NEXT weekend’s RaceFuels Winton Festival of Speed is set to see a return to the track for a significant Group A Commodore that came to grief at this year’s Phillip Island Penrite 100 Classic.
Adrian Allisey was one of the early entries for Winton’s Heritage Touring Car round, after his ex-Garry Willmington VL Commodore Group A SV crashed at Lukey Heights during qualifying for the March event, suffering significant rear-end damage.
A perennial frontrunner in contemporary competition, the VL is presented in the same livery as it raced at Bathurst in 1992 in the hands of Willmington, John Leeson and Tom Watkinson.
The car holds a special place in Holden’s history books, with its debut at Oran Park’s 1988 Pepsi 250 coming weeks ahead of the works HSV outfit’s debut of the fuel-injected ‘Walkinshaw’ spec at the Sandown 500.
Beyond the returning Commodore, the Winton Festival of Speed will feature a stacked field of genuine Group C and A machines, ensuring the Heritage Touring Cars are a must-see category.
The front of the pack will no doubt feature a pair of Ford Sierras, with Terry Lawlor’s ex-Dick Johnson example to be joined on track by Chris Stillwell, fresh from Le Mans, in his Benson & Hedges machine.
Also from the Group A ranks will be Peter Xiberras in his ex-Graeme Crosby VK Commodore.
Don Dimitriadis will be back on track in his ex-Lansvale Racing Walkinshaw, joined by Michael Logiudice’s VK Commodore, David Towe’s classic JPS BMW M3, Trent Harrison’s ex-Colin Bond Alfa Romeo GTV6 and Aarron Hodges in his freshly restored Ford Mustang.
Somewhat bucking the trend, the field is top-heavy with Group C entries that ran through the end of 1984.
In the mix will be Milton Seferis in his ex-Peter Janson VH Commodore, with other Commodore runners including Glenn Gerstel and Anthony Tenkate.
Anthony Sawford, meanwhile, will be a starter in his ex-Craven Mild Torana.
Jacob Khouri has slotted into the Yellow Pages Mazda RX-7, which has been doing much winning in recent times with Elliot Barbour, while Justin Nilsson is entered in the unique Nissan Exa Turbo.
Last but certainly not least from the Blue Oval camp, Ian Ross (XD Falcon) and Carl Muller (Capri) will be in the thick of the battle.
Besides the Heritage Touring Cars, tin tops star in numerous other categories on the Winton bill.
The Touring Car Legends will bring together classics from across the motorsport landscape in a super-sprint format, with the well-attended Touring Car Tributes running along similar lines.
The Group N Historic Touring Cars have attracted two fields of cars, while the Fitzy Cup celebrates the career of Peter Fitzgerald with a sensational array of Porsches.
Other classes on the schedule include Historic Formula Ford, two fields of Group S sports cars, MGs, and a combined field of Porsche 944s and BMW E30s.
Tickets for Winton Festival of Speed are currently available online.
The Winton Festival of Speed is a V8 Sleuth advertising partner
The Undercut – How hot is too hot?
The Undercut is back for another week, downloading a hot weekend in the Top End for Supercars!