Rookie sets the pace in final TA2 Muscle Car Series round at Winton Raceway.
First year TA2 driver Brock Paine claimed the RAS Pole Award after setting the fastest time in qualifying for the final round of the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series - presented by Maritimo Luxury Yachts at Winton Raceway Benalla today. His time of 1.24.08 edged Ben Gomersall’s Mustang by 4/10ths of a second with TFH Racing’s Josh Thomas 3rd from Blake Tracey, Josh Webster and Hayden Hume.
Diesel Thomas in the second TFH Hire Mustang had a drive line issue and qualified mid field with Gomersall and the Thomas Brothers still fighting out the final two podium positions for the series and TFH team bragging rights.
GM Performance driver Jarrod Hughes effectively wrapped up the title at the last round and is not competing this weekend, due to his GT4 commitments with the final round at Hampton Downs New Zealand.
Paine had the jump under green for Race One, while IES Racing’s Graham Cheney ran wide at Turn 3 dropping back to 13th. Gomersall pressured Paine hard with Blake Tracey, Josh Thomas, Hayden Hume and Josh Webster all running nose to tail before Tracey fired off at Turn 1 returning to the pits to clear debris from the radiator ducts.
South Australia’s Lee Stibbs, a last-minute replacement for Ben Kavich in the Hi-Tec Oils Camaro, stopped mid race with steering failure as Gomersall continued to pressure Paine for the lead before making the move under brakes into Turn 11.
Alientech Camaro driver Glen Ebert pitted on Lap 10 with overheating issues while Gomersall’s Unit Racing Mustang pulled out a 4 second gap on Paine to the flag. Josh Thomas, Hayden Hume and Josh Webster rounded out the Top 5 from Mark Crutcher, Des Collier, Graham Cheney and Danny Reidy. Paine set the fastest lap with a 1.26.1
Another 20-minute TA2 race wrapped up the afternoon and while Ben Gomersall made a clean start, Lee Stibbs in the Hi-Tec Oils Camaro went off at Turn 2 lightly hitting the outside wall. Josh Thomas was also in trouble, dropping from P3 after hitting the Turn 1 kerb hard on cold tyres dropping back to P12. Diesel Thomas made a great start from P6 to P3, then inherited P2 when Gomersall ran off at Turn 7, handing the lead to Paine and falling back to P6 before being handed a 5 second penalty for a dangerous re-entry.
Mark Crutcher and Graham Cheney had a strong battle for the Circo Master Class before Blake Tracey fired off at Turn 9 with steering issues in the Camaro.Hayden Hume, Josh Webster and Ben Gomersall had a three-way battle as the Unit Mustang came back through the field, before Webster pitted with power steering issues.
Paine went on to win by 4 seconds from Diesel Thomas, with Hayden Hume in the Total Parts Pro Mustang having a strong result in 3rd. Gomersall climbed back to 4th from Crutcher, Cheney, Josh Thomas and Des Collier. Former speedway racer Danny Reidy finished 9th on target for a top 10 overall result for the weekend in the Danny Orr Earthmoving Camaro with Glen Ebert 10th from Hayden Pullen and veteran Warren Wadley.
The championship battle for 2nd and 3rd is still alive, with another qualifying session and two more races tomorrow. The final round of the Hi-Tec Super Series will be televised live on SBS, Fox Sports and Kayo from 1pm tomorrow.
QUOTES
Brock Paine, #33 Brock Paine Motorsport Chev Camaro
“Mega day here at Winton! I scored my first pole position in TA2 and backed it up with my first race win in Race 2 this afternoon, I couldn’t be happier. We made a few adjustments to the car between races and it definitely paid off with a big improvement. It was extremely hot out there, so for the car to hang on the way it did was awesome. Massive thanks to my team for all their hard work, we’ll prep tonight and come back strong tomorrow.”
Hayden Hume, #45 Total Parts Pro Ford Mustang
“I’m absolutely thrilled to take my first podium finish in the TA2 Muscle Car Series. None of this would have been possible without my incredible team, who gave me an outstanding car all weekend, and HCC Distributions for making it all happen. The start was a bit chaotic, but we managed to stay clear of the drama and focus on running our own race."
