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The Introduction of the V6 Twin Turbo to Supercars

Way back in 2014, it was announced that Supercars (formally V8 Supercars) were going to open up their rules starting in 2017 to allow cars other than 4 door sedans and engines other than 5 litre V8’s into the category. Dreams of Camaro’s, Mustang’s and GTR’s instantly overcame the Supercars fan base. Fast forward to the 2017 season and no teams or manufacturers had taken up the offer to run a new car in the category. We have however, received an insight in to the future of the category via the Red Bull Triple Eight Racing Team, who have been developing both their ZB Commodore body and more importantly the 3.6 litre Twin Turbo V6 engine. With a reported 475kw, the new powerplant was manufactured in Pontiac, Michigan before being shipped to Triple Eight Racing for testing in their Sandman ride day car. And while we will only see the engine on track in select events in 2018, preparations are well underway with all three of Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen spinning laps in the Sandman. So it’s all systems go from a development side of things, but how do the general punters feel about the move? Well, it’s fair to say the public’s opinion on the issue is all over the place. Triple Eight Racing recently released footage of the Sandman cutting laps around the Norwell Motorplex in Queensland and opened the floor for feedback from Supercars fans. Some think it’s absolute sacrilege that anything other than a big V8 will grace the starter at Bathurst, Sandown or Surfers Paradise. Others were pleasantly surprised by the unique sound provided by the boosted small capacity V6. I’m sure that the very Facebook comments section below this blog will provide a wide array of opinions and beliefs on the topic! Alas, the V6 is on its way and you can’t help but wonder how it will stack up. Will it be a case of miscalculation, where the new option comes in and lays waste to the competition? Or will the engineers strike the perfect balance of power and controllability that ensures that the Supercars of the future are not all that different to years past? Time will tell. Detractors will point to the Nissan Skyline’s of the early 90’s that were just about unstoppable at the hands of Mark Skaife and Jim Richards as to why mixing naturally aspirated engines and their force fed cousins is a recipe for disaster. They’ll also point to the fact that there won’t be a twin turbo production Commodore available to the general public as a reason for their lack of enthusiasm. But technology has come a long way in the last decade and it’s been quite some time since Supercars closely resembled any sort of production car. So in this writer’s humble opinion, providing the racing is still interesting, the crowds will flock and the modern day ‘Australian Touring Car Championship’ will live on. What are your thoughts on the introduction of the twin turbocharged V6 to the Supercars championship? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook Page and let us know in the comments section below.

Four Incredible Australian Barn Finds

Barn finds are the stuff of any rev-heads dreams, but for most they are just that; a dream. For some however, dreams of uncovering a timeless classic hidden away in a barn or shed have come to fruition, with many not quite understanding the goldmine they possess until the car has long outlived its ‘best-before’ date. In this week’s blog, we’ll take a quick look at four incredible barn finds that have been uncovered across Australia over the last decade. 1956 FJ Special Found in Essendon back in 2010 this beautiful example with original paint bears a proud 43,067 miles on the odometer. A Southern Motors sold car it has it’s original leads, original owner’s manual and receipts still with the car. It was a one owner car and obviously was used very sparingly. It has some light battle scars such as some panel scrapes from a brush with a steel gate and some speckling in the paint but this all only adds to the character of this very original car. It’s current custodian purchased the car from the original owner’s son and continues to maintain it so as to keep it’s history intact. 1968 HK Monaro The original owner of this Monaro had stored it in his shed for the first 24 years of its life, and upon purchase by its current owner it spent a further 25 odd years under wraps. For the first 49 years of this car’s life it had seen very little action, and it wasn’t until the current owner’s brother got in his ear about fixing it up to make a trip to Summernats 2016 that there was any real plans to get this car back on the road. With only a dash of oil and tank of fuel added, the Monaro fired into life and with only a couple more updates this classic Monaro was on its way to Summernats! From then on, despite its exterior appearance, the iconic Monaro has been a picture of perfect reliability, regularly hitting the road for a leisurely cruise. 1977 LX A9X Hatchback Purchased when the collector/owner recognised the investment potential of the A9X in the mid-90’s, the Torana was then stored on blocks under his house and used very sparingly throughout the next 17 years. Back in 2011, the Flamenco Red Torana was found still dormant under the late collector’s house and listed for auction with no reserve. While it was expected the Torana would fetch in the vicinity of $80,000-$120,000, the room was shocked to see bidding rise to an astounding $149,000! With only 99,000 original kilometres, this barn find was described as being in immaculate condition, and likely to be one of the best kept, unrestored A9X’s in the country! The question is what’s she worth now? 1971 XY GTHO Phase 3 This blue oval barn find currently resides in the Gosford Classic Car Museum, it was purchased recently by the museum in the back blocks of WA. It was a one owner vehicle and all travel was notated by the owner in a log book and all receipts also kept. Sold new by Lynas Motors the local Ford dealer, it has not been driven since 1982. It is 1 of only 18 XY GTHO’s produced in the factory Nugget Gold metallic paint. It currently sports a set of Bathurst Globes on it’s feet and has not even been started yet by the museum. A guess at value would lead you to think it would push seven figures but in the current market it is very difficult to say with such a rare well documented example… Do you have a classic car living in your shed? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know all about your classic car!

