May 20, 2019 | General

WIDE-OPEN WINTON ROUND AWAITS TOURING CAR MASTERS

THE THIRD round of the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters series returns the championship to country Victoria as the series heads to the Truck Assist Winton SuperSprint this weekend.

The seventh eighth and ninth races of the 2019 season are expected to be among the most competitive of the year to date – thanks to both the addition of several proven winners to the field and a layout that somewhat evens the balance between cars larger and smaller.

While the building Mustang-versus-Camaro battle between Steven Johnson and Adam Bressington continues to grow it’s new or returning additions to the grid that may well be able to join the fight.

ROUND INFO: Click for schedule and TV times 

Aaron Seton’s addition in the THD Motorsport Ford Boss Mustang will likely add another contender to a mix of proven frontrunners that not only includes Johnson and Bressington but John Bowe Ryal Harris and Ryan Hansford amongst others.

The son of double Australian Touring Car champion Glenn has already tasted success driving similar cars to the five-litre Mustang he’ll race for the remainder of the year and though his 302-powered car may not quite have the horsepower of Johnson’s similar Mustang its lighter weight may assist around Winton’s 3.2km 12-turn layout.

Making his first start in more than two years Tasmanian Adam Garwood returns to something of a happy hunting ground this weekend when he makes his Touring Car Masters comeback with Whiteline Racing.

Driving the 1970 Chevrolet Camaro RS driven to multiple race wins by Mark King Garwood – then driving a Holden Torana – won race three at Winton in 2017.

A year before he was in a position to win his first ever race in the category only to be denied by Glenn Seton in the closing stages of that year’s third race. Garwood will drive with the in-form Whiteline team at Winton and Queensland Raceway this year.   

Set to make his Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters debut this weekend former V8 Utes and Commodore Cup racer Danny Buzadzic looks set to roll out his new Holden Torana A9X Hatchback at Winton.

The experienced Victorian driver has sat on the sidelines for some time as his car was prepared for competition however looks set to join cousin Marcus Zukanovic on the grid this weekend with the pair competing together for the first time in a long time.

The 23-strong Winton entry includes Damien Gambold who makes his first start of the season in his XD Ford Falcon and the pair of IROC Challenge-specification Porsche 911s of Sven Burchartz and Rohan Little.

Also set to make a remarkable comeback is the Wellpro Racing team and driver Rob Hackwood.

After a nasty incident at Phillip Island last time out the little team from Queensland has worked hard to rebuild their Pontiac Firebird in time for the third round of the championship this weekend.

The lone Pontiac on the grid had already shown impressive pace in the opening two rounds establishing the second-year TCM team as a regular contender at the pointy-end of the grid.

2019 marks the sixth straight year that the Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters series will have competed at the annual Winton Supercars round and the ninth in total.

Johnson Bowe and Bressington shared the wins at Winton last year Johnson winning the round over a consistent Ryan Hansford and Bressington’s Camaro.

However a look to the history books will give hope to those with smaller capacity cars this weekend.

Eleven of the last fourteen races at the venue have been one by cars with engine capacities of five litres or less with handling balance and power-down rather than brute horsepower acknowledged as keys to going quickly at Winton.

Less capacity also means less weight which ensures cars look after their tyres better throughout.

Bowe holds the circuit record for most race (14) and round (5) victories while his Payce-supported Holden Torana also holds both the race and qualifying lap records as well – both set back in 2016.

Johnson has won each of the five championship races held to date this season while Adam Bressington has finished on the podium in four of the five.

Johnson leads the championship by 35 points with Ryal Harris now third in the EFS Camaro.

Following a challenging start to the year John Bowe is fourth and Bruce Williams an outstanding fifth in his ACDelco Torana.

Johnson (ProMasters) and Williams (ProAm) lead their respective classes while an excellent start to his season has Jeremy Gray leading ProSports in his Ford Capri Perana.

The Paynter Dixon Touring Car Masters field will take to Winton Motor Raceway this Friday for practice and qualifying with the Dometic Trophy race to take place on Saturday morning.

Race 7 of the championship will be held later that afternoon while Races 8 and 9 will be held in quick succession on Sunday.

Qualifying and all four races will be shown live on FOX Sports 506 and Kayo Sports across the weekend.

ENTRY LIST: Round 3 2019

No	Sponsor Name	Driver	ÂÂ	State	Year	Make	Model
3	Western General Body Works	Danny	Buzadzic	VIC	1978	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X Hatch
5	ACDelco / Auto Action Magazine	Bruce	Williams	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000
6	Multispares Racing	Ryan	Hansford	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X
7	MOCOMM Motorsport Communications	Jim	Pollicina	NSW	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X
8	Bendigo Accident Repair Centre	Gary	O’Brien	VIC	1972	HoldenÂÂ	Monaro GTS
9	Jesus Racing	Andrew	Fisher	NSW	1971	Ford	Falcon XY GT HO
12	The Lighthouse Hotel – Burnett Heads	Peter	Burnitt	QLD	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana A9X
17	WM Waste / Kubota	Steve	Johnson	QLD	1969	Ford	Mustang Fastback
18	PAYNTER DIXON	John	Bowe	VIC	1974	HoldenÂÂ	Torana SL/R 5000
24	Wellpro Racing	Robert	Hackwood	QLD	1972	Pontiac	Trans Am
30	Hillier Brothers / THD Motorsport	Aaron	Seton	QLD	1969	Ford	Boss Mustang
33	Peter Drayton Wines	CameronÂÂ	Mason	NSW	1966	Ford	Mustang Fastback
37	Gambold Mechanical	Damien	Gambold	VIC	1980	Ford	Falcon XD
60	ANGLOMOIL Lubricants/MD Steel Fabrications	Cameron	Tilley	NSW	1969	Valiant	Pacer
58	EFS 4X4 Accessories	Ryal	Harris	QLD	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS
67	Bilstein/JMG Racing	Jeremy	Gray	QLD	1972	Ford	Capri Perana
71	Centec Security Industries	Markus	Zukanovic	VIC	1980	FordÂÂ	Falcon XD
77	Red Rock Winery / Skunk Werks	Rohan	Little	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 IROC
85	Whiteline Racing / Giraffe Civil Contracting	Adam	Garwood	SA	1970	Chevrolet	Camaro RS
88	TIFS – Warehousing & Distribution	Tony	Karanfilovski	NSW	1969	Ford	Mustang Trans Am
90	Kalus Kenny Intelex Lawyers-Advisors	Sven	Burchartz	VIC	1974	Porsche	911 IROC
95	Whiteline Racing / VDC	Adam	Bressington	NSW	1969	Chevrolet	Camaro SS