whiteline racing
newsletter ROUND TWO
Woodstock Winton Supersprint Winton Motor Raceway, VIC May 19-21
www.adelaidesigndesign.com.au
In this issue.. A word from Shaz TCM Media Releases PHOTO’s From Winton Brisbane Truck Show Barcelona to Andorra Putt Putt Sink or Swim + More... www.whitelineracing.com.au
Whiteline Racing
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In June 2004 The Truck Factory commenced business in Wing Street at Wingfield. Mark Menzie had been operating a business of the same nature on someone else’s behalf, however felt it was time to branch out and begin his own heavy vehicle smash repair business. The business grew rapidly in the 12 months to follow & it wasn’t long before the move was made to a new workshop on Angle Vale Crescent at Burton. The workshop in Wing Street was no longer large enough to cater for the ever growing flow of work that was coming through the doors. Along with the move came even more growth. As time went by the number of staff increased, and the purchase of our first tow truck was made. This expanded the business from one providing customers with a specialised smash repair service to one that could offer them a one stop shop.
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Whiteline Racing
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Contents 6-7 8-11
12-13
A word from Shaz
Sharon’s trackside Recap
TCM Media Releases Up to date news items of our race category
Winton Supersprint Snapshots
14-19
Other News
20
Series Results
What’s happening with our team on & off the track
Look us up on the leaderboards
Photos tell a thousand words
Woodstock Winton Supersprint Winton Motor Raceway, VIC Length 3.0 km (1.864 mi) Turns 12
Photographic Contributions
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dirk@dirkklynsmithphotography.com www.dirkklynsmithphotography.com
Whiteline Racing
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A word from
Shaz
Woodstock Winton Supersprint Winton Motor Raceway, VIC May 19-21
Anyone contemplating a life involving motorsport, truly needs to be of the mindset that you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Nothing can describe the euphoria of the highs, the emotion and joy of the team spirit with success, but then also the disappointment of when it all goes so terribly wrong. There is no doubt Winton served up the combination deal for the Whiteline Team as you will read, however, through it all the strength and commitment of the team a shining light for a way forward. Clipsal had been such a blast in March, so the crew were really looking forward to what Winton would bring. For Birdman, converting the set ups of the Camaros from street circuit to race track would involve :
85 King Springs Camaro Extensive but superficial body repairs to front and rear of car
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Gear box and diff ratios changed to suit Winton
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New windscreen fitted
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Routine checks on engine and brakes etc
95 Fabre Camaro
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And to top it off the resident pooch, Charlie had the most adorable litter of little fox terriers – they are close to being independent so trying to keep them in their playpen washing basket was quite comical – just made the whole experience very welcoming and home like. Moyhu sees you travel through Ned Kelly Country – with a statue of the man prominent in the main street of Glenrowan. The boys set up our pit on Thursday, but man, Friday was challenging for them – an almighty down pour on Friday just made it impossible for the teams to have practice sessions that were of any value – check out the amazing pics from Dirk Klynsmith – made for great photography but in terms of the teams learning about set up, forget it !! A couple of things however did raise their heads, for instance in the 95 Fabre Camaro a hole developed in the exhaust and radio issues resulted in a high pitched noise going through to Bresso’s helmet which was unbearable, both issues were resolved. For the 85 King Springs Camaro, Kingy was pleased all things considered in the wet, with the crew attempting to straighten the wheels by reducing camber. Overall, however, both boys said it was just too wet. Times for the field ranged from 1.49 through to 2.20, compared to qualifying 1.29.18 through to 1.439 – so as you can see the field struggled Friday but found their mojo on Saturday and Sunday when weather conditions were perfect. Saturday there were no practice sessions, so qualifying would be their first and only time on the track to sort out set up with a race later in the day.
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Minor body repairs to rear of car
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Diff and gear ratios changed as per 85
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Wet weather window added to driver’s door (expected rain at Winton)
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Routine engine and brake checks
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Front springs changed to suit Winton
Bobby and Whiteline Damo headed off from the Adelaide headquarters on Wednesday arvo with bump in at the track Thursday. Kingy and Jason had just flown in from Barcelona where they were on a seek and find expedition with a bit of R & R thrown in, Timmy Ede drove up in a Daimler sponsored van for the weekend, Birdman flew in from Adelaide, I rocked up Friday night and for Paulie this was his home town, so was able to go home each night to his own bed !! Team Bressington drove down and added some fun to the trip for the girls Billie and Poppy.
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Paulie arranged for the team to stay at Moyhu hotel owned and run by Melissa Wilson and Glen Merkel. They are going through the motions of renovating mindful of maintaining the original charm but boosted with modern creature comforts. Team Whiteline and Team Tobin booked out the entire accommodation block so it was good fun.