1979 Bathurst Re-cap

In the lead up to this year’s Bathurst 1000, Rare Spares are taking a look back at some of the most memorable Bathurst’s in history. We kicked things off with a look at the 1992 Bathurst 1000, which you can read about here. In this second installment, we will be re-capping the 1979 Hardie Ferodo 1000, an event that typifies the legend of the late great, Peter Brock. Peter Brock, 34 at the time with three Bathurst victories under his belt, was partnered with New Zealander Jim Richards and the all-conquering A9X Torana. Coming off a second place finish in the 1979 Australian Touring Car Championship, Brock and co-driver Richards were undoubtedly favourites for the big race. After dominating practice, qualifying and the Hardies Heroes Top Ten Shootout to the tune of a 2 second victory, Brock started the race from the front of the grid. With the likes of Larry Perkins, Allan Grice, Allan Moffat, Dick Johnson and Bob Morris fronting the starter some were predicting it mightn’t be the walk in the park that many thought was a guaranteed. Well any doubters were silenced almost immediately with Brock pulling out to a 5 second lead within the first lap. Brock dominated the first 2 hours of proceedings before pitting for fuel and allowing Richards to jump behind the wheel of the mighty Torana. The domination continued throughout Richards’ stint, who performed the role of a model co-driver by running fast, clean laps before handing the car back over to Brock to bring it home. The final stint of the race has gone down in racing folklore. Brock continued to run rings around the field, eventually taking the chequered flag some six laps ahead of the competition, even managing to break the circuit lap record on the final lap of the race!  The Torana domination wasn’t confined to the top step of the podium either, with the next seven, yes you read that correctly, seven positions also occupied by Toranas! After the race Brock described the race as “An absolute dream run for us. From the word go the car was really on the ball and we drove it fast all day. We didn’t have to slow down for any reason.” Of course, Brocky would go on to win five more Bathurst’s and the 24hour race in 2003, making him the most successful racer at the mountain, it is this race though that is remembered as one of his best. Which year at Bathurst should we re-cap next? Do you have a favourite Bathurst memory? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

Five Close Motorsport Finishes

Parity has become an increasing focus across almost all forms of motorsports in recent years, however close races are still few and far between. As motoring enthusiasts there’s not much we love more than watching two drivers go toe-to-toe over the distance of a race with the end result coming down to the thousandth of a second. In this week’s blog we’ll take a look back at a few of the closest and most memorable motorsport finishes in history. 1986 Spanish Formula 1 GP In a race between two of racing’s most famous and well respected racers Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, the end result will be remembered as one of the closest in the history of Formula 1. Mansell elected to pit in the closing stages of the race for fresh tyres while Senna elected to stay out on older, worn out rubber. Mansell took increasingly bigger chunks out of the late Brazilian’s lead as the race wore on; eventually falling only 0.014 seconds short of victory after Senna successfully covered his lines in the final corners. 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 The 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 came down to the wire between eventual winner Ricky Craven and the hot-headed Kurt Busch. As the two cars approached the line the two traded paint, with Craven eventually holding of Busch by 0.002 seconds at “The Track Too Tough To Tame.” Subsequently, the race was voted as the best NASCAR race of the decade by members of NASCAR Media. 2013 Freedom 100 Commentators at the time were calling it the greatest finish in the history of the Indianapolis Raceway, as four drivers from the IndyCar support category; Peter Dempsey, Gabby Chavez, Carlos Manoz and Sage Karam went toe-to-toe on the final lap. The resulting finish looks as though it had been staged as the drivers finished four-wide with Dempsey making a last straight dash from fourth to first. The final result; first and second were separated by 0.0026 seconds, with the gap to fourth totaling 0.0443 seconds. 2006 Portuguese MotoGP 2006 was an interesting year for Moto GP, as multi-time world champion struggled with an unreliable bike and struggled to reach the lofty heights of seasons past. This left the late Nicky Hayden to take out the championship under thrilling circumstances. In hindsight the Portuguese GP would prove to be the race that potentially cost Rossi the championship as a hard charging Toni Elias came from way back to snatch victory by 0.0002 seconds. 2016 NHRA Summit Southern Nationals This race went about as close as you could get to a dead-heat, with NHRA Top Fuel Drag racers Doug Kalitta beating teammate JR Smith by a miniscule 0.0001 seconds, or about an inch. You would be forgiven for thinking that results like this are a foregone conclusion in drag racing, with similar cars racing over such a short distance. However, the more you watch top level drag racing, the more you realise that the chances of both cars having a perfectly clean run are slim to none. This race truly was an impressive spectacle. Do you know of any other close racing finishes? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know about your favourites in the comments section below.