2025 Champion to be Crowned at Winton Motor Raceway
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The 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series presented by Maritimo Luxury Yachts will wrap up it’s final round of the season this weekend at Winton Motor Raceway, October 31 - November 2.
20 year old Jarrod Hughes in the #118 Road Active Suspension Chevrolet Camaro won’t be taking part this weekend due to GT4 commitments in New Zealand, but already wrapped up the 2025 TA2 title at the last round at Mallala Motorsport Park. .
Ben Gomersall returns to the series after missing Mallala but remains in the hunt for second in a tight tussle with TFH Racings Josh Thomas while Thomas’s younger brother Diesel is looking to wrap up Rookie Of The Year honours.
Two new drivers will make their TA2 Muscle Car Series debut this weekend, former V8 Ute racer and Production Car racer Ben Kavich will undertake double duties in his BMW M2 and TA2 Camaro while renowned Gold Coast drift star Hayden Pullen will make his debut in his Scott Taylor Motorsport Mustang competing in the Master Class.
Trans Am winner and winner of the last TA2 round at Mallala, Blake Tracey will be returning to the #66 Hi-Tec Oils Chevrolet Camaro to see if he can go finish off the season with confidence before returning to his Trans Am Mustang for the final two rounds in the coming months.
Winton will also feature Graham Cheney who is looking to take out back to back Masters Championships, while Mark Crutcher and Paul Hadley, as well as Pullen and veteran Warren Wadley
The event will feature four races across the weekend, with three practice sessions scheduled for Friday, followed by qualifying and two races each on Saturday and Sunday.
Catch all of Saturday and Sunday’s action live streamed on the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Facebook and YouTube pages as well as live and free to air from 1pm on SBS, simulcast on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.
QUOTES
Jarrod Hughes, #118 Road Active Suspension Chevrolet Camaro
“It’s an incredible feeling to wrap up the 2025 TA2 Muscle Car Series Championship with a round still to go. This season has been a massive team effort from everyone at IES Motorsport, their hard work and dedication have been unbelievable. Unfortunately, I won’t be at the final round due to my GT4 commitments in New Zealand, but I’m excited to see what the future holds after such a fantastic year.”
Blake Tracey, #66 Hi-Tec Oils Chevrolet Camaro
“I’m really excited to be back in the TA2 car at Winton this weekend. Even though it’s my home track, I haven’t raced there for just over a year, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do with the Hi-Tec Oils team.”
“We’re coming off a really strong performance at Mallala, so the goal is to have a clean weekend, no damage, no mistakes, and I’ll be happy. Winton’s always special for me because being my home track, I get to race in front of a lot of family and friends, which makes it an awesome event.”
Tracey and Heinrich Impress on TA2 Debut
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Debutants Blake Tracey and Joel Heinrich have completed Round six of the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series Presented by Maritimo Luxury Yachts at Mallala Motorsport Park in impressive fashion by taking second and third in final race resulting in Tracey taking the overall honours for the round from Heinrich in second and veteran racer Paul Morris in third.
Tracey has been in strong from in recent times, this being back to back round victories after recently winning the Trico Trans Am round at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park.
Heinrich was left to wonder what might have been as the Ashleigh Jarvis Racing Team were chasing an electrical gremlin all weekend that saw the #44 often drop to 7 cylinders making Heinrich and the teams results even more impressive only missing the round victory by 2 points.
Former Supercars driver Paul Morris put together a solid weekend of results, and despite receiving a 15 second penalty for a late hit on Tom Davies that saw the #42 spin off the road in race two, Morris put in a blinding effort in qualifying two on Sunday morning to take fifth position and keep the Flair Dancewear Mustang at the front of the field. consistent results seeing the veteran take third outright for the weekend and also the Masters title.
2025 Champion elect Jarrod Hughes battled sickness all weekend but suffered a mechanical failure in race one that couldn’t be fixed for race two on Saturday however Sunday was all his, taking pole position and two wins but the damage was done and after a dominant season didn’t feature in the outright results.
Round seven of the 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo Luxury Yachts will take place at Winton Motor Raceway October 31 - November 2. This will be the final round of the 2025 season, and it's looking to be a big one.
