A REMARKABLE field has assembled for the Historic Touring Cars New Zealand’s place on the Supercars undercard at Christchurch’s Euromarque Motorsport Park, with the 38-car field headlined by Greg Murphy, Steven Richards and Paul Radisich.
The category brings together an eclectic mix of genuine Touring Cars from around the world, with the entry featuring 20 Group A cars, 12 Super Tourers, two Group 3A 5 Litre touring cars, two Group N cars and two local Schedule S machines.
Murphy will return to the wheel of the Honda Accord Super Tourer, which was formerly raced by David Leslie.
Richards, meanwhile, will race the Nissan Skyline GTS-R HR31, made famous by his father, Jim, with Radisich slated to get behind the wheel of a 1995-spec Ford Mondeo, a combination that was at the forefront of Super Touring at the height of the class.
Included in the field is Scott O’Donnell, who recently hit the headlines for taking an interest in the TWG Walkinshaw Supercars squad. He is entered in the famed Whittaker’s Peanut Slab Ford Sierra.
Lance Coupland will similarly be Sierra shod, with the return of his ex-Dick Johnson Racing example, which has undergone an extensive rebuild following a significant fire.
Familiar names to Bathurst 1000 fans will include Kayne Scott (Nissan Primera Super Tourer), Trevor Crowe (JPS BMW 635i Group A), plus Bruce Miles and Murray Cleland, who combined at the 1998 AMP Bathurst 1000, will both be behind the wheel of BMW Super Tourers.
While every car carries significant history, two notables include Kane Lawson’s ex-Peter Brock VP Commodore and Allan Dippie’s Bastos Rover Vitesse.
The category is scheduled to have three races over the event from April 17-19.