1992 Bathurst Re-cap

As the Supercar enduro cup is about to begin and the iconic Bathurst 1000 creeps up on us at a rapid rate, we’ve decided to produce a series of articles on some of the more memorable Bathurst’s over the years. We chose to begin with 1992 for a number of reasons, firstly it’s one of the more controversial Bathurst in the race’s history, and with the re-introduction of turbochargers in 2018 (in the form of wildcard entries) creating a bit of talk currently, we thought it would be worth checking out the last time turbo’s hit the mountain. For a bit of background in the 1992 event, Jim Richards and a young Mark Skaife had been campaigning the all-conquering Nissan GT-R throughout the 1991 and 1992 seasons with a championship a piece and Bathurst victory in 91 to boot. To say that the ‘Godzilla’ wasn’t universally loved would be an understatement. Ford and Holden fans were displeased with the GT-R’s perceive benefits, namely four-wheel drive and a power advantage. Bathurst weekend arrived and to the joy of Ford fans, Dick Johnson was able to upstage the GT-R in the top 10 shootout, putting down an incredible time in his Ford Sierra RS500 with Skaife following almost 2 seconds behind. On race day, the track was hit with severe weather (eventually resulting in 16 DNF’s), with Richards’ and Skaife’s four wheel drive GT-R benefitting from the inclement conditions. In the early stages of the race, tragedy struck. New Zealander Denny Hulme lost his life after suffering a heart attack mid-race. Hulme’s car came to a rest on Conrod straight under seemingly innocuous circumstances, before he was then transferred to Bathurst Hospital where he passed away. Racing resumed after a prolonged safety car period and as conditions worsened the majority of the field pit for wet tyres, however, the Nissan stayed out on slicks ensuring they were able to stretch their lead to a seemingly insurmountable one-lap lead. More and more cars found themselves in the wall as conditions continued to deteriorate, and eventually the stewards were left no option other than to red-flag the race. In the meantime, as Richards continued making his way around the circuit he damaged the front left wheel of the GTR, before losing traction out of forest elbow and winding up off the circuit with a score of other mangled cars. The stewards were left with the unenviable task of declaring a race winner, eventually deciding to score the race as finished on the previously completed 143rd lap, resulting in race victory to Richards and Skaife. The result didn’t sit well with Holden and Ford fans, who booed and jeered the two as they stood on the podium. Richards’ response will go down in racing folklore; “I thought Australian race fans had a lot more to go than this, this is bloody disgraceful. I’ll keep racing, but I’ll tell you what, this will remain with me for a long time. You’re a pack of arseholes.” While certainly creating a stir at the time, in hindsight it’s just one of many incredible moments that shape the history of the incredible racing spectacle that takes place at Mt Panorama each year. Stay tuned as we continue to talk Bathurst in the lead up to this year’s great race. What do you remember about the 1992 Bathurst 1000? Do you agree with the steward’s decision? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

