As a huge grid prepares to return to Mount Panorama for the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour event next weekend, two-time Trans Am Champion Nathan Herne has reflected on the race that brought both his and Trans Am’s profile to the big stage. 

It was in 2021 on a cool calm Easter Sunday morning where Herne’s talent was on show, when the then 18 year old thrilled the crowd with an enthralling race long battle with 2019 TA2 Champion Aaron Seton, and says to this day, it was one of his best races. 

"Bathurst is one of my favourite tracks and racing against Aaron has always been enjoyable because he’s a clean, smart racer and despite how close we’ve been over the years we’ve never made contact and that race was no exception,” said Herne. 

“The whole race I was waiting for Aaron to make a mistake, but he never did and we were both on the limit every lap so it made for a great show for TV and the crowd.” 

“I remember getting out of the car in pit lane after the race and we were both dripping in sweat and exhausted, but we hugged and high five’d everyone because they all knew how hard it was to drive that close and clean for so long,” said Herne. 

The track conditions that weekend were absolutely perfect for the TA2 cars, with the combination of ideal air temperature and surface grip contributing to lap times that no one had previously thought possible, setting a new benchmark for what these cars could do.

In 2019 former TA2 driver George Miedecke set a benchmark pole time of 2.16.3 which at the time everyone thought was impressive but only 2 years later, both Seton and Herne were posting times no one had ever imagined, consistently running 2.10 and 11 second laps during the race 3 which Herne said was totally unexpected. 

"The conditions were perfect, but the tyres were definitely on their last legs by race 3, so the times we were still putting down showed just how hard we were pushing.” said Herne

“The lap record is currently in Seton’s name but we were both lapping 2:10.5’s and the lap hasn’t been beaten since 2021, so it will be interesting to see if someone knocks it off next weekend as it’s stood for a while now.”

Round 2 of the 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo Luxury Motor Yachts kicks off April 18-20 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst and is a shared round with the National Trans AM series. Saturday and Sunday’s races can be watched live and free to air on SBS on Demand, simulcast on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.

Seasoned NSW racer Hayden Jackson is set for a big Easter weekend, taking on double duties at this year’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour racing his Dodge Challenger in Round 2 of the TA2 Muscle Car Series and a Mazda RX8 in Class D of the 6 Hour production car enduro. 

The 28-year-old has never combined commitments before, but says he is not intimidated by the challenge.

“I am really excited to be racing with the TA2 and Trans Am guys at Bathurst, but we want to have a clean weekend and get as many laps in as we can without any drama, so we’ll see how far up the grid we can move,” said Jackson. 

“I’m looking forward to going across the top of the mountain in the Dodge for the first time, as all the videos and in-car footage I’ve seen looks so much fun.” 

While the race meeting will be a busy one, Jackson is no stranger to driving different cars at Bathurst having previously raced at the Mount Panorama Circuit in a Toyota 86, where he qualified on the front row. 

Jackson is bullish about his chances in the 6 Hour race, where he will drive alongside Matthew Totani and Grant Bray and is hoping to leave behind his streak of bad luck which he said has plagued his racing for the past 12 months. 

“I am really confident that the team and I will come out with a good result in the Mazda RX8 with all the prep that we’ve done in the lead up to the event.”

“Obviously we have had a lot of bad luck in the TA2 and are going into Bathurst with a mentality of - it is what it is, so just enjoy the experience.” 

Jackson currently sits 19th in the TA2 Muscle Car Series Championship but is hoping to bounce back after a challenging start to his 2025 campaign at Winton Raceway where the Dodge suffered an engine failure in Race 3. 

Round 2 of the 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo Luxury Motor Yachts kicks off April 18-20 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst and is a shared round with the National Trans AM series. With a grid in excess of forty cars entered across the two series, this will be the largest field TA2 spec field ever to race in Australia. Saturday and Sunday’s races can be watched live and free to air on SBS on Demand, simulcast on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports.

16 year old Diesel Thomas is a driver on the move with thoughts on a full time racing career in the Supercars Championship. 