Highs and Lows!
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Qualifying was held at 11.50 and over 20 minutes. For Adam in the Fabre 95 Camaro an early mishap in the session would see him in pit lane to free up a tyre that was rubbing on the back left guard. On turn 9, Bresso went to overtake team mate Kingy and just did not see in his mirrors a quick moving Stevie J Mustang (17). Bresso would complete 6 laps, his quickest on the 4th with a 1.313208, placing him 11th of the grid. For the King Springs 85 machine, Kingy was beaming, 6 laps down, the best on the last with a 1.302721 resulting in a stunning 5th position off the grid. On return to the pit, Kingy just said the car was awesome, horsepower there, handling great straight out of the box, looking good – so stage was set for good racing, but as we know this was not to be. See what I mean about the variance in lap times, wet vs. dry !!
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The first race for the weekend was the trophy race, held at 2.25 and over 12 laps. The starting order reverse grid so on that basis, the team called to start the Whiteline Camaros out of pit lane as opposed to their assigned positions of 14 for the 95 Fabre Camaro and 19 for the King Springs Camaro. The crew felt this would minimize the potential for damage given that there were two races still to be run ! It was a clean start and by mid race both the boys had successfully penetrated through the field to be running mid field, with a very exciting finish when Kingy in the 85 camaro edged his nose over the line before team mate Bresso in the 95 camaro – it was down to the wire. Bowe would take out the win with Williams in the No 5 Torana and Abelnica in the 48 Ford taking 2nd and 3rd. TCM hosted a bbq for the category – a good chance for a bit of R & R with all the teams. The crew prepped the cars for the Sunday races, before putting on the covers – as a team we all headed back to Moyhu pub for dinner together and enjoy a red in front of the warmth of the open fire. Sunday morning was crisp – a bit of excitement from Moyhu to Winton, Timmy was driving the van in the fog when three roos decided to go on morning walk about – fortunately able to brake in time, the flash of red lights caught my attention too following in a hire car, the third roo, slipped on the bitumen and decided to retreat from where it came from so disaster averted !! Once at the track the boys got busy getting the Camaros ready for the 2nd race of the weekend, scheduled for 9.20. Coming along to support the team for the day were Lynn and Tony Haysom, wearing their ford gear but very much supporting all things Whiteline on the day !!
Jason, Paulie and Kingy all smiles – Kingy was really pleased with his awesome handling Camaro – if only we knew what was to happen….. Adam, Birdman and Bobby team huddle to discuss tactics
The track was cold, Birdman tested it and said it was 14 degrees and accordingly warned both the boys to be sure to get some heat into the tyres before going flat out. Kingy was starting of the third row out of 5 in his 85 King Springs Camaro and Bresso was off the fifth row out of 10. The scheduled 12 lap race was away, turn 1 all was well, but turn 2 massive crash, massive. Jason Gomersall in his 35 Torana was leading the field when he lost control and spun - absolute mayhem ensued with eight cars in the pile up and right in the thick of it, Kingy in the 85 King Springs Camaro. Adam somehow made it through with his Fabre 95 camaro, after ducking and weaving to miss the carnage – amazing effort. The crash was so severe the race was suspended and emergency crews were on the track helping drivers out of their wrecks, applying medical assistance and clean up crews were sorting the mess. Kingy had massive front, side and rear impact and thankfully, which is testament to the strength of these cars, the protection around him saved him from serious injury, albeit very sore from where the straps kicked in. South Aussie Bernie Stack was a major casualty with his Porsche extensively damaged and poor Bernie was sent off to hospital to be thoroughly checked – the medical staff at Winton were very thorough and caring – they had a bit to deal with on the day, with off track medical emergencies in the crowd keeping them on their toes. Post race, teams assessed their damage – Eddy Abelnica’s team did a great job in the 48 Ford Falcon to repair it for race 3, however, the field was sadly depleted of the 25 car field, it was down to 18 cars, with two a d.n.f. in the third race. Race 3 was held at 12.10 and whilst scheduled to be 12 laps, was reduced to 9 with the track events of the day clearly impacting on the schedule staying on time ! Adam in the 95 Fabre Camaro was starting out of 6. In what Adam would describe post race, he got an awesome start, great start and was on the pace. In the early stages of the race slightly tapped the rear of the Hansford Torana when he appeared to lose power briefy with a sudden back off, but fortunately no damage, no issue and by completion of the first lap had progressed up the order to 4th. By the 4th lap, Adam steered the 95 Fabre Camaro up into a podium finish of third, with Garwood and Abelnica 1st and 2nd respectively. Was a great result particularly for Abelnica who had significant damage from the race 2 incident and something to celebrate for the Whiteline Racing boys having Adam come in third and overall winner of his class, Pro Am based on the weekend points tally. Adam was so alive on return to the pit, stating that his Camaro just had great pick up out of the corners and that he could put that 95 baby wherever he wanted to and she would respond. So now the big job of loading up and I don’t say that lightly, given the 85 King Springs Camaro seemed about 2 foot wider the challenge was to get it on the loading ramp and into the trailer. The team had the go jacks on the car, but the surface of area where the loading was taking place was filings and it was boggy – 8 guys couldn’t move it where it needed to go. Not to be defeated – I scoured the area for a forklift, finding one and we managed to lift the car into position to load her up. Prior to that the boys had to remove bits hanging off and do a general tidy up to facilitate loading – poor Paulie knicked his ear on a piece of broken fibreglass.