Summer Cruising – 5 Classic Convertibles

Whether it’s cruising through the countryside or through beachside tourist hotspots, there’s hardly a motoring experience that compares to driving a convertible on a beautiful summers day. In this week’s article we will take a look at five of our favourite drop top classics. 1958 Chevrolet Corvette With most Corvette’s along the journey displaying a certain level of ‘cool’, it’s difficult to pick just one as our favourite. However, there’s just something about the ’58 Chevy Corvette that screams American Classic. With white wall tires, quad headlights, an abundance of chrome and the iconic ‘creases’ in the doors, the ’58 ‘Vette is remembered as one of Chevrolet’s most popular cars. 283 cubic inches of engine were bolted to a 4 speed manual transmission, resulted in an (at the time) impressive 290hp from the top of the line fuel injected model.   Shelby Cobra The Shelby Cobra was the brainchild of Carol Shelby, who deemed it a great idea to place a Ford V8 engine in the tiny AC Ace roadster body. The original V8’s of choice were 260 and 289 cubic inch variants before making way for monster 427 and 428 cubic inch engines. Worldwide, the Cobra continues to prove popular among collectors although an original will set you back a pretty penny! More likely to be within reach of us mere mortals are the ‘continuation’ models that Shelby America still sells to this day or a replica kit car that is produced by several companies around the globe.   Ferrari 250GT SWB California The Ferrari 250GT SWB California is not only one of the most beautiful cars ever built; unsurprisingly it’s also one of the most expensive to ever be sold at auction. Sold for an eye wateringly high sum of US$15.2 million 12 months ago, this 250GT is one of only 56 ever built. While 56 is an already low number, at the present time only around half of those are accounted for. So, if you have a spare US$15 million up your sleeve, now might be the time to make a play for the 250GT convertible you’ve always had your eye on.   First Generation Mazda MX-5  Comfortably the most modern car on this list, the MX-5 is also the cheapest, and most likely the most fun to get behind the wheel of. The pint-sized Mazda doesn’t fit the typical sports car bill, opting in favour of a small sized 1.6 litre engine producing 85kw, Mazda instead turned its focus towards handling, utilising a further back than usual engine placement coupled with a shockingly low total weight of 980kg’s to bring the fun. The fourth generation MX-5 is now on showroom floors and after straying from the original brief for the second and third generations, all reports suggest the latest model is just as much a hoot to drive as the original! Jaguar E-Type Battling the above Ferrari for ‘most beautiful car ever built’ the E-Type roadster to this day is still immensely popular among collectors. With four wheel disc brakes coming standard and independent coil spring suspension, this Jag handled incredibly well for its day. Power was supplied by a 3.8 litre engine in series I models while later models were graced with the larger and more powerful 4.8 litre engine. While not in the same price range as the 250GT California; you’ll be hard pressed to find an E-Type convertible with much change to spare from a couple of hundred grand. What is your all-time favourite convertible? Do you agree with the list we’ve compiled? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

Five unusual HSV’s

Holden Special Vehicles has earned an iconic status in the Australian automotive landscape over the last 30 odd years and has manufactured some of the country’s most impressive and fastest sports cars. However, as with most manufactures, not every single model has been a hit with the public and some won’t go down in history as ‘special vehicles’. Time has not aged the below cars particularly well, but none the less in this article we will take a look at three HSV’s that were on the unusual side. HSV SV1800 Astra The Nissan Pulsar… ah Holden Astra, wait no the HSV SV1800 Astra will go down as one of the least inspiring and unsuccessful HSV’s to hit the showroom floor. Powering the SV1800 was the all-conquering 1.8 litre four Cylinder Holden Family II engine which produced a mind-warping 79kw and 151nm. HSV took the Pulsar, added HSV badges, a Walkinshaw-esque ‘wind tunnel designed’ body kits and a HSV build plate. Only 30 sedans and 35 hatchbacks were ever sold, with the remaining body kits winding up as a special option for the regular Holden Astra. HSV Jackaroo For the HSV Jackaroo, designers took the regular Holden Jackaroo added an uninspiring body kit, velour trim and badges… and that’s about it. Less than 100 of the off-roaders were built, so perhaps as with many other obscure, short-lived cars if you’re an owner you may be wondering if you’re sitting on a gold mine. Guess again. The HSV variant of the Jackaroo will likely net you somewhere in the region of $5-7K (very marginally more than the Holden variant). Off-roaders bemoan the lack of a V8 or a supercharger that would have undoubtedly ensured the Jackaroo lived up to the HSV reputation of being ‘special’.   HSV Challenger Chances are that you’ve probably never heard of the VN Challenger, only the most diehard HSV fans will remember the 50 ‘dolled-up’ Executive Commodore’s that were put together for the Holden dealer group in Canberra. Features included body coloured wheel covers and bumper bars, pin stripes, a HSV grille taken from the SV3800 and Challenger decals and the only colour option was ‘Alpine White’. While the Challenger itself is not particularly unusual, in fact if anything it’s far too ‘usual’ to be considered a ‘special vehicle’, it’s the reason behind its production which is strange. In the early 90’s, HSV produced a number of short run models to coincide with motoring events and other reasons they saw fit, including the Challenger as well as the DMG90, SVT-30, 8-plus and Plus-6, none of which quite reached the lofty heights of many HSV’s that followed. Have you owned any of the above HSV’s? Or maybe you have a story about one of the many other HSV’s that have hit showroom floors over the last three decades? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments below.

