Is your dad a Rev Head ? Search no further for a Father’s Day present !

What
better Father’s Day present could there be for a rev head dad than a
trip down motorsport memory lane. and not just any old trip, next Sunday’s
(September 3) Australian Muscle Car Masters at Sydney’s Eastern
Creek Raceway is a 5 Senses experiences. A trip back in time that
lets you see, hear, feel, smell and maybe even taste (if that’s
the sort of person you are) some great Muscle cars from Australia’s
past.

Australian
motorsport and Muscle car fans flocked to the inaugural Muscle Car
Masters last year and even though the rain fell from sun up to sun
down the event was a huge success and I can only imagine the size of
the crowd that will turn up this year if the weather stays as glorious
as it has been recently

One of the greatest attractions of the AMC
Masters is the chance to rub shoulders with some of Australia’s
legendary muscle car racers. Last year, the many stars that attended
the event included Allan Moffat, Peter Brock, Bob Jane, Harry Firth,
Colin Bond, Bob Morris, John Goss, Leo Geoghegan, Kevin Bartlett, Fred
Gibson, John Harvey, John French, Barry and Glenn Seton to name
just a few. Even more big have
been added to AMC’s Team of Champions invite list for
2006.

After last year’s thrilling
battle in the pouring rain, The Biante boys will be back bigger
and better than ever. And they’re promising even more cars which
will require at least two (possibly three) fully subscribed fields to
fit them all in. And from this year, there’s an extra incentive to
win. The Eastern Creek Historic Touring Car battle is now a
stand-alone event carrying enormous prestige, as the overall winner
will be crowned the 2006 (Group N) MUSCLE CAR MASTER!

Historic Touring Car racing’s popularity with competitors and
spectators is not hard to understand, at a time when modern motor
racing is becoming increasingly crammed with parity-based formulas
featuring cars that look and sound the same. By comparison, the Biante
Historic Touring Car Series offers a staggering variety of vehicles
competing in three distinct groups, which represent specific golden
eras of post-war Aussie touring car racing: Pre-1958, 1959-1964 and
1965-1972.

1965-1972 is arguably the ‘glamour’division of Biante Historic
Touring Car racing and of most interest to muscle car fans. Thanks to
a clever compromise in technical rules, these cars capture the raw,
power-sliding excitement of early 1970s ‘Series Production’ and
‘Improved Production’ cars in one category. The class is broken
down into four sub-classes based on engine capacity, where you’ll
see everything from Datsun 1600s and GTV Alfas up to classic hot sixes
like Torana XU-1s, Hemi Chargers and Pacers. The big grunter muscle
cars of the ‘Over 5000cc’ class put on a real USA vs Australia
grudge match, with hot V8 Camaros and Mustangs going head to head with
Aussie Falcons and tough Holden Monaros.

These vehicles must have been manufactured between January 1, 1965 and
December 31, 1972. The make and model must have been raced in
Australia during that period.

The general driveline specifications (ie engine block, gearbox housing
and rear axle housing) must be as originally manufactured and brakes
must remain within original dimensions. The heavy hitters in this
incredibly popular class of racing have been thrilling race fans with
their foot hard down, tail-out style of muscle car motor sport.

The real crowd puller of
these historic events are the Group C cars. Unlike the Biante
Series rules, which allow modern day re-creations or ‘replicas to
compete, the Group C Historic Touring Cars grids are strictly for cars
that actually competed during the years between 1973 and 1984. They
must also run the same mechanical specification as was required during
that golden era. Because of this strict authenticity code, Group C
Historic Touring Car competitors are also actively encouraged to
present their cars in the liveries they displayed during their
‘first competition careers between 1973 and 1984. For old
motorsport fans like me it’s heaven, but It’s hard to believe
that for a long time after the end of Group C racing (1984) these cars
could attract little more than beer money and many were either scraped
and butchered for their parts, turned into Sports Sedans or return to
road use where they were lost forever. Each year more and more of
these great cars and found and restored to their former glory and the
class continues to grow in numbers and popularity.

Last
year’s rain drenched race Group C race was a cracker – The
lead battles  on a soaked
track between Frank Binding’s Army Reserve XD Falcon and
V8 Supercar star Jason Richards  an
ex John Harvey HDT
Torana A9X brought the house down.  This
year the Group C drivers are looking forward to another
mighty crack at The Creek, as they compete for the inaugural 2006
(Group C) MUSCLE CAR MASTER award!

If
Group C racing in Australia was seen as the Blue Jeans and Beer era,
then the category that followed would certainly be the tweed jacket
and Chardonnay class. These cars represented
the ‘international’ years of Aussie touring car racing, when CAMS
adopted
the FIA’s European-based Group A rules to replace the unique local
Group C formula. This was a tough era for the Australian muscle car in
competition with
European thoroughbreds from Jaguar, Rover, BMW and wickedly powerful
turbocharged weapons from Volvo, Ford and Japanese giant, Nissan
leading the way. By the end of the Group A era 1992, Aussie fans had
had enough and it didn’t take Einstein to realize
that a unique Aussie V8 formula was wheat fans really wanted and there
rest they say, is history.

Just
like their Group C stable-mates, Group A cars must have competed
during the 1985-92 era to be eligible for the
Historic racing class .
It’s early days for Group A Historic racing, but the number of cars
is definitely building. For now, however, they proudly join the ranks
of the bulging Group C grids .

Fingers
crossed that their will not be a repeat of last years weather and we
will finally see all of the legendary Aussie Racing
Muscle cars take to the circuit so fans car see and here
what these car are all about. These sessions are called Master Blasts.
This is special track time throughout
the day reserved exclusively to display the most famous and valuable
touring cars in Australia, driven at reasonably high speeds for the
enjoyment of muscle car fans. The Master Blasts are specifically
non-racing track demonstrations, showcasing immortal cars from the
famous Bowden Muscle Car Collection in Queensland, prized exhibits
from the National Motor Racing Museum at Bathurst, plus selected high
quality replicas of famous race cars which are no longer with us.