Moyhu hotel - Our home base for the weekend of racing
The pics in this report tell the story. It was an amazing effort by the team.
Damo and Timmy prep 95
Shaz hunted down a fork lift to load up 85 – the damage was so severe the team could not move her on the go jacks to load up
Bobby and Damo headed out late arvo going as far as the border where they rested up, choosing to come into Adelaide mid morning. On arrival, the Whiteline crew beavered away to unload the cars and immediately get stuck into pulling down the 85 camaro – hard to say what the outcome will be with not a lot of lead time to Darwin – keep watching face book for updates. Thanks for all the support, talk to you all soon.
Shaz For further information: Trackside studio for tv coverage
Winners are grinners, congrats Adam, No 1 !!
0418 826 272 - shaz@wline.com.au
Whiteline Racing
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TCM MEDIA RELEASES
TCM has great support from major sponsors Total Lubricants, Rare Spares, Shannons Insurance and Hoosier Tyres, the support of V8 Supercars and the Shannons Nationals.
For more information visit www.touringcarmasters.com.au
TOUGH WINTON FIELD INCLUDES NEW AND RETURNING NAMES TO TCM MAY 16, 2017
“John (Bowe) has been saying for a while how good Touring Car Masters is and how great it would be if I could do it. I’m grateful for his help, to Phil Morris for letting me drive his car and to Tony Hunter for welcoming me to the category.
RETURNING FRONTRUNNERS and a new yet very familiar name highlight a strong Touring Car Masters grid for round two of the 2017 series this weekend at Winton.
Meanwhile, former AUSCAR and Formula Holden racer Bruce Williams will make his return to the category, having made his TCM debut at Winton in his Les Small-built Torana SL/R exactly one year ago.
While Eddie Abelnica (XB Falcon Hardtop) and Bruce Williams (Holden Torana SL/R 5000) will both return to TCM this weekend, former Supercars driver Melinda Price will make her debut in the category driving Phil Morris’ four-door XA Falcon GT. A former member of the all-female ‘Castrol Cougars’ squad in the 1990s, Price has made a gradual return to racing in recent years and recently contested the first round of the Australian GT trophy series at Sandown, racing a Ford Focus MARC Cars Australia entry. Her TCM debut at Winton is the first round in a planned full-year campaign in the category. “I was excited to be running historics a few years ago and then to be on the grid at Sandown in the GT race last month was amazing – it keeps getting better and better. “I can’t wait to get in one of those cars and on track with those legends.. I was on the Supercars grid with some of them 20 years ago. “I’m looking forward to having a steer of a muscle car and be part of the Supercar show again.” Price said several members of the TCM family had been working hard to help her quest to join the grid. “I’ve got a few really great people who are on my side helping and encouraging me while I’ve been trying to get back into racing.
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“I really want to do them justice and make them feel like it’s been worthwhile, and get on the grid for the full year.” Price’s XA GT has a strong TCM pedigree and was raced to a round podium finish at Winton in 2010 when in the hands of Leanne Tander. Price has secured several key backers for the Winton round, to be announced later this week.
Current TCM class leaders Leo Tobin (ProSport), Adam Bressington (ProAm) and John Bowe (ProMasters) are all likely to face serious opposition. In ProSports, Tobin will need to deal with a host of the IROC Porsche 911s at Winton, the nimble, light sports cars always strong on the 3.1km Winton twists and turns. Last year at Winton, John Bowe edged out Jason Gomersall for pole by 0.08s and led home his fellow Torana driver to win two of the three races at the country Victorian circuit. Adam Garwood was then on to make it a Holden clean-sweep in the Trophy race, before Glenn Seton executed a stunning last-lap pass to grab the victory – the first time Bowe and his Torana has been beaten at Winton in five races.
