his efforts, the motor racing veteran explained,   “That was a terrific race. The cars are so well matched and there’s so little in it. I’ve raced with Jim (Richards) a long time, he’s an awesome driver.   “When I passed him that second time, I think I tried to do the world’s best lap to get a gap, and then I think he may have rolled out of it a little to save the tyres as this track really kills the tyres, but it was a great race battle.   “It’s a pleasure to race against guys of this calibre, Jim here, Gavin (Bullas) at the last round, and it’s tough out there but we didn’t touch, and you don’t want to touch, so hopefully we can keep having such hard and close racing with no damage.   “The car was really hard on the rears (tyres) so we’ll look to improve that before tomorrow, but this place is always tough on the tyres and when you’re in a tough spot everything works harder. It’s pretty impressive to be racing so closely with Jim when his car is so new and that’s definitely a credit to him and his team.”   Touring Car Masters Race 1 results 1              Bowe    (lap record – 1:16.6091) 2              Richards 3              Kassulke 4              Edwards 5              Miedecke   Race Two   The top ten reverse grid always guarantees action across the field, often it brings the true mania of the muscle cars to the fore, but in his renowned style, Race 1 winner John Bowe has carved his way through the pack from 10^th to victory with another lap record all in a day’s work.   With the top ten flipped, Bowe once again found himself in the middle of the pack, yet the champion remained confident with his Savy Motorsport prepared Mustang race package and took a blistering start, launching off the grid to move into fourth by the first corner.   It had been an all silver start with the Class B entries of Benson and Sparks off the front row, and while Stillwell’s Mustang bogged down, Richards and Kassulke both charged to the centre of the circuit to move forward and follow Tilley who was pushing under Benson. Mason mowed towards the pit wall to find room, as eyes returned to the Tilley versus Richards battle, side by side through turn six. Edwards was pushing the Torana hard, making the move under Treloar for fifth, leaving Kassulke to join the mix and go side by side with the Charger along the main straight.   As the opening lap came to a close, Bowe shot under Tilley’s Falcon to claim the race lead. The only Porsche in the top ten, Sparks was holding in fifth, an impressive feat against the muscle that surrounded her, and for King who’d suffered through a challenging weekend, his HQ GTS was now inside the top ten having overcome the fuel issues.   In the Ford versus GM battle, Kassulke and Miedecke were moving through, now taking their battle into fifth and sixth. Outstanding efforts from those who started rear of grid, with Alexander having brought his Monaro up to 11^th, Almond’s Porsche now on his bumper in 12^th, Mason was impressing in his Shelby, and Pye ignoring the battle scars to charge his Camaro into the top 15.   There was a freight train of muscle bearing down on Sparks in eighth and leading the Class B cars, King, Alexander, Treloar, Youlden, Mason and Stillwell hunting down the 911. Ahead it as on for young and old with Edwards and Tilley in a dual for second position, the Falcon with the straight line speed to pull away down the main straight, but Edwards was looking to the inside and found his move in turn two on the way to hunt Bowe, now 3.7 seconds ahead.   As lap seven started, the leading ten cars were made up of ten difference vehicles, a true display of the variety of muscle cars and exotics that grace the Touring Car Masters grid. Sadly for Nelson, his ever-reliable Porsche wasn’t to be, having lost second, third and fourth gear, the 911 parked on the infield to sit out the remaining five laps. Another rare sight in the series saw he Javelin of Richards sideways and off the circuit, keeping the throttle down to rejoin in sixth, his gap on track having held his position.   With three to go, Miedecke had gained on the Tilley Falcon to secure third, Stillwell ran wide allowing Almond to jet his Porsche through for 15^th, while Youlden locked the fronts into turn one and Alexander had flames from the HT as he held off Pye charging on behind.   Series debutant, Almond made a sneaky move under garage-mate Sparks, was looking to take Benson around the back of the circuit, but pushing too hard allowed Sparks to regain the place through turn 12. Richards was back on his game and on the back of the Kassulke XB before securing fifth, Kassulke having a slip but holding the mighty Coupe on line.   Rounding to start the final lap, Bowe had pulled out his lead to 4.2 seconds, Edwards was driving at his best in second, Miedecke and Tilley were still fighting over third, and Richards and Kassulke remained on the hunt as they closed out the top five positions. Bowe going on to win his seventh race at Hidden Valley, having had an epic opening lap, to make another lap record and set himself up for a second round win of the season.   “I got such an awesome start so I got a really good run and did all of the hard work on the first lap basically”, said Bowe.   “Obviously the car’s very good but when you can get away like that it makes the job all the better. It’s a shame we can’t measure the 0-100 acceleration times because it was such a good start! They’re not easy to start either coz they’ve got a metal clutch and a lot of grunt, so it’s a juggle between a bit of clutch slip and the horsepower.   “Once you get to the lead, you can conserve your tyres and brakes a bit and this track’s really hard on them, but going by the weekend so far, I’m looking forward to the last race.”   Touring Car Masters Race 2 results 1              Bowe    (lap record – 1:16.4533) 2              Edwards 3              Miedecke 4              Tilley 5              Richards 6              Kassulke   Race 3   The final race under the sun of the north saw the Touring Car Masters line up for a final 12 lap blast around the Hidden Valley circuit, and the field and fans alike were wondering, could anyone catch Bowe. As the action continued across the field, it was just the man they were hunting that took off into the distance, securing his third race win and a clean sweep of the round to put Bowe back atop the series points standings.   With the lights going green, Bowe accelerated away, Tilley made a flyer to gain second, with Edwards following as Sparks darted to the inside to hold position in the charging field. Action as promised had Alexander’s HT Monaro off at turn one, King making room to avoid further dramas on his already tough weekend.   Treloar had Miedecke on the hunt, a late braking move into turn one seeing the Miedecke Camaro fire up the inside of Treloar, setting the Charger in a spin and sending Treloar to the rear of the field and into pit lane, after strong efforts to put the #21 entry in the heat of the top ten challenge. Kassulke was soon side by side with Miedecke, crafty driving from both keeping the track clear and the racing hot, but ahead it was dual race winner Bowe pulling away with a 1.2 second lead.   Stillwell made the gain around the Sparks Porsche with the Mustang’s power on show in a drag like move along the main straight. Alexander followed through turn three, the Camaro of Pye and King’s HQ looking to follow as they charged on to hunt the exotic in eighth. As Pye headed for the inside of Stillwell, racing room was granted with Bowe making his own room in the lead, now 2.5 seconds ahead and continuing to set fastest sector times.   The battle of the Porsches was on between 2011 Class A champion, Sparks, and Touring Car Masters debutant Michael Almond. Sparks drifted the #32 through turn six, Almond looking but the door was closed once, before a second attempt almost saw the pair contact as Almond tried again, Sparks wide as Keene fired past, narrowly missing the silver bullet as Sparks re-entered the racing line.   It was on for fourth further up the track with Miedecke moving to the outside of Edwards to gain position, Edwards muscling the Torana and sliding through turns seven and eight, determined to close the gap, retaking position on his way to the Tilley Falcon ahead. Mason and Youlden were in a tussle of their own for seventh, Pye soon joining the fight to leapfrog the dualing pair and secure another promising result.   With Bowe 4.7 seconds up the road with four laps remaining, King too was impressing once more in a gallant effort to rejoin the top ten, but eyes were back on the mighty battle between Tilley, Miedecke and Edwards, the Falcon securing position, leaving Miedecke and Edwards to fight over fourth, a battle the Camaro of Miedecke appeared to be winning.   Crossing the line for the final lap, Bowe was streets ahead with a comfortable lead of some 11.4 seconds, Richards was secure in second joining the straight as Bowe disappeared into turn one to bring his Mustang ‘Sally’ home for his third race win of the weekend, his eighth at Hidden Valley, and his second clean swept round at the Top End after a similar result back in 2008. A final action packed dash had Miedekce cross for fourth place, just 0.1 seconds ahead of Edwards, Tilley securing a race podium in his return to the series.   “This is a great feeling, three wins is terrific and not that easy to do”, said Bowe.   The car’s been awesome here – it was quick from the word go when we unloaded, so we’ve made only small changes along the way because we’ve got a pretty good base setup now and we understand the car very well after three seasons.   “It’s of great credit to Dick (Savy) and his boys (Savy Motorsport) that again the car didn’t miss a beat. The last race was easier than I thought it would be – I’d expected Jim to come with me out front, but it’s good to make your way and you can only do your best, so after the disappointments from last round it’s nice to win for the team and our sponsors who look ahead to the next opportunity for success and I’ll always be trying.   “I love Ipswich, even though everyone thinks the track is boring but I’ve had many times there with CAT Racing, and the only time I’ve raced a TCM car there was in Tony Hunter’s Camaro and I won, so ‘Sally’ should be a really good car around there.”   Touring Car Masters Race 3 results (provisional) 1              Bowe 2              Richards 3              Tilley 4              Miedecke 5              Edwards 6              Kassulke 7              Pye 8              Mason 9              Youlden 10           King   Touring Car Masters Class Round results (provisional) Class A                                                                  Class B 1              Bowe                    180                                                         1              Mason                  162 2              Richards               157                                                         2              Stillwell                 157 3              Edwards               149                                                         3              Sparks                   157   Hidden Valley Trophy (highest placed unseeded driver) – Tony Edwards   Touring Car Masters Class series points standings (provisional) Class A                                                                  Class B 1              Bowe                    425                                                         1              Stillwell                 489 2              Richards               414                                                         2              Benson                 463 3              Miedecke            372                                                         3              Keene                   368 4              Youlden               360                                                         4              Sparks                   362 5              Kassulke              328                                                         5              Hunter                  327   The Touring Car Masters now head back to their garages to prepare for Round 4, Ipswich, 3- 5 August.

Pedders Racing has spent a month preparing for this weekend’s upcoming Australian Manufacturers Championship Endurance round at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. “The team has had to remove the engine after the last round at Eastern Creek when it developed oil pressure issues and was down on power compared to previous rounds last year” said team principal Grant Phillips. “We have had to send parts of the engine all over Victoria to get the best preparation work done and that not only gives us a great engine to race with, but one that stays within the very tight regulations that form our category.” With the great support of ARB Bendigo the Proton was able to spend some time on the dyno, ensuring accurate figures could be attained and allowed the team to fine tune their preparations for this upcoming 6 hour event. Valvoline have ensured the engine is cared for with their fantastic oil products which will help the team to race hard while protecting their investment. “We still have to wait a day or two before our truck returns from Western Australia where it was on duty with the Pedders Rally Team” said Daryl Martin. “Then we have a bit more preparation work to get done on Wednesday to ensure that the team has a successful event.” Daryl has been working hard with category manager Aaron McGill to ensure a fantastic event for drivers and spectators. This year Grid Girls have been introduced to the event and a greater presence on social media sites such as facebook. The Pedders team have a couple of surprises up their sleeves to be able to provide their team sponsors and guests with an enjoyable line up of activities from race simulators to sponsor rides and of course one of the teams famous Roast Meat lunches cooked on the BBQ thanks to Atomik Motorsports Bendigo. This year the line up of drivers includes racing legend John Bowe, Leanne Tander and country singer Adam Brand who again will be racing against the Pedders team in a Suzuki Swift. “Brand took out Victory against the Pedders team at Eastern Creek last year by just 3 seconds so there is a score to be settled, said second driver Andrew Turpie. “With new cars coming online throughout the year and great fields of 25 cars and more, we really are looking at an amazing series in an amazing category. There are so many things happening this year right across the category that we will no doubt be looking at new opportunities and new partners and possibly even more events in the future, so stay tuned.” . By Daryl Martin

