28 May Hi-Tec Oils APC Enduro Championships begins a new era in Sydney
A new era of production car racing gets underway at Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series event Sydney Sundown on May 30-31.
The Hi-Tec Oils APC Enduro Championship will host a diverse range of models in its first event of the season featuring two races under lights split by a two hour endurance event around Sydney Motorsport Park.
A pretty open field has assembled for the opening round of the season showcasing the best elements of production car racing.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and FPV will battle it out for honours in Class A1 for Extreme Performance (Forced Induction) models.
Chris Gunther and Mitch Randall will enter as one of the favourites for overall victory sharing the sole Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG. The German performance hot hatch has proven to be a more than capable weapon in production car racing, with Gunther and Randall proving this at the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.
Key rivals to the Mercedes-Benz challenge will be the BMW 1M E82 supported by A1 Towing Bathurst to be shared by Grant, Harry and Darcy Inwood. The trio raced at Bathurst and finished eighth in Class A1, which bodes well for a strong performance in Sydney.
David Ling provides the Australian flavour in Class A1 steering a supercharged FPV GT and will have Troy Williams as co-driver. Supported by David Ling Insurance Services, this Australian beast is sure to be a popular entry on the grid and will enjoy the long straight at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Also targeting outright success will be the Ford Mustangs in Class A2, with one spearheaded by a Supercars driver.
Bryce Fullwood will swap his Brad Jones Racing Chevrolet Camaro to partner Trent Whyte in the Ultimate Diesel Tuning Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Sydney. The combination finished fourth at Bathurst and left with a new lap record, so will provide plenty of competition to the European models in A1 Class.
The familiar Parramatta Vehicle Services Mustang Mach 1 of Hadrian Morrall and Tyler Mecklem finished third at Bathurst, but have proven to be a potent line-up in production car racing in recent seasons.
Although in different classes, the smaller brigade will be closely matched making for plenty of interest throughout the field.
Oskar Butt and Troy Derwent enter the round following a maiden appearance on the Bathurst podium driving the Atlantic Oils Holden Astra HSV VXR, with this pocket rocket proving to be a quick choice for Class C.
Rounding out the field in Class D is father-son team Allan and Rob Jarvis in the professionally presented Volkswagen Polo GTI. Stalwarts for the past few seasons, the Jarvis duo have proven to be quite the giant killers and the Polo GTI has developed into a reliable package to take on the horsepower of the classes above.
Entry numbers for this opening round of the Hi-Tec Oils APC Enduro Championship are relatively modest, but APC category management has reported strong interest for upcoming rounds and the new format. With growing momentum and inquiries from a range of teams, APC is well-positioned to build across the season as it establishes its new era under the AASA sanctioning body.
A livestream through the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series social channels will broadcast each day from 2:00pm on Friday and 1:30pm Saturday.
Races 1 and 3 will feature on the live broadcast through Fox Sports, Kayo and SBS Viceland beginning at 5:00pm each day.
Catch the opening round of the Hi-Tec Oils APC Enduro Championships at Sydney Motorsport Park on May 30-31 as part of the Hi-Tec Oils Super Series Sydney Sundown event.