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Williams qualified an impressive eighth with his then-undeveloped Torana at Winton last year, however sat the remainder of the year out while developing the car and raising sponsorship for the 2017 season. His Torana will sport major support from a high profile new sponsor for the season, to be announced this week. After missing the opening round at the Clipsal 500, Eddie Abelnica will also return in his storming Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars XB Falcon Coupe’.
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Abelnica finished third in the TCM ProMasters category last year and the seven-time TCM race winner will be keen to return to his regular place at the pointy-end this weekend. Also returning this weekend include Terry Lawler, with his Ford Mustang repaired after it’s unfortunate turn one crash in Adelaide. Paul Freestone returns in his Chevrolet Camaro, while Tony Karanfilovski will be keen to make amends for a disappointing opening round in Adelaide. The Ford Mustang driver had crossed the line first in the Trophy race however was subsequently penalised 22 seconds for a safety car restart infringement – handing the win to Brad Tilley. The Sydneysider has a strong record at Winton, having won a race there in 2014 and finished third in the trophy race twelve months ago.
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TCM WINTON NOTEBOOK MAY 17, 2017 THE SECOND round of the 2017 Touring Car Masters title chase will see the series return to Winton Raceway, in country Victoria, for the fourth straight year. Winton is a great track for TCM, with the twisty bits meaning that the cars with slightly less capacity are always very competitive – so watch out for the Valliant Pacer and Porsche 911s to be particularly quick at this place. There’s been a lot going on during the long break between rounds since the season opener in Adelaide, so here’s a few notes to bring you up to speed with everything going on in the Touring Car Masters paddock ahead of Round 2 at Winton. Like many TCM circuits, Winton has been a happy hunting ground for John Bowe. The Holden Torana driver has won 12 races at the venue, from the 18 contested. He’s also never been beaten for pole position there and holds the race and qualifying lap records. Bowe’s car has had an aesthetic upgrade for this round, now sporting the A9X flares as used by Gomersall’s hatchback. The flares were made eligible for the four-door cars this year, however it’s purely a visual change – there’s no change to the wheel width or track on the fast Holdens. Bob Wisley's car has also had a visual tune-up, now sporting a full 1976 Bathurst 1000 livery. It looks amazing. Jim Richards will unfortunately miss the Winton round this weekend. The Shannons AMC Javelin was damaged in the lap one crash in Adelaide, while his Falcon sprint is currently not race ready. The two-time TCM champion will return in the Falcon at Hidden Valley, in June. John Bowe out-qualified Jason Gomersall for pole by just 0.082s last year – the 11th closest pole margin in series history. Second remains Jason’s best ever qualifying performance in TCM, and he’s done it quite a few times. His first TCM front row start came in the final round of the 2014 season at Phillip Island, with his next P2 at Winton last year. That set off a train of four consecutive P2 qualifying performances – three of
them to Bowe. Gomersall finished second to Bowe in the first two races of last year’s Winton round, his best TCM race finishes to date. Melinda Price’s addition to the TCM grid adds to the tradition of fast females in the category. Adelaide’s Amanda Sparks is a former ProSports class winner in a Porsche 911, while Leanne Tander was the first female race winner in TCM when she powered her XA Falcon to victory to a win in the third race at Bathurst in 2010.
In need of a new engine for Winton, Darren Beale’s team actually fitted a new 18-degree Chev 350 to the car at the show - which drew plenty of attention when they fired it up for the first time. Wayne Mercer’s Falcon GTHO ‘Super Kylie’ has also had a new engine between rounds, with the blue rocket to enjoy some more grunt this weekend. Wayne, now in his 7th year of racing, has signed a new sponsor in Shotton Lifts for this weekend which will hopefully help this tiny team – which is often just Wayne and Jesse at each round.
Leanne’s best race result came at Winton earlier that year when she finished third overall – in the same car that Price will drive this weekend.
Peters Motorsport ready for their second TCM round with Ryan Hansford in their Holden Torana, after qualifying third in Adelaide on debut.
Steven Johnson will be looking forward to the weekend with the knowledge that the Ford Mustang is still the most successful TCM model at Winton.
The team has made changes to the pedal box and seating position of the car after Ryan endured an uncomfortable driving position in the opening round, due to the late coming together of the team’s plans the team was unable to perfect the driving position in time for the Clipsal event.