Diesel made his debut in the TA2 Muscle Car Series in 2025 with the TFH Racing squad, a team that currently fields seven cars across both the TA2 and Trans Am series and are the defending Trans Am Champions which the 16 year old said is the best place for him to learn right now. 

“The ultimate goal for me is to secure a full-time seat in the Supercars Championship and having drivers like Todd Hazelwood in the team to learn from is a brilliant resource.” 

“Right now it’s all about seat time so I’ve been racing in the New Zealand Formula Ford Series, and once that wraps up, I'll jump back into the Aussie Racing Car series between TA2 rounds plus later this year my brother and I will be heading to Belgium to race in the 24-hour endurance race at Spa, which I'm really excited about,” said Thomas. 

The high school student only started racing last year and at 16 joins Nathan Herne as one of the youngest drivers ever to compete in the TA2 class. 

Thomas had an impressive debut driving the #18 TFH Racing Ford Mustang delivering a solid performance at Winton taking out the “Rookie of the Round Award” for the highest placing rookie for the weekend. 

“Winton was a really good weekend and we learnt a lot both good and bad, so if we can keep the momentum for the rest of the year I’ll be really pleased”

Diesel is hoping to tackle the iconic Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst when both the TA2 and Trans Am categories combine for what is expected to be a 40 plus car grid but acknowledges he will require an exemption from Motorsport Australia which Thomas said he was hoping for. 

“I’m not allowed to race TA2 at Bathurst given the Motorsport Australia power to age ratio rule but we’ve submitted letters from the Category Managers, the TA2 DSO Stephen White, Paul Morris and others and hopefully MA will grant me the chance,” said Thomas.  

Round 2 of the 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo Luxury Motor Yachts kicks off April 18-20 Easter long weekend at the Mount Panorama Circuit. Saturday and Sunday’s races can be watched live and free to air on SBS on demand, simulcast on Fox Sports and Kayo Sports. 

Rookie Points after Round 1
1. Diesel Thomas - 76
2. Cameron Laws - 53
3. Kiara Zabetakis - 29

Road Active Suspension Camaro driver Jarrod Hughes has taken out Round 1 of the 2025 TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo after an action-packed final day of racing at Winton Motor Raceway. 

The morning’s qualifying session initially saw Ben Gomersall (#35 UNIT Racing/TFH) trump rival Hughes to pole position, but the Queenslander was unable to hold off the points-leader into Turn 1 in the first race. 

Race 1 saw trouble for #81 Dodge Challenger driver Hayden Jackson, after he sustained an engine failure which caused a grass fire. He was subsequently parked up for the rest of the day.

Mustang driver Mark Crutcher and Mark Bailey in the Jax Tyres & Auto Camaro came together early in the race, with Bailey’s car failing to fire up after going off at Turn 3, while James Simpson also had an off at the sweeper and failed to finish in the Dodge Challenger.

Hughes went on to win from Gomersall with Brad Gartner, Josh Thomas and Josh Webster rounding out the top five.

From the green in Race 2, Hughes again took the lead from Gomersall while Graham Cheney (#51 IES Motorsport) and Josh Thomas (#169 TFH Racing) speared off in the infield after trying to run three wide in Turn 1.  Later in the race, Michael Coulter, Kiara Zabetakis and Josh Thomas came together, resulting in a DNF for Thomas and the 17-year-old female rookie who was very impressive in her first TA2 race weekend.

In the closing laps, Hughes sustained a broken bolt on the front right A-arm which allowed Gomersall to overtake for the lead on the penultimate lap, taking the win with Brad Gartner joining them on the podium as the top 3 overall point scorers for the round.

Diesel Thomas (#18 TFH Hire Racing) took his Ford Mustang to the top of the rookie standings for the round on debut, having qualified fourth outright on Sunday, a personal best in any category he’s competed in. The 16-year-old finished the final race in as well fourth.

IES Racing’s Graham Cheney took the Circo Masters Class outright ahead of speedway legends Robbie Farr and Domain Ramsay. 

