The TA2 Racing Muscle Car Series is an Australian
motor racing
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...
category using
TA2 class cars most closely associated with the American
Trans-Am Series
The Trans-Am Series presented by Pirelli is a sports car racing series held in North America. Founded in 1966, it is sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Primarily based in the United States, the series competes on a variety of ...
. It is the featured category at all rounds of the
Hi-Tec Oils Super Series, an annual motor racing series held at various tracks in eastern Australia. The category is managed by TA2 Racing Australia, and sanctioned by the
Australian Auto Sport Alliance
The Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA) is an organisation that promotes and administers motorsport in Australia founded in 2003. The AASA formed due to dissatisfaction with the governing body of Australian motorsport, the Confederation of Austra ...
. The category ownership, along with the distribution and parts business, was sold to a group of long-standing series competitors in 2024.
It is one of two Australian national-level racing series featuring TA2-class cars; the other is the
Australian National Trans-Am Series
The Australian National Trans-Am Series (also known as the Trico Trans-Am Series after the series sponsor) is a national motor sport series based on the American Trans-Am series.
It is a spec series featuring featuring TA2-class cars, and runs ...
. While run independently, both series feature identical cars, and the TA2 series organisers have changed technical regulations to keep cars eligible for both series.
History
The category was established after driver and businessman Peter Robinson imported a
Howe Racing Enterprises TA2-spec vehicle, with the intention of competing in a Queensland state-based sports sedan series. According to Robinson and colleague Craig Harris, they thought the relatively low purchase and operating cost, and the good performance of the vehicle made it a good basis for a
one-make racing series.
In 2020, racing promotor ARG licensed the rights to the Trans-Am trademarks in Australia. However, an agreement between ARG and TA2 Racing Australia fell through, and TA2 Racing Australia opted to continue running the category as part of the AASA-sanctioned "
Australian Motor Racing Series
The Australian Motor Racing Series (sometimes known as Australian Motor Racing Championships) is a collection of national motor racing series travelling to a series of circuits across Australia under a single banner. These race meetings represent ...
" (in 2024, branded as the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series).
ARG subsequently set up their own series based on the same cars, the
Australian National Trans-Am Series
The Australian National Trans-Am Series (also known as the Trico Trans-Am Series after the series sponsor) is a national motor sport series based on the American Trans-Am series.
It is a spec series featuring featuring TA2-class cars, and runs ...
.
The 2020 and 2021 series were affected by the global Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, due to competitors being unable to travel between Australian states due to quarantine restrictions, two separate titles were awarded, a northern and southern series.
Cars
The TA2 Racing Muscle Car Series is a
spec series
One-design racing is a racing method which may be adopted in sports using complex equipment, whereby all vehicles have identical or very similar designs or models, avoiding the need for a handicap system.
Motorsport
One-make racing series (also ...
using identical
spaceframe
In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space structure ( 3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space frames can be used to span large areas with ...
chassis
built by
Howe Racing Enterprises and using a modified
GM LS3 engine. Most components are controlled, must be purchased from the vehicle's Australian distributor, and cannot be modified.
The cars may use one of three fibreglass bodies resembling the
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro sha ...
,
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...
, or
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three generations of automobiles produced by the American automobile manufacturer Dodge. However, the first use of the Challenger name by Dodge dates back to 1959 for marketing a "value version" of the full- ...
; regardless of the car body, the underlying chassis and engines are the same.
Meeting format
The championship has generally been held over approximately six rounds. Of these rounds, most have three or four sprint races of approximately 20–30 minutes duration.
After a free practice session on the Friday of a race meeting, starting order for the first race of most race meetings is determined by a qualifying session.
Starting order for subsequent races is determined by the finishing order in the immediately previous race.
In 2023 and 2024, one “enduro round” per season was held featuring a race of approximately one hour in length, with the option of a co-driver.
Unlike many circuit racing series in Australia, this series features "rolling starts" where the cars form up in grid order (in two rows) behind a
safety car
In motorsport, a safety car, or a pace car, is a car that limits the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a ''caution period,'' such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. The safety car aims to enable the ...
for a formation lap before commencing racing.
Media coverage
The 2024 series is broadcast on
SBS, through subscription TV providers
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports Australia Pty Limited (formerly Premier Media Group Pty Limited) is the division of Foxtel that owns and operates the Fox Sports television networks and digital properties in Australia. The group operates nine Fox Sports Channels as w ...
and
Kayo Sports
Kayo Sports is an Australian over-the-top video streaming service owned by Hubbl, a subsidiary of Foxtel. Launched in November 2018, the service is oriented towards sports, carrying live and on-demand content from Foxtel's Fox Sports networks ...
, and an extended livestream covering some practice and qualifying sessions as well as races on
YouTube
YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
and
SBS On Demand.
The series is covered by specialist motor racing publications including
Auto Action
''Auto Action'' is an Australian motorsport magazine. The first edition was published on 24 February 1971. It became part of Australian Consolidated Press and was included in its 2012 sale to Bauer Media Group
Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), t ...
and
SpeedCafe
Speedcafe.com is an Australian-based motorsport news website that launched on 23 October 2009. The site had over 50 million page views in 2020.
Speedcafe.com is a source of news and race reports for the Supercars Championship, Formula One, and o ...
.
Champions
References
{{Reflist
Auto racing series in Australia