In the hands of John Bowe, Gavin Bullas and Glenn Seton Mustangs have won nine times at the Victorian circuit. Interestingly, Mustangs have finished third in the last seven straight TCM races at Winton. Round 1 ProAm class winner Adam Bressington celebrated his big 50th birthday on May 7! Bresso returns in the Whiteline Raing / Fabre Chevrolet Camaro this weekend with a narrow lead over Andrew Fisher in the ProAm standings. Both Whiteline cars look their immaculate best ahead of a round where the team has traditionally performed well. Adam Garwood and Garwood Motorsport tested at Hobart’s Baskerville Raceway recently and had some experts on hand to help – suspension guru Murray Coote of MCA suspension was on hand to lend his experience to the dynamics of their Holden Torana.
The team tested at Queensland Raceway last week and has found gains in setup and with Ryan now comfy behind the wheel the Multispares Torana should be one to watch. It’s not just Supercars revelling in the hype around November’s Coates Hire Newcastle 500 – TCM’s Novocastrian contingent is as well. Steve and Cameron Mason has been drawing plenty of support ahead of their first ever home TCM race later this year, with existing sponsors Hercules competition engines, F3 Motor Auctions, The Lucky Hotel and fresh sponsors are Total Fire Solutions, Doyle Partners accountants, Lake Macquarie Sheet Metal and Hunter Laser Tattoo Removal. The team also has an upgraded livery for Winton and new team Merch – as Cam says, “It's all happening here in the steel city!”
The team has switched to a spare Holden engine for this weekend, after their Adelaide powerplant was found to be down on compression. Working on a Chev engine for Darwin.
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Meanwhile, Adam’s mum Luana Garwood spent the Targa Tasmania in the Porsche tour, navigating for Alex Davison. Jesus Racing Team took their life choices program to Perth recently, visiting 1500 school kids in four days! 5x TCM cars recently paid a visit to Mackay’s 2017 Motor Show, including John Bowe’s Torana, Jason Gomersall’s A9X, Bob Wislely’s Torana, Darren Beale’s HQ GTS and Steven Johnson’s Mustang. A charity auction raised $25K for the black dog institute and Grape Vine (youth suicide prevention), with more yet to come. Well done to the TCM representatives for their support of the show and the great cause.
Whiteline Racing
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HANSFORD TOPS A WET WINTON FRIDAY MAY 19, 2017 RYAN HANSFORD needed changes to his driving position before round two of the 2017 Touring Car Masters this weekend at Winton – and there’s no doubt the changes have made the Queenslander plenty comfortable in his Holden Torana. Hansford powered his Multispares Racing SL/R 5000 to the fastest time in practice today at Winton, despite torrentially wet conditions across a pair of 20-minute sessions.
Hansford’s 1m46.176s lap was not only 1.7 seconds faster than next-fastest Steven Johnson, but would have remarkably also put him 23rd of 29 cars in the Supercars session held just prior to TCM’s second practice. Hansford’s Holden Torana topped a group of three fast Fords in the quicker second session: Johnson slid his WM Waste Mustang to second place while Eddie Abelnica was third on his return to TCM - having missed the opening round in Adelaide. Tony Karanfilovski was fourth, the Sydneysider a former winner at Winton and again showing strong form. Revelling in the wet conditions, Sven Burchartz was fifth outright in his IROC Challenge Porsche 911, while teammate Rohan Little was seventh in his Porsche entry.
The Peters Racing driver had struggled throughout the opening round with discomfort due to a seating position too close to his steering wheel but a revised seating position and pedal box seem to have done the trick so far this weekend.
The IROC Challenge runners will be praying for wet conditions this weekend, the light, nimble 911s always competitive on an outright level when the rain comes to TCM. Splitting the Porsche’s was the Torana A9X of Jason Gomersall, while John Bowe (8th), Adam Garwood and Andrew Fisher completed the top-10.
BOWE WINS REVERSE, GOMERSALL SCORES FIRST POLE MAY 20, 2017
behind the Toranas as they settled into an all-Holden fight for the lead.