Gone But Not Forgotten – Australian Tracks of Yesteryear

Australia plays host to a number of internationally renowned motorsports events each and every year with Philip Island, Mount Panorama and Albert Park the most notable circuits on the motorsports calendar. But what about the tracks of yesteryear, the tracks that once held events which spectators would flock to in droves? What happened to these tracks and what lays in their place now? We will look to answer a few of these questions in this week’s blog. Oran Park Oran Park closed down in 2010 to make way for a housing development after almost 50 years of racing. The course held a reputation within both the car and motorcycle world as a tight, fast and unforgiving circuit which punished even the slightest mistake. The last Supercar race took place at the venue in 2008, in what also served as Mark Skaife’s final full time race event, Rick Kelly went to win the final race of the weekend while Garth Tander took the round win. Unfortunately, as a result of the housing development there’s not really anything left of the track at Oran Park, with only the street names such as Moffat St, Seton St and Peter Brock Drive to represent the racing of yesteryear.   Surfers Paradise Raceway Racing in Surfers Paradise began long before the days of champ cars, the Indy 300, A1 Grand Prix and Supercars as we know them today. Way back in 1966, Gold Coast Businessman Keith Williams (of Sea World fame) decided to build a co-existing race track and drag strip in Surfers Paradise. The popular track hosted weekly drags as well as the ATCC, Tasman Series and even the 1975 Australian Grand Prix with drivers such as Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Allan Moffat and Bob Jane racing at the track regularly. As with Oran Park, Surfers Paradise Raceway was demolished to give way to the ever-expanding urban sprawl. Of course racing still continues in the form of Supercars on the iconic Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, so not all racing has been lost in the city.   Catalina Park   Opening in 1960, ‘The Gully’ as it was commonly known was one of the nation’s more treacherous racing circuits including rock walls, cliffs and a narrow track right in the heart of the blue mountains. As a result of its mountainous location, fog issues ensured that many race days encountered scheduling issues. While racing stopped at the venue in 1970, the track was utilised for one lap dashes with single cars up until the 1990’s. In 2002 the site was declared an Aboriginal place. Lobethal Considered by some to be Australia’s Spa-Francorchamps, Lobethal was a fast, flowing street circuit in South Australia. The almost 14km course ran through the towns of Charleston and Lobethal, with scores of spectators basing themselves at the local pubs to watch the racing. The 1939 Australian Grand Prix was raced on the Lobethal circuit, with racers completing 17 laps in the scorching Australian summer – a number of cars were unable to complete the race. The final race meeting was held in 1948, before closed-street racing was banned altogether by the South Australian government. Have you driven or raced around any of these circuits? Or do you have a favourite Australian circuit that’s no longer with us? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook Page and let us know in the comments section below.