The final race of the weekend, the first weekend of the season, and it would be Bowe and Bullas launching off the line, the all Mustang line up dominating at the front of the field in what has been an action packed, high and low round one of the Touring Car Masters.   As the lights went green, Bowe charged from P1, Bullas right on the #18 as Nelson shot his Porsche to the inside and Pye headed towards the pit wall to make a move around the traffic. Through the chicane, the field was nose to tail, Benson in a freight train of muscle, skipping across the curbs while Richards and Pye went side by side through turns nine and ten.   Pushing hard to catch Bowe, the #16 Mustang of Bullas had a moment through turn eight in a repeat of yesterday’s near miss, while Abelnica had seemingly overcome the engine concerns that had plagued his weekend, charging through the pack from 24^th to 15^th.   There was a battle of the Australian muscle cars on between Kassulke and Youlden inside the top seven, and Miedecke too was feeling the pinch, a tank slapper slide into turn fourteen almost put the Camaro into the side of Bullas as they came around to start lap three.   Richards was the fastest on track, O’Brien was busy looking for the gap to send his HQ past the Nelson Porsche and on to the challenges ahead, with Walmsley almost tied up in the battle but settling back into position. Having arrived in Adelaide with a new engine, Westwood would suffer the fieriest of exits as his engine exploded along Pit Straight in a display of smoke and fire, leaving the GTHO burnt and stranded at turn one.   As the safety car slowed the field on lap five, Bowe’s lead was brought back to Bullas and Miedecke, with Richards and Pye holding out the top five. With the Westwood entry cleared from the circuit, the safety car returned to pit lane to leave the remaining muscle cars with a one lap dash to the flag. Approaching the final turn to go back to race speed, Hunter slid his HQ sideways through turn 14, before King made his pass through the chicane with pace and extreme commitment.   Hunting Bowe, Bullas went wide and over the curbing on the run to the back straight, while an outstanding performance from Abelnica now saw the XB Coupe into fifth, having gained 19 positions in the space of some five racing laps. With Bowe heading for his second win of the new season, Miedecke and Bullas came into the final turn still fighting for second, Miedecke looking to the inside of the Bullas Mustang, contact was made and Bullas was left to wait for the field to pass. As Richards and Pye approached to gain position, Pye was out on the grass to avoid, while Miedecke moved around the Mustang ahead to storm along the straight and secure second place.   The final race to close round one of eight for the showcase of muscle car classics that is the Touring Car Masters ended with Bowe’s continuing dominant form, taking two race wins and the outright round win, Miedecke and Richards also on the Class A podium, while in the revised Class B, Hunter stood tall to secure the win, with Stillwell and Benson closing the top three.   “When you win the round it’s a good thing to achieve”, said John Bowe. “The car has always been good here, it suits the circuit. It’s been great all weekend, hasn’t missed a beat, and the only hiccup was the damage to the bonnet. We were surprised when we had a supporter lend me the bonnet of his ’69 Mustang off his road car which is just amazing to have that support.”

TOURING CAR MASTERS. Series Points Score
CLIPSAL 500 Adelaide 2012
Class	Car No.	Driver Name	R1	R2	R3	Totals Round 1
A	18	John Bowe	60	56	60	176
B	10	Tony Hunter	52	60	56	168
B	6	Chris Stillwell	56	56	52	164
A	95	Andrew Miedecke	56	52	56	164
B	22	Nigel Benson	48	52	60	160
A	2	Jim Richards	48	48	52	148
B	91	John Nelson	45	48	45	138
B	8	Gary O’Brien	42	45	48	135
A	15	Bill Pye	42	45	48	135
A	16	Gavin Bullas	52	60	21	133
B	13	Rory O’Neill	39	36	39	114
A	34	Mark King	45	27	42	114

 

Reigning Touring Car Masters series title holder John Bowe has started the season in the way he was remembered from the last, taking a convincing first win of the new year in a refurbished Mustang ‘Sally’, with an extra special team member now on board, an image of great mate, the late Jason Richards, adorning the roof.   Having been more than a second faster than the field through the practice sessions, and going on to carry the speed, Bowe secured his third successive pole on the streets of Adelaide. Challengers and fellow seeded drivers Miedecke, Bullas and Richards in his new Javelin, were all looking to tame the #18 Mustang and bring on a big weekend, and they would start from the front rows.   Bowe launched as the lights went green while Richards was slow off the line, Youlden going wide to avoid the accelerating Javelin. King took to Senna Chicane taking air over the curbs and Walmsley, now in the XA GT Falcon campaigned by King last season, also took to the inside through the dirt to keep clean in the trail of muscle. Abelnica didn’t make the grid, his XB Coupe experiencing an intermittent fuel delivery issue and slowing on the warm up lap to see the #48 entry park in the pits, while efforts to fix damaged Wilson’s Charger hadn’t been enough, he too went straight to the lane.   