JOHN BOWE has stormed from the back of the field to win the Waeco / Dometic TCM Trophy Race at Winton Motor Raceway – but he had to work for it. Bowe started 23rd in the reverse-grid affair but made up 13 places on the opening lap to quickly work his way towards the front of the field before taking a victory over Bruce Williams and Eddie Abelnica. But as usual in the Touring Car Masters, it wasn’t as easy as that. Starting from pole, Cameron Mason made the best possible start and was able to lead the first half of the race in his Shelby Mustang Coupe. Wayne Mercer and Leo Tobin settled into the top three positions while the fastest cars in qualifying worked their way through from the back of the field. Bruce Williams was a star performer in his ACDelco Torana, jumping from 17th to 8th on the opening lap. He, Mason and Bowe then engaged in a thrilling battle for the lead with Williams ultimately passing both drivers in one corner as they ran three-wide into turn eleven on the seventh of twelve laps – Mason dropping 10 / 20
Williams was able to withhold Bowe for two laps before the Wilson / Payce Torana was able to slip past with four laps to go. Bowe ultimately edged away to take his 88th career Touring Car Masters race victory, Bruce Williams recording a career-best second with Eddie Abelnica third in his Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars XB Falcon coupe’. Williams’ drive in particular thrilled the Winton crowd, sliding his blue Torana around as he battled for the lead. Abelnica was the quiet achiever, working his way through the pack quietly and closing on the fast Toranas in the final few laps. Mason finished fourth, Wayne Mercer fifth and Jason Gomersall sixth – having started from the back of the grid. Tony Karanfilovski, Ryan Hansford, Leo Tobin and Bernie Stack finished 10th and first of the IROC Challenge Porsche 911s home.
Earlier in the day, Hansford topped the first practice session – again ahead of Johnson and Abelnica – however the practice two times were faster for all bar one competitor (Wayne Mercer) than the first session. Of those with notable dramas, Adam Bressington’s first session was cut short with a broken exhaust header in his Whiteline Racing / Fabre Chevrolet Camaro, before he elected to sit on the sidelines in the wetter second session. Bruce Williams was 8th in practice one, however only managed two laps in the second session due to visibility issues in his newly-sponsored ACDelco Holden. Leo Tobin, meanwhile, had electrical issues in his THD Motorsport Ford Mustang 302 that limited his potential running. Aside from some brief installation laps on old tyres, Melinda Price didn’t run today however will look forward to her TCM debut in what will hopefully be dry conditions tomorrow. Qualifying and the first of three races will be held on Saturday as part of the Winton SuperSprint event.
JASON GOMERSALL scored his first ever Touring Car Masters pole position in a thrilling six-minute shootout on Saturday morning at Winton. In a shortened session due to a lengthy red flag at the very start, Gomersall timed his run to perfection to jump to the top of the times after the chequered flag to bump John Bowe from the top spot by a tiny margin. It was his first pole in TCM competition after having qualified second on five prior occasions – and the ultimate margin of 0.020 seconds was the second closest in TCM history. (The closest was in the inaugural year of TCM, when Steve Mason out-qualified Gavin Bullas by 0.0096s at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2007.) It means the Bigmate Racing Torana will start from pole in the first of tomorrow’s pair of points-paying races, with Bowe alongside. The final grid is yet to be confirmed following a series of incidents being investigated by race control, including the one that brought out the lengthy red flag.
Adam Garwood was the sole non-finisher, when he suffered damage after contact from Darren Beale on the opening lap.
The incident occurred within the first two minutes of the session, Steven Johnson and Adam Bressington making contact exiting turn nine. The impact damaged Johnson’s steering and left his WM Waste Falcon stranded on the circuit.
Beale’s HQ Monaro GTS 350 was unseated by the exit kerb at turn three, with the young Tasmanian unfortunately in the path of the sideways Monaro as it re-joined the racing line.
The pair will line up 1-2 for the two races on Sunday, the first starting at 9:20am.ng a career-best second with Eddie Abelnica third in his Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars XB Falcon coupe’.
In her TCM debut, Melinda Price ran in the top five for the opening two laps and ultimately finished a solid 18th in her vicplates / Momo XA Falcon. www.whitelineracing.com.au
ADAM GARWOOD TAKES WINTON MAY 21, 2017 ADAM GARWOOD has raced to his second ever Touring Car Masters race victory amidst a day of high drama at Winton Raceway. The young Tasmanian driver and experienced ace Eddie Abelnica staged a thrilling battle in the third race of the weekend at the rural Victorian venue – eventually powering past to take a strong victory in his Holden Torana. It marked his second race win in the series, and first in a non-reverse grid affair. It also came twelve months after he lost the lead of a race at Winton on the final lap. Unfortunately a majority of the headlines were dominated by a multi-car crash at the start of race two that saw several cars severely damaged. The incident unfolded when polesitter Jason Gomersall’s Bigmate Racing Holden Torana spun in front of the field exiting turn two. Having initially slid in one direction, the car spun across the road and made contact with Eddie Abelnica’s XB Falcon. To make matters worse, Mark King had nowhere to go in his Whiteline Racing / King Springs Camaro, also hitting Gomersall.
John Bowe was caught between Abelnica and the wall and suffered damage, while Sven Burchartz, Tony Karanfilovski, Adam Garwood, Andrew Fisher and Bernie Stack also suffered damage.
continued for the remainder of the race with Abelnica fighting off a charging Adam Bressington (Fabre / Whiteline Racing Camaro), Hansford and the Anglomoil Valliant Pacer of a charging Cameron Tilley.
