HTCAV Club President wins 2017 Championship
The Historic Touring Car Association of Victoria (HTCAV) Club Championship is not an easy thing to win. Based on class results, it offers equal opportunity for all cars - great and small - to take the prized John Mann Cup at year’s end.
More points are won with more cars in the class, and the best-five-of-seven rounds are counted. So it’s every bit as serious for those Cortinas locked in battle as it is for the Mustangs thundering past them…
Big Six & Maximum Minis
This year’s champ, Les Walmsley, didn’t just accrue points: he and his amazing Valiant Charger E49 R/T (with a motor that remained untouched for 17 race meetings) won outright on at least six occasions.
With a combination of good handling and brakes, reliable power and silky driving skills, man and machine hunted down monster V8 Mustangs, Monaros and Camaros, to the glorious soundtrack of a bellowing straight six.
Underscoring the level playing field of the competition, second and third places were taken by Minis – Richard Hill and Adrian Read. These two seemed to be seldom more than a second apart all year, swapping finishing orders and fastest laps.
Adrian, second in the 2016 championships, scored the most points ever recorded in a year this past season to win the President’s Cup. But it’s the five best results that actually count…
Off the Podium
They say racing is a young man’s game. But in fourth place, winning his class and just four points off the podium came the man who just keeps scoring points: 77-year-old ‘Fast Johnny’ Luxmoore in his Cortina GT. ‘Fast’ is fast becoming a legend in historic touring car racing for his enduring performances and dry wit (“I’m not here to be fitted for a suit!”).
Fifth was another character, Darren ‘Spud’ Smith, who claims his big white Falcon XY GT is “just a road car with a roll cage”. Winning the Over 5000cc class with a string of top performances against more fancied opposition means he’ll never say that again with a straight face…
Stephen Pillekers, HTCAV club champ in 2015, was Mr Consistency again to take sixth and top honours in 3000-3300cc (aka the ‘Holden Torana class’), while Chris Ralph in the BMW 2002 took seventh and the Under 2-litre class win in his last season of racing, after 35 years in the category.
Early points leader, Nathan Gordon in his Holden Torana, suffered a big blow up at Phillip Island in October that scuppered any chances of challenging for the John Mann Cup, but he still had enough points in hand to grab eighth overall, while young rising BMW star Gabriel Digenis put in stellar drives late in the 2017 season to jump into ninth.
Completing the top ten was Mick Stupka, the man who loves building race cars and actually had four in the top 10: the two BMWs and two he used in the year; his Volvo 122S (now sold to rally hot-shoe Andrew White); and a Citroen 11D (hint: Mick says this is still for sale at a most reasonable price).
Tough Competition, Close Ties
Behind every class winner were torrid battles and the accompanying highs and lows. Historic touring car racing everywhere has its fair share of those and the HTCAV is no exception, but great mateship and instant willingness to help each other in the pits always evens the score.
Interest in the category has grown since JUST CARS became the category’s naming rights sponsor; more co-sponsors are now on board, so more money is being rebated to competitors, helping off-set the costs of racing old cars never built for racing in the first place!
On behalf of all the historic touring car competitors who raced in Victoria, the HTCAV thanks its sponsors warmly for their support during the 2017 season, wishing them and all JUST CARS readers (the ‘old car tribe’) a happy, safe and successful 2018.
Speaking of 2018, the first big meet for this year is the Phillip Island Classic on 9-11 March. Look for a more detailed review in a future issue of JUST CARS.
If you’re planning on heading down to the Island for this popular annual event – and you absolutely should! - don’t just sit in the outfield and watch the show, make your way to the pits and come say hello to the HTCAV drivers!
Words: Chris Ralph
Photos: Phil Wisewould
