Historic Supports for Bathurst Six Hours
More than 240-cars will take to Mount Panorama this Easter on the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour support event program with a strong emphasis on historic racing. Three of the five support categories on the schedule are all reminder of the proud heritage of the circuit with Heritage Group C+A Touring Cars, HQ Holdens, and Group N Historic Touring Cars all attracting bumper fields to the exceptionally diverse racing program.
The return of the classic cars from Bathurst’s past headline the return of the Heritage Touring Cars category, with famous cars from the Group C and Group A eras entered amongst the deep 43-car field. Amongst the entries, Carey McMahon’s ex-Tony Longhurst Ford Sierra RS500 will take on its late 1980s rival for Ford bragging rights from Dick Johnson Racing – now driven by Chris Stilwell.
Tony Alford – who will also contest the Bathurst 6 Hour – will likely also run at the pointy end in his Nissan GT-R, while Terry Lawlor (Dick Johnson Racing Ford Mustang) and David Holc (Holden Commodore VL) will add some Bathurst V8 muscle. Bathurst legend Bob Holden will also return in his Toyota Corolla.
From the Group C era, Ed Singleton’s ex-Allan Grice Roadways Commodore will also be a feature.
The capacity 55-car HQ Holden field includes several of the best runners in the country, including Bathurst 1000 legend David ‘Skippy’ Parsons, Brett Osborn, Gary Bonwick and second-gen HQ racer, Joel Heinrich. Open to four-door HQ Holden saloons from 1971 to 1972, the popular series always provides close=matched racing.
The big Group N Historic Touring Cars field includes an array of classic Touring Cars from the 1960s and early 1970s – meaning that along with the Group C and Group A grid, a vast chunk of Bathurst’s history will be covered on-track this Easter.
Notable names include Group N legend Brad Tilley and his Ford Mustang and Dean Neville’s storming Chevrolet Camaro.
The field also includes class runners in diverse machinery ranging from Holden Torana XU-1s to Ford Cortina’s, Mazda RX2 and Porsche 911s.
A busy Saturday schedule will see ten race or regularity sessions held either side of qualifying for the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour, with the HQ Holdens, Heritage Touring Cars and Group N cars all racing Sunday morning prior to the 11:30am start of the enduro, which has this year attracted 66-entries.
The 2017 Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour commences at 11:30am on Sunday, 16th of April.