Stack, in particular, was caught in the middle of the impact and was taken to Wangaratta Hospital for precautionary scans on his neck and back after experiencing soreness while being extracted from the car.
Less than 1.5 seconds covered the top five as they crossed the line at the end of a hugely entertaining race.
Abelnica and Garwood were able to repair their cars in time for the third race while seven failed to make the starter with various amounts of damage.
Steven Johnson stormed from the back of the grid to finish sixth, with Cameron Mason completing a strong weekend in seventh. Michael ‘Blu’ Cannon, Leo Tobin and Wayne Mercer completed the top-10.
Though serious, the accident highlighted the immense strength of the Touring Car Masters cars which, though classic Muscle and Sports cars, are built to the toughest modern safety standards.
Bruce Williams had again powered his ACDelco Torana to the pointy-end of the grid however was forced to retire within sight of the flag after a broken oil line sidelined his Torana.
Despite the drama, the third race would prove to be a classic with four different models battling for the race lead throughout its duration.
Stan Adler led home Rohan Little and Manny Palyaris in the IROC Challenge class results at Winton, while Blu Cannon scored his first ProSports round victory, ahead of Darren Beale.
Abelnica powered to the front in the third race, edging out a handy margin on the opening lap over Garwood and Ryan Hansford. The margin was gradually reduced by the Tasmanian driver, however, and on the seventh lap he was able to pass the Melbourne’s Cheapest Cars Falcon for the lead with a decisive pass at turn ten. Abelnica’s second place represented a mighty effort from his team to repair his Falcon in time for the start, after suffering significant damage to the right-front corner in race two.
Adam Bressington won the ProAm round ahead of Ryan Hansford and Cameron Tilley, while Eddie Abelnica scored his second TCM round victory by topping the ProMaster points ahead of Steven Johnson and Jason Gomersall. The next round of the Touring Car Masters series will see the cars and stars head north for the annual trip to the Northern Territory, for the Crown Bet Triple Crown at Darwin’s Hidden Valley Raceway.
What had then become a five-car battle for the lead
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Tilt tray returns 85 to her pit
The job of getting 85 off the tilt tray was interesting
Damo and Bobby start stripping down 85
85 just a tad wider – the job of getting her in the transporter not easy – go jacks don’t flow so good on the ground surface
Damo, Phil with George watching on, in the final stages of unbolting components to remove engine from chassis.
Damo and Jason work away at cleaning up the damage for transport
Damo and Jason try a tidy up so 85 will fit in her transporter
Damo unbolting components – open heart surgery for 85.
Whiteline Jimbo hard at it – last time he saw this baby she was shining in the transporter on her way to Winton !! 85 copped it from all angles
Paulie worked hard underneath 85 trying to stabilize her for loa up
85 Being transported by Georgie with Sean and Stu to help – off to Truck Factory for much needed TLC.
Damage to back left guard – sustained in qualifying when Adam had a coming together with Stevie J Not even 85’s back end was spared !
Everyone hands on, Whiteline George and Jimbo helping Damo
Whiteline Racing
So the big job of repairing 85 goes to the next level. Seen here at The Truck Factory
13 / 20
OTHER NEWS
What’s happening with our team on & off the track
COR Aus Wide With new laws surrounding COR coming in 2018, NHVR have a Whiteline moving billboard - seen here at Nullabor - driver Paul Astbury stopped to catch this awesome shot.
Bresso turns the
Big 50
Since Clipsal Adam celebrated his 50th birthday surrounded by family and friends and seen here in a beautiful photo with his girls Billie and Poppy.
Bressington Road Trip to Winton Adam and Vitina always make the race trips an adventure for girls Billie and Poppy - seen here checking out the Koala on the road in Gundagai.
Let us out and play Charlie keeps an eye on her active babies sooooo cute
14 / 20
www.whitelineracing.com.au
SARTA Conference & Dinner
Brisbane Truck Show
Justin, Manager of Trucksafe headed to Adelaide to take part in the SARTA Dinner & Conference themed Great Gatsby, seen here with Bobby and Shaz in front of one of their new Benz Prime Movers.
Shaz attending an Australian Truck Association Board meeting had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours at the Brisbane Truck Show and bumped into some ‘likely suspects’ !! All jokes aside was a great show and display of products in our industry and in particular caught up with Michael May and Andrew Assimo of Mercedes Benz who were their showcasing their proven highway truck and launching their rigid series with the fanfare of dry ice and dramatic music – good work guys. Shaz also caught up with Justin Fleming – Trucksafe Manager and Owen Driscoll – NTI Insurance.
