KUMHO V8 TOURING CAR SEASON READY TO LAUNCH AT PHILLIP ISLAND

The V8 Touring Cars season commences this weekend at Phillip Island – Photo: Supplied

A 22-strong grid will tackle the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit during the opening round of the Kumho Tyre Australian V8 Touring Cars series this weekend.

Kicking off the season at the WD-40 Phillip Island 500, the series will launch into the new year with a highly competitive mix of cars and drivers at the 4.46km circuit in Victoria’s South.

2018 marks the 11th season for what has become the unofficial third-tier of Supercars racing in Australia, catering for all models of Supercars prior to the current Car of the Future generation.

As well as being a place where fans can see cars racing that they enjoyed during their time in the ‘main game’, it has also rapidly become a training ground for young drivers to learn the ropes prior to progressing to the Super2 series.

And while the Virgin Australia Supercars championship is dominated by Holdens, the balance is more even in the Kumho Series with the Blue Oval outnumbering the General; 13 cars to nine.

Defending champion Jack Smith (SCT Logistics / Brad Jones Racing) returns to the series, once again dovetailing a campaign in the Kumho Series with his Super2 season this year.

Smith dominated the series last year, winning three of the five rounds to take his first national level title in style.

The Queenslander is yet to confirm if he will be returning for a full title defence this season having now made his mark in the Super2 series as a front-running contender.

Brad Jones Racing will be one of a host of teams running campaigns in both Super2 and V8 Touring Cars, though they remain the only outfit also racing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship as well.

Image Racing, Matt Stone Racing and the returning MW Motorsport will also embrace a series that has become a perfect training ground for young drivers as they start their Supercars careers.

Smith will be joined in the Championship class by a host of both rookie and hugely experienced drivers both with and without Touring Car experience.

2017 Kumho cup champion Michael Anderson – who also finished third outright last year – returns for another campaign in his ex-Tickford Racing FG Falcon, having scored pole at Phillip Island in the opening round twelve moths ago.

Long time Kumho series contenders Image Racing return with a multi-car campaign this year, bringing with them a famous surname.

Matthew Radisich, the 30-year-old nephew of Supercars winner Paul, will make his debut this weekend in Phillip Island after some time out of the sport.

He’ll race an ex-Tim Slade / Stone Brothers Racing Falcon FG for the Melbourne-based team, with 18-year-old Australian rookie Jacob Bell as his teammate in an ex Shane van Gisbergen FG Falcon.

MW Motorsport also makes a welcome return to the series and will also run a pair of FG Falcons, in addition to their Nissan campaign in the Super2 series.

The Matt White-led team has tabbed a couple of open-wheel graduates to steer their two cars, with Formula 4 drivers Tyler Everingham and Zak Best to make their respective Kumho Series debuts this weekend.

The competitive championship class includes Jon McCorkindale, who returns in his ex-James Courtney / SBR BF Falcon, V8 Ute series champion Ryal Harris driving an FG Falcon for the Aussie Driver Search team and the return of Geoff
Emery in his ex-Tripe Eight / Craig Lowndes Commodore.

The Kumho Cup battle is also likely to be highly competitive with a similar mix of experienced hands and newcomers to the series.

After campaigning a VS Commodore in the heritage class recently, Bradley Neill steps up into an ex-Stone Brothers FG Falcon for his campaign this year.

His car will be fielded by Matt Stone Racing, the Queensland-based outfit joining fellow Super2 teams in the series once again.

Queensland privateer Brendan Strong upgrades from his ex-Lansvale VZ Commodore to a later specification VE, while Gold Coaster Stephen Coe will make his debut driving an ex-Paul Morris Commodore.

A host of familiar names will also return this year, including Jim Pollicina and Chris Smerdon – who’s battles were amongst the highlights of the 2017 season.

The opening round of the V8 Touring Cars series will feature three races this weekend on the WD-40 Phillip Island 500 program.

KUMHO V8 TOURING CAR SERIES – ROUND 1 ENTRY LIST

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