Launceston driver Adam Garwood came away from last weekend’s round three of the Touring Car Masters championship in Darwin with impressive results that elevated him to fifth place overall.
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Driving his now-Chevrolet-powered Holden Torana, Garwood qualified ninth in the twenty-one car field, just in front of former two-time TCM champion Jim Richards in the Falcon Sprint.
The Trophy race mixed grid positions with Garwood starting back in 17th for the rolling start, but he put in a storming drive, making up five positions on the run to turn one.
He continued to slice through the field and at the end of ten laps was in an amazing fourth place, recording the second-fastest lap time behind Eddie Abelnica in his two-door Falcon.
Starting from grid nine in race two Garwood made up three positions to finish sixth, and then in the final race he went onto finish seventh to record seventh overall for the weekend.
There are four classes in the TCM championship and Garwood is now third in the Pro-Am title chase on 326 points, just two points behind Ryan Hansford in his Torana, with Adam Bressington leading on 398 points in his Chev Camaro.
Bressington leads the overall standings from multiple champion John Bowe in his Torana on 366 points, Steven Johnson in the Mustang on 358 points, Ryan Hansford on 328 points followed by Garwood on 326.
These are all drivers who have far more race experience than Garwood so to be fifth overall in this company augers well for his future in the category.
This was the first outing for the Torana fitted with the Chev engine and the modified front suspension and it took a while for the eighteen-year-old to come to grips with the new setup.
After the first race the team had to change the rear diff ratio to accommodate the fast-flowing circuit, but overall Garwood was very pleased with the car.
Garwood’s father Greg also competed at the meeting in his V8-powered Ford Capri Perana and qualified 12th. When the grid for the trophy race was determined, he finished up on the front row alongside Jim Richards.
Richards led initially but was soon overtaken by Garwood senior who went onto score his first win in the TCM championship.
Starting from 12th in the second race, Garwood made up four positions to finish eighth, and then in the third race he maintained his start position to again finish eighth.
The next round of the seven-round championship will be on July 28-30 at Queensland Raceway and both cars will again be competing.
A formula for trouble
Triple Eight Supercar team boss Roland Dane has slammed the proposal for the category to become involved in running a Formula 5000-style open wheeler class, in addition to the current Virgin Australia Supercars championship.
“This proposal is a complete and utter waste of time and a distraction for Supercars who have far more important issues to address for the future,” the Supercars board member said.
Last week the prototype of the Oscar Fiorinotto-designed car was unveiled and immediately social media went into overdrive supporting Dane’s position.
The project was funded by PAYCE Consolidated principal Brian Boyd and sought to utilise existing V8 engines surplus to requirements with the introduction of V6 twin-turbocharged planned for the replacement Commodore and possibly other makes.
Supercars CEO James Warburton is understood to be one of the instigators of the project.
He said it was simply an exercise to test the water, claiming there had already been interest expressed from a number of quarters.
Ironically, the unveiling comes two years after former racer and magazine publisher Chris Lambden announced plans for his own Formula Thunder 5000 series, with the first car now having undergone extensive testing.
Lambden’s supporters are incensed by the Supercars proposal.