MOTORSPORT: ARG grabs Bathurst Six-Hour

The rapidly-expanding Australian Racing Group, which runs the carsales TCR Australia Series for 2.0-litre touring cars, has taken over the annual six-hour production car race at Bathurst.

ARG has bought a half-share in the race from James O’Brien’s Yeehah Events, which has developed the Hi-Tec Oils 6 Hour since 2011.

O’Brien will remain involved in next year’s April 10-12 event.

“Retaining him and his key personnel will provide us with a very experienced team with outstanding knowledge, capability and experience,” ARG director Matt Braid said.

The Bathurst Regional Council remains the other 50 per cent shareholder in the six-hour, which will remain a race for cars competing under the Group 3E Series Production Car rules.

“It’s very exciting and it’s great to see ARG come in and express so much interest in the event,” said Iain Sherrin, category manager of the Australian Production Car Series.

“It’s great for the future of production cars. This race is the pinnacle of production car racing in Australia and we are pleased that this is not only secured but enhanced by ARG.

“For the short term and the long-term future, ARG’s acquisition of the Six-Hour is fantastic news.

“They will bring a greater understanding of the motorsport community, with their key people having been involved at the highest level, understanding the categories, the racing and what needs to happen to make it successful.

“They are not just a promotions company – they are motorsport professionals.”

ARG also is a contender, in association with the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS), to run a fifth annual event at Bathurst’s world-renowned Mt Panorama circuit, which most likely would be a TCR enduro, perhaps with international entries.

While ARG has quickly expanded – also having the rights to run TCR New Zealand, recently gaining the Touring Car Masters as well as the S5000 open-wheeler to begin next month – Supercars runs the Bathurst 12-Hour previously owned by Yeehah as well as the ‘crown jewel’ Bathurst 1000. Supercars is the other contender to run the fifth event at ‘The Mountain’.

The Bathurst council is progressing with plans for a second, permanent circuit, revealing an artist impression of the proposed 4.5km track and pit buildings to the west of McPhillamy Park in the existing public-road course.

Funding for more than half the estimated $52 million cost has already been committed by the federal and NSW governments and construction will be overseen by British company Apex Circuit Design.

It is envisaged that construction will start in early 2021, take two years and incorporate a 1.26km rallycross track capable of holding a round of the World Rallycross Championship.

Meanwhile, ARG is well advanced in discussions for an alignment with the TA2 Muscle Car Series in which drivers – among them Aaron Seton and George Miedecke, sons of famous touring car racers – compete in modern V8-powered rear-wheel drive cars based on the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger.

Only in its second year of national competition, more than 40 of the low-cost TA2 cars – with 525-horsepower engines housed in a space frame chassis – have been sold.

ARG funder Brian Boyd has even made a couple of overtures to Supercars’ majority owner Archer Capital about acquiring the country’s premier race series but been rebuffed, with price the stumbling block.

Only six weeks now until S5000 – a modern incarnation of the much-loved Formula 5000 of the 1970s that remains hugely popular in historic racing – is unleashed as a national category at Melbourne’s Sandown circuit.

Garry Rogers Motorsport is building 14 of the Ligier-derived chassis with Ford V8 engines and five will be at Phillip Island on Wednesday, August 28, for testing by confirmed and potential drivers.

Prospective drivers will be charged $10,000 for the experience, with $5000 refundable if they enter into a purchase or lease agreement.

Another test day is scheduled in the week leading up to the debut meeting at Sandown on September 20-22, which is part of the carsales TCR Australia Series program, with the whole show then moving on the year’s finale at The Bend in South Australia on November 15-17.