Celebrity Supercars – Jay Kay

Throughout 2017 we’ve been taking a look at some of the most impressive celebrity supercar collections around the world; we’ve looked at Jay Leno, Rowan Atkinson, Nick Mason and Eric Bana among others. In this installment we will be taking a look at the lead singer of Jamiroquai; Jay Kay, and his incredible collection of ‘about 90-100’ classic, crazy and all round impressive cars. With a number of hit songs throughout the 90’s and 00’s Jay Kay’s fortune skyrocketed to a net worth of an estimated $70 million, and as many of us would do, he has spent a large portion of this on exotic cars. A Porsche 918, ENZO Ferrari, Maserati, A6G Ferrari F40, Rolls Royce Phantom and Bentley Continental have held real estate in Jay Kay’s garage; however the following four cars are the ones that most caught our eye.     ‘Kermit the Frog Green’ LaFerrari With only 500 examples worldwide, chances are that you’ve never seen a LaFerrari in the flesh, and if you had you could almost bet it would have been red in colour, maybe black or even white. But not one afraid of standing out in a crowd, Jay Kay decided to go with bright green. At first glance, the car is interesting to say the least! However, in all fairness the incredible Ferrari didn’t look too bad in 2014 when it made the trip to Goodwood. And while understandably this wouldn’t be the first choice of colour for most, it does seem to suit Jay Kay!     Aston Martin DB5 There aren’t too many cars that are as instantly recognisable as the Aston Martin DB5, which of course leapt to stardom off the back of the wildly successful James Bond film franchise. A tick over 1000 DB5’s were built and are said to be worth in the area of £2 million these days, little surprise that one of the UK’s most impressive car collections is home to one.     Lamborghini Miura P400SV Featuring a 3.9 litre V12 and looks to die for, the Miura is widely considered one of the very first supercars. Capable of 0-60mph in just under 7 seconds, the Miura was fast by even today’s standards and with only 150 P400SV’s built it certainly ticks the exclusivity box. Making Jay Kay’s Miura even more unique was the lack of a driver’s side window, which shattered under the pressure of a door being closed with slightly too much force.     1965 Ferrari 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake This one of a kind Ferrari is one of the stranger cars that were ever in Jay Kay’s collection. What started as a 330 GT was commissioned to Fredo Vignale of Vignale Coachworks for modification to include shooting brake bodywork. This strange but impressive contraption has been a common sight at many car shows and even the odd short course hill climb over the last few years whilst under Jay Kay’s ownership. The 330 GT Vignale Shooting Brake was listed for sale by Jay Kay in 2015 for an undisclosed price, and if you have to ask for the price… well you know the rest. Which of these cars is the most impressive to you? Do you know of any celebrity car collections we haven’t covered yet? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.

Demolition Derby – Taking a look at the Winton TCM Crash

Back in May at the Winton SuperSprint, motorsport fans witnessed one of the bigger crashes in the history of the Touring Car Masters series. At Rare Spares, we love watching our favourite cars of yesteryear wind back the clock and hit the track in earnest. However, we can’t help but cringe a little when we see these beauties on the back of a truck being towed back to the pits in a crumpled mess! But, it is motorsport and we all know the risks when hitting the track, so in this article we’ll take a quick look at the incident, who was involved and what has gone into getting these masterpieces back on the track. Qualifying at Winton couldn’t have gone much better for Jason Gomersall who was able to place his Big Mate A9X Torana on pole for race 2, declaring it his greatest achievement in motorsport. The team was understandably stoked with the achievement, beating out racing legend John Bowe by mere two-one hundredths of a second. Unfortunately for Gomersall, the weekend became unforgettable for all the wrong reasons less than 24 hours later. Gomersall was off to a cracking start to the race, clearing his competition and heading into turn 2 with the track to himself. From here it all went pear shaped though, losing the rear end of the beautiful Torana he span in front of the oncoming field. What came next can be best described as complete and utter chaos. Gomersall span into the path of Eddie Abelnica and his XB Falcon before being collected by Mark King’s Camaro leaving both cars with very heavy front end damage. The ensuing pack had nowhere to go, with a number of cars finding each other or the surrounding walls. John Bowe was also caught up in the incident, resulting in a few broken ribs and a short stint in hospital. When all was said and done, seven cars were involved in the incident and the race was suspended. With a short turnaround to the Darwin round, many teams faced an uphill battle to get their cars back in racing condition. Gomersall’s Torana sustained extensive damage to the front cross member, steering rack and radiator, however the engine was largely undamaged and the rest of the car from the firewall back was almost unscathed. Incredibly the A9X was back racing in Darwin finishing in P4 for the weekend. Mark King’s Camaro wasn’t quite as lucky, however it’s well on its way to hitting the track again. In the meantime King has been behind the wheel of an incredible looking 1972 GTS Monaro. The TCM series continues in 2017 with rounds remaining at the marquee Supercar events held at Sandown, Bathurst and Newcastle, make sure you don’t miss any of the action! Do you own a TCM worthy classic car? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.