AN historically significant Group A Commodore came off worse for wear at the Phillip Island Penrite 100 Classic’s big three-day event.
Adrian Allisey’s ex-Garry Willmington VL Commodore Group A SV is in need of rear-end repairs after a major accident during Heritage Touring Cars qualifying on Friday afternoon.
The HTC regular mis-slotted a downshift on the run to Lukey Heights and ended up off the road. He backed his white and blue Holden into the outside wall, causing severe damage to the rear end.
The crash caused the session, which was the last of the day, to be abandoned.
Allisey emerged from the wrecked without injury and has already begun planning repairs for the Commodore that 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 unique place in Australian touring car racing history.
It was the first of the fuel-injected Group A SV VL models to race on Australian soil, even before the works Holden Special Vehicles entries.
It was given its racing debut by Willmington and Leeson at the 1988 Pepsi 250 at Oran Park in late August of that year, some weeks before the HSV cars debuted in ‘Walkinshaw’ spec at the Enzed 500 at Sandown.
Allisey’s Commodore had its fuel tank ruptured in the Friday afternoon crash. Photo: an1images.com / Mark Walker.
The car’s last Bathurst 1000 appearance in period came in 1993, though it did not qualify to race in the hands of Leeson and HQ Holden racers Steve Coulter and Greg Smith due to being unable to set a fast enough lap time.
Race 1 of Heritage Touring Cars at Phillip Island on Saturday was won by Elliot Barbour at the wheel of Carey McMahon’s Yellow Pages Mazda RX7 clear of Michael Logiudice’s VK Commodore and Terry Lawlor’s recently restored Shell DJR Sierra.
Eddie Sansil’s Diet Coke M3 BMW crashed, the barrier repairs causing a delay to the program. Subsequently the second race for Heritage Touring Cars later in the day was canned.
Barbour backed up to win Race 3 on Sunday morning over David Towe’s JPS BMW M3 and Trevor Sheumack’s BMW 318i Super Tourer.
Race 4 was canned after Sheumack’s BMW expired at the green flag on the rolling start and the Commodores of Logiudice and Mark Taylor had nowhere to go.
The Safety Car was called before the red flag soon followed and the race was abandoned for track clean up.
The Heritage Touring Cars will next be in action at Morgan Park in Queensland on May 9-10 followed by the Winton Festival of Speed at Winton on July 24-26 and the Muscle Car Masters at Sydney Motorsport Park on August 29-30.
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