Purple Haze has landed Bej across from the west came to stay with Bob and Shaz for weekend to watch Adel vs. Dockers. Super excited shared plane with Dockers players.
Bob and Shaz take Bej to the footy to see the slaughter of Freo
A selfie of Shaz, Bobby and Bej heading out for the big Adel vs. Freo match
Bobby and Bej – all smiles before the game
Bej all smiles at Adelaide Oval
Whiteline Racing
Bej & His Hero Well the night at the footy didn’t pan out as Bej would’ve hoped, but was brightened up with a surprise encounter with his hero Matthew Pavlich.
Bej taking a ride in George’s big Ute – on their way to the Rockabilly shed for a ‘refreshment’
Cam McCarthy Dockers forward in a happy snap with Bej
Bobby and Bej went to the barber shop for a trim up All smiles after a grooming session together !!
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Barcelona Adventure Just prior to the Winton round, Whiteline Racing Kingy and Jason headed to Barcelona for a fact and product finding mission to Barcelona. As the pics will demonstrate, the boys did manage to squeeze in a little R & R between business meetings !!
San Sebastiรกn SPAIN
Going thru the Pyrenees Mountains
Andorra ski fields - Andorra tax free country
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www.whitelineracing.com.au
Putt Putt Challenge Our extended WA family in part were in Adelaide for a visit. Bej Harwood headed over to watch the Dockers play against Adelaide, sadly not much good news on that front for the die hard Freo Fan, so the next day the Middleton clan, Bob, Shaz, Sean, Kim, Dori and Andy headed out on the hog bus for lunch in Angaston followed by Putt Putt at Barossa Bowl Land. Check out the pics
Bej also potted a hole in one – finally something to celebrate after the Freo disappointment !!!
Bobby had cause to celebrate – 2 hole in ones !!!
High tea anyone, Dori had a special morning tea sorted in the progressive bus pick up for lunch and putt putt.
Whiteline Racing
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SINK OR SWIM
ANOTHER KINGY UNBREAKABLE MOMENT
Kingy recently decided to go fishing with 4 mates going from Gladstone to Swains chasing Red Emperor and Coral Trout, however, at Waddy Point, Fraser Isle things went incredibly pear shape with the boat sinking – he and the crew found themselves swimming for their lives in the dark, in waters well known for sharks !!! a real fishing story. Finding a positive out of most things, Kingy said he had always wanted to attend the Waddy Point Dawn Service – he likened it to a reenactment of landing on shore from sea !! The service was very moving and something well and truly in his memory bank.
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www.whitelineracing.com.au
Whiteline Racing
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Wilson Secuity Sandown 500, (VIC) September 15-17
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 (NSW) October 5-8
Coates Hire Newcastle 500 (NSW) November
Driver
Coates Hire Ipswich Super Sprint (Qld) July 28-30
Car #
CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown (NT) June 16 - 18
Class
Supercars Winton Supersprint (VIC) May 19-21
LEADERBOARD
Clipsal 500 Adelaide (SA) March 2-5
- 2017 -
R1
R2
R3
R4
R5
R6
R7
TOTAL
Pro Masters Category Pro Masters
18
John Bowe
175
50
225
Pro Masters
85
Mark King
143
50
193
Pro Masters
17
Steve Johnson
95
92
187
Pro Masters
35
Jason Gomersall
131
50
181
Pro Masters
30
Eddie Abelnica
0
106
106
2
Jim Richards
91
0
91
Pro AM Category ProAM
95
Adam Bressington
162
102
264
ProAM
74
Andrew Fisher
150
50
200
ProAM
6
Ryan Hansford
102
98
200
ProAM
12
Adam Garwood
110
85
195
ProAM
3
Cameron Mason
92
89
181
ProAM
9
Wayne Mercer
95
80
175
ProAM
88
Tony Karanfilovski
116
50
166
ProAM
25
Cameron Tilley
67
95
162
ProAM
28
Brad Tilley
110
0
110
ProAM
56
Brett Youlden
104
0
104
ProAM
5
Bruce Williams
0
50
50
ProAM
8
Terry Lawlor
49
0
49
ProAM
60
Paul Freestone
0
0
0
ProAM
52
Keith Kassulke
0
0
0
ProAM
4
Rusty French
0
0
0
TCM has great support from major sponsors Total Lubricants, Rare Spares, Shannons Insurance and Hoosier Tyres, the support of V8 Supercars and the Shannons Nationals.
For more information visit www.touringcarmasters.com.au
Whiteline Racing is supported by
www.adelaidesigndesign.com.au