Miedecke and Bullas started their race long battle in the opening turns, going side by side through turn one as Bullas moved to second, making it a Mustang one, two. The top four began to pull away from the 25 strong field and it was clear the lap times were going to tumble, Bullas pushing hard and sliding through turn six as Miedecke regained second place.   The pack was pouncing, Stack locking the brakes on the rear of Youlden’s, bringing Pye closer to the action as Westwood GTHO took it to Keene’s fighting Porsche to take ninth. More incredible hard luck for Edwards as the SL/R 5000 headed to pit lane yet again here at the Adelaide Parklands circuit, this time with front end damage, possibly with the hydraulics, having either broken a piston or rod, and likely marking the start and end of his season.   Stack moved into eighth with Pye making the pass as the #85 Camaro once again began to billow smoke, the oil leak that has plagued the weekend seeing the Whiteline Camaro’s first DNF of the season. Pye was pressing on, moving under Youlden as he went wide into turn 14, the pair hunting the HQ of King ahead in fifth. Kassulke began closing on Keene, as Walmsley closed in and went through on Stillwell, Hunter’s HQ looking to join the action.   As Kassulke made the move under the Porsche of Keene, Stack headed to the pits on lap five as back on track Benson was driving the wheels off his HQ entry, powering through turn eight, clearly on a mission to take on the traffic. An overheating problem as the Makarios owned GTHO lost water, had Karanfilovski park the #99 with three laps to go, the priority, to save the engine and see out the weekend.   In one of the race’s best battles, Sparks and Nelson has been hard at it, right on each other from the first turns, side by side as the laps fell away, the battle ended on the final lap with contact between the pair seeing Sparks into the wall at turn six with heavy front end damage, but it had been smooth sailing for Bowe, taking the race win with a four second buffer to Miedecke in second.   “The race was good and I got a really good start”, said Bowe after the race.   “The car’s been good at each of the Clipsal 500 events – this is my third here with Mustang ‘Sally’ and she really suits the circuit.   “The car wasn’t exactly behaving the way I wanted it to earlier on, but with the V8 Supercars rubber down on track, it’s changed the surface quite a lot and changed the way the cars behave.   “Being a reigning champions and all that stuff, it doesn’t matter so much, this is all about racing as best you can, and with the win, well I can’t be any more pleased than that!”

Having already smashed the lap record at the legendary Mt Panorama race track, the Maranello Motorsport team is making the final preparations to their Ferrari 458 GT3 and its striking livery before heading to Bathurst for this weekend’s (26 February) 2012 Armor All Bathurst 12 Hour race.   Maranello Motorsport’s tomato red Ferrari 458 GT3 arrived some months ago directly from the official Ferrari race preparation company, Michelotto, and the team continues to receive factory support through final preparations for the first event of the 2012 season. Michelotto engineers arrive this week at Mount Panorama to assist in ensuring the Il Bello Rosso – Baby Roma Tomatoes – entry is at the top of its game, and ripe for the pickings of possible victory.   This year, the proudly Australian based team brings the all-star line-up of European endurance professionals, Simonsen and Farnbacher, along with Australian racing legend, John Bowe and businessman come race driver, Peter Edwards. The German pilots, sharing vast experience with the 458 machines, are keen to hit one of the world’s most challenging circuits here in Australia, while local driver, Bowe is ready for the year’s first challenge, explaining,   “I’m delighted to compete in such a professional Australian team.   “We’ve got a great line-up of drivers, a really good car, and an outstanding support team, all the ingredients you need to combine for success.   “Our international drivers are very well credentialed, and while I haven’t had many laps in the car yet, as a team unit, it’s the year for us to really rattle the cages of our international guests. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”   Maranello Motorsport’s Managing Director, Mark Coffey, is also confident in the home crew after successful outings for the entry so far, saying,   “We knew the car would be an outstanding machine, and with the success of debut, a positive test with Bowe at Phillip Island recently, and knowing the work our crew have put in with the ongoing support from the Michelotto factory staff, we’ve got a great race package.   “Bathurst is always a tough place to be learning, and while we’ve got some impressive international entries to up the challenge this time around, there’s no reason why it can’t be the Il Bello Rosso Ferrari taking the chequered flag.”   With this season’s commitment moving up another gear in the garage, keep an eye on the Il Bello Rosso 458 GT3 as the Australian’s take on The Mountain ready to keep the silverware at home.