By Bruce Williams
Date posted: 25 July 2026
Touring Car Masters will roll out its biggest grid of the season at the Apex Steel Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 29–30, with 33 cars entered for the category’s only appearance away from the Supercars undercard this year.
Duggan Family Hotels backs the Muscle Car Masters round, and will do so again when the category returns to Mount Panorama for Bathurst. The Sydney entry tops the 26 that contested Townsville and continues a steady climb through 2026, but category manager Dean Bryant says the entry list matters more than the count.
“This is an event everyone in the TCM world has been looking forward to,” Bryant said. “The promoters and everyone involved have done a fantastic job, and TCM has really taken it to heart.
“What is more important than the number is the roll call of names that are driving.”
Big names line up at Sydney Motorsport Park
Current series leader Steven Johnson heads a field built on the category’s regulars, among them Ryan Hansford, Andrew Fisher and Cameron Tilley, joined by a string of returning names. George Miedecke is back in the second of the Whiteline Racing Camaros driven at Townsville by Joel Heinrich, while Dick Johnson Racing first-year Supercars rookie Rylan Gray will pilot his father Jeremy’s Ford Capri Perana. Six-time TCM champion John Bowe also makes a welcome return, driving the Bendigo Retro HQ Monaro GTS 350 in a unique retro paint scheme.
New South Wales gets a home-track story too, with young charger Jamie Tilley returning aboard his father Brad’s big green Ford Falcon XY GTHO, one of the most popular cars in the category’s history, after the pair sold their Mustang.
Scott Cameron’s #95 Whiteline Racing / Gusto Finance Chevrolet Camaro at Townsville — the opening-round winner will be one of the cars to beat at the Muscle Car Masters. Image: James Smith
Cameron the car to beat
One of the drivers to beat will be Scott Cameron, who set the benchmark at the season opener on this very circuit. In his first weekend aboard the #95 Whiteline Racing / Gusto Finance Chevrolet Camaro RS, resplendent in fresh purple and white colours, Cameron took pole with a lap record and swept all three races at Sydney Motorsport Park. Racing at his home track, he arrives as the man the field will have to measure itself against.
Johnson arrives on a Townsville high
Johnson arrives in Sydney on the back of a commanding Townsville weekend. He led every lap of the opener at Reid Park, then closed the round out by leading all nine laps of the finale to hold off a persistent Angus Fogg by 0.5542s and extend his championship lead.
Between them, Heinrich took Sunday morning’s race aboard the Whiteline Racing Camaro, controlling all nine laps to finish 6.6525s clear of Johnson and setting the weekend’s benchmark with a 1m20.5806s.
The Kiwis gave the locals plenty to think about. Fogg carved through from the back row to seventh in the opener, edged Jordan Cox by 0.0571s for fifth in Race 2, then ran Johnson to the flag in the finale. Hansford collected a pair of Sunday podiums in his Holden Torana A9X, while Fisher and Dave Casey filled the top five in the closer after attrition thinned the field.
Trans-Tasman Challenge opens in Sydney
Sydney also opens the 2026 Trans-Tasman Challenge, a three-round contest taking in Muscle Car Masters, The Bend and the Bathurst 1000. Five New Zealand entries are locked in, among them Fogg and Lance Hughes, with another four joining at Mount Panorama to make nine.
The Jordan Cox Mazda RX-7 is the only invited car on the grid, with the regular TCM competitors joined by some familiar names making a return.
From Sydney the category heads back to the Supercars undercard for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on 11–13 September, the middle leg of the Trans-Tasman Challenge and TCM’s last outing before Bathurst.
Reigning champion Joel Heinrich leads Angus Fogg and Ryan Hansford on the Reid Park street circuit at the NTI Townsville 500. Image: James Smith
A muscle car showcase
For Bryant, being handed the top of the card at a meeting built around Australian muscle is the part that carries the most weight.
“We are the headline act,” he said. “The whole weekend is touring cars and muscle cars, which is sensational, and I think that is what the Australian public really look for.
“To have TCM as the headline act is something we take seriously. We are proud to be able to do that and proud to be involved. We have worked incredibly hard to make sure we not only put a good grid together, but that we put on a fantastic show.
“I think the TCM racing at Muscle Car Masters will surpass anything we have seen previously.”
Teams will use the pitlane garages and the corporate rooms above them across the weekend, and Bryant wants the gates thrown open.
“We want the fans to come out, walk into the pits and have a look, ask if they can get a photo taken in a car,” he said. “We encourage it.”
Tickets and TV coverage
Tickets for the Apex Steel Muscle Car Masters are on sale through Humanitix, with children 16 and under admitted free alongside a ticketed adult.
The meeting lands its first major broadcast, with 17 hours of coverage across the weekend on SBS, Fox Sports and Kayo, plus streaming through Motorsports.TV and the ARDC’s YouTube channel. Racing runs day and night, with the field under lights on the Saturday.
Tony Auddino’s #53 Ford Falcon leads Warren Trewin’s #77 Holden HQ Monaro and Tony Karanfilovski’s #88 Ford Mustang on the streets of Townsville — the battle for mid-field places will be a highlight of the Muscle Car Masters. Image: James Smith
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