Quotes
Blake Tracey, #66 Hi-Tec Oils, Chevrolet Camaro
“It was a pretty cool weekend. We started the weekend off strong, we just missed out on pole by three-thousands of a second behind Hughesy. I took out both race wins on Saturday and this morning I was actually struggling a bit with some brake issues, but we got that sorted for the last race. Super happy to take out the race win for my first solo race in TA2.”
Joel Heinrich, #44 Ashley Jarvis Racing, Ford Mustang
“I had an absolute ball this weekend for my first time in TA2. These guys were mega to race with, first time racing with Paul in a few years so he gave me a hard time early in the weekend. I really enjoyed myself. A huge thank you to the Ashley Jarvis Racing crew, they worked tirelessly to keep the car on song. Super stoked to come away with second place for the weekend and well done to Blake and Paul for the rest of the podium.”
Paul Morris, #67 Flair Dancewear, Ford Mustang
“An awesome weekend here at Mallala, we started off pretty cool and just kept making the car better and better so to get a podium here is very rewarding. I had people I’ve raced with for a long time come and help me out, and to come to such iconic track and come away with a trophy is pretty cool. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend, definitely put this on your calendar next year is was very cool, awesome track, awesome cars and I’ll have a big smile on the way home.”
Local Lad Tops Practice at Mallala
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TA2 Muscle Car debutant Joel Heinrich has topped combined practice for the three sessions on day one of the Mallala Masters at Mallala Raceway Friday 26th of September.
Heinrich was closely followed by the Thomas brothers (Josh and Diesel) from TFH Racing with Hughes, Tracey, Gartner, Davies, Morris, Cheney and Brock Paine rounding out the top 10.
Championship leader Jarrod Hughes was a notable absentee from the first two sessions with the Supercars aspirant suffering a bout of food poisoning but was able post the fourth fastest time in the one session he completed.
Qualifying begins tomorrow morning at 9.30 am
Joel Heinrich
"Pretty cool day here, first time in a TA2 car at Mallala Motorsport Park. We were on the pace early in the day and we’ve come away fastest in the last session. It’s pretty different to what I’m used to driving, they’re big cars and move around a lot. These things are mega and I’m super excited to go racing tomorrow."
Josh Thomas
"Good day at Mallala. We managed to top two of the practice sessions and then unfortunately got beaten by Joel in the last one but we’re P2 overall for the day. The cars got some good pace, the tracks awesome and we’re looking forward to tomorrow."
Aussie Racing Cars Ace Joel Heinrich to Make TA2 Debut
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Aussie Racing Car Champion and local South Australian motorsport identity Joel Heinrich will be joining the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series Presented by Maritmo Luxury Yachts this weekend behind the wheel of an Ashley Jarvis Racing TA2 Mustang as the series heads to Mallala Motorsport Park September 26-28th.
Currently leading the TCM Championship, Heinrich said he’d been toying with the idea of TA2 for a few years and with the series coming to Mallala it was an opportunity he didn’t want to miss.
“We’ve been looking at TA2 since before Covid and I’ve been to a few rounds here and there, but the timing has worked out well for this year and being Mallala, between myself and a few of my partners we’ve made it happen”, he said.
“I’ve done lots and lots of laps at Mallala over the years which is good because it’s a pretty technical track, in fact we use it like a bit of a test track for us so it’s great to go there and race in such awesome cars.”
Although Heinrich has plenty of Mallala experience, his time behind the wheel of a TA2 car has been limited but was recently able to experience a few laps thanks to the team at TFH Racing. With the latest Trico Trans Am event being held at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park only a week ago, some of the teams have stayed in SA taking the opportunity to test at Mallala giving Heinrich the opportunity to get a head start for this weekend.
“There’s no doubt they’re fast but the biggest thing for me to get used too is how much they move around and slide but having said that, they do a lot of things far better than what I was expecting”, said Heinrich.
“My aim is to stay out of trouble, improve with every session and if I can be somewhere at the back of the top five by the end of the weekend, I’ll be pretty happy.”
The final entry list for Round 6 of the TFH TA2 Muscle Car Series will be release tomorrow (Tuesday 22nd September) and kicks of with 3 practice sessions on Friday followed by a qualifying session and two races on Saturday plus a second qualifying session and two races on Sunday.
The Hi-Tec Oils Super Series can be seen live and free both Saturday and Sunday on SBS, plus simulcast on Kayo and Fox Sports.