Round 2 of the TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo will take place on 18-20 April at Mount Panorama, Bathurst. This round will be a combined grid with the Trans Am Series promising a thrilling weekend.

QUOTES

Jarrod Hughes, #118 Road Active Suspension Chevrolet Camaro 

“Unreal weekend for myself for round one here at Winton. I came home with three out of the four race wins, unfortunately didn’t get to get the fourth win due to a failure in the front right suspension. The boys did an awesome job all weekend, it was a rocket. I can’t thanks the IES Motorsport team enough as well as all my sponsors and family for coming down and helping out. Hopefully this is the start of a great 2025."

Diesel Thomas, #18 TFH Hire Racing Ford Mustang  

“It was an up and down weekend I can say for the most part. On Saturday we qualified in a good position for Race 1 but we ended up not finishing the race due to sustaining damage on the first lap. We qualified 4th on Sunday which was my best qualifying result I have had in any category and on debt in the series it was an amazing feeling. The final race on Sunday didn’t go our way as I got spun out on lap one. I am ecstatic to walk away with the Rookie of the Round, and I am looking forward to Round 2 at Bathurst in April.” 

Graham Cheney, #51 IES Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro 

“It was definitely an up and down weekend for me and the team, we had a few issues this weekend, but the team stepped it up with the setup and the car after that was unreal. Big credit to everyone for the whole weekend, it ran like clockworks. I am really looking forward to getting to Bathurst and seeing what we can do.”

IES Motorsport’s Jarrod Hughes has clean swept Saturday taking home pole position and two race victories at Winton Motor Raceway for Round 1 of the TFH Hire TA2 Muscle Car Series - Presented by Maritimo. 

The fight to Hughes was taken up by fellow Super2 steerer Ben Gomersall (#35 UNIT Racing/TFH) and Josh Webster (#200 Autofix) who finished second and third respectively in both races of the day’s 20-minute races.

Race 1’s start saw the field of 20 TA2s charge to the Turn 1 sweeper with rookie Diesel Thomas (#18 TFH Racing) flying to the infield, sustaining damage and failing to finish. Tom Davies (#42 Exchange Hotel Kilcoy) also scored a DNF due to a fire in the engine bay, causing the Queenslander to not be on the grid for Race 2.

The afternoon’s second race saw the same top-3 finishers in Hughes, Gomersall and Webster, with Cameron Laws (#29 Racing Academy) recovering from a race-one disqualification to finish 11th and leading rookie.

Leading Circo Masters driver Graham Cheney finished eighth outright in both races and the series’ only female driver Kiara Zabetakis - who qualified an impressive 14th place on debut - finished 14th and 17th in each race.

Sunday March 2 will see morning qualifying session at 10.25am AEDT followed by Race 1 and 2 which will be broadcast live on SBS free-to-air, FoxSports and Kayo Sports from 1pm AEDT. 

QUOTES

Jarrod Hughes, #118 Road Active Suspension Chevrolet Camaro 

“It was an awesome race. I was happy to convert pole position into a race win. There is lots of learning still to do with the new tyres were just trying to go through the data and videos as much as we can and try to learn as much as we can going into tomorrow.”

Ben Gomersall, # Unit Racing/TFH Ford Mustang 

“Overall a pretty good day for myself. Just missed out on pole position. We found some speed over night but there’s still a bit more to find. We brought it home in the final race today in p2. We’re slowly chipping away and l am looking forward to tomorrow."

Graham Cheney, #51 IES Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro 

“It wasn’t too bad, didn’t quite get the lap i wanted. I was actually on a pretty good lap and ran a little bit wide out of turn 11 which really cost me.”

“I had a reasonable start in race 1 and was holding position. I got tipped out in turn 11 but recovered. The other two masters ran off at turn 1 on the last lap so i came away with the win in masters class.”

“I really struggled with turning the car in race 2. I did really well in the first sector, but coming into the sweeper I struggled a little bit. Had a good race with Des Collier and struggled to get past him which put a smile on his face.”

“Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day considering most drivers in the field don’t have green tyres so they’re going to be on old tyres. The temperature will be down a bit but it should be good.”