{"id":822586,"date":"2026-07-25T08:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822586\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T08:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T08:27:15","slug":"touring-car-masters-33-car-field-for-muscle-car-masters-2026-at-sydney-motorsport-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822586\/","title":{"rendered":"Touring Car Masters 33-car field for Muscle Car Masters 2026 at Sydney Motorsport Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cameron<\/p>\n

By Bruce Williams<\/p>\n

Date posted: 25 July 2026<\/p>\n

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\u201330, with 33 cars entered for the category\u2019s only appearance away from the Supercars undercard this year.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an event everyone in the TCM world has been looking forward to,\u201d Bryant said. \u201cThe promoters and everyone involved have done a fantastic job, and TCM has really taken it to heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is more important than the number is the roll call of names that are driving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big names line up at Sydney Motorsport Park<\/p>\n

Current series leader Steven Johnson heads a field built on the category\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

New South Wales gets a home-track story too, with young charger Jamie Tilley returning aboard his father Brad\u2019s big green Ford Falcon XY GTHO, one of the most popular cars in the category\u2019s history, after the pair sold their Mustang.<\/p>\n

\"Scott<\/p>\n

Scott Cameron\u2019s #95 Whiteline Racing \/ Gusto Finance Chevrolet Camaro at Townsville \u2014 the opening-round winner will be one of the cars to beat at the Muscle Car Masters. Image: James Smith<\/p>\n

Cameron the car to beat<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Johnson arrives on a Townsville high<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Between them, Heinrich took Sunday morning\u2019s race aboard the Whiteline Racing Camaro, controlling all nine laps to finish 6.6525s clear of Johnson and setting the weekend\u2019s benchmark with a 1m20.5806s.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Trans-Tasman Challenge opens in Sydney<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

From Sydney the category heads back to the Supercars undercard for the AirTouch 500 at The Bend on 11\u201313 September, the middle leg of the Trans-Tasman Challenge and TCM\u2019s last outing before Bathurst.<\/p>\n

\"Joel<\/p>\n

Reigning champion Joel Heinrich leads Angus Fogg and Ryan Hansford on the Reid Park street circuit at the NTI Townsville 500. Image: James Smith<\/p>\n

A muscle car showcase<\/p>\n

For Bryant, being handed the top of the card at a meeting built around Australian muscle is the part that carries the most weight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the headline act,\u201d he said. \u201cThe whole weekend is touring cars and muscle cars, which is sensational, and I think that is what the Australian public really look for.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the TCM racing at Muscle Car Masters will surpass anything we have seen previously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teams will use the pitlane garages and the corporate rooms above them across the weekend, and Bryant wants the gates thrown open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said. \u201cWe encourage it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tickets and TV coverage<\/p>\n

Tickets for the Apex Steel Muscle Car Masters are on sale through Humanitix, with children 16 and under admitted free alongside a ticketed adult.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s YouTube channel. Racing runs day and night, with the field under lights on the Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Tony Auddino\u2019s #53 Ford Falcon leads Warren Trewin\u2019s #77 Holden HQ Monaro and Tony Karanfilovski\u2019s #88 Ford Mustang on the streets of Townsville \u2014 the battle for mid-field places will be a highlight of the Muscle Car Masters. Image: James Smith<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/a>\"\"\/<\/a>
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