TOURING CAR MASTERS CAMARO RETURN FOR BRESSINGTON

Adam Bressington will be reunited with the Whiteline #95 Camaro SS at Sandown this weekend for round four of the Gulf Western Touring Car Masters series at the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships.

Bressington was a constant front runner in the #95 Whiteline Camaro, having last driven it to a win in Adelaide in 2020 and won the Adelaide round outright, taking a win and two second places for the round win over Ryan Hansford.

The Camaro’s most recent race saw it take on severe damage when the bias bar in the pedal box gave way into turn 2 at Townsville, smashing into the back of Cameron Tilley’s Valiant Pacer with Michael Almond behind the wheel.

Both cars were heavily damaged in the crash, however this weekend’s Sandown TCM round will see the return of both damaged vehicles with Tilley confirming his crowd favorite Valiant has been repaired.  

With Bob Middleton and the Whiteline Racing team needing a driver for the repaired Camaro, Middleton did some quick to work to get Bressington back into the car for this event, AUTO ACTION spoke with the past TCM and V8 Ute driver on his feelings about being back in a familiar seat.

Mark King in the Camaro SS at the SMP in round two this year. photo: Jack Martin Photography

“Yes, I’m looking forward to it, it’ll be nice getting back into something with 700 horsepower, I’ve been running around in a little mini-cooper at the historic meetings, so there’s always a desire to get back into that Whiteline Camaro,” said Bressington.

“Bob obviously had a bit of set back with Kingy (Mark King) and then Michael Almond agreed to do the rest of the season, but from what I can gather, the cars repaired, but I don’t think Michael is, so Bob rang me last Friday and asked if I could give it a steer.

“I was a bit apprehensive at first, but now that I’ve had the time to think about it I’m actually quite excited to be back with the TCM guys, and obviously the Whiteline family as well, who I’ve been running with since 2016.”

Almond in the Whiteline Camaro leading Tilley in his Pacer at Townsville round, in a race prior to the crash.

Bressington has a lot of good memories with this particular car, having driven it to his first TCM win in 2018.

“Andrew Miedecke used to drive it before me and did quite well in it, and when I first drove it, it was a real challenge. I don’t think people realise how hard it is to drive these things.

“But that Camaro’s always been really good to me, I’ll never forget that breakthrough win in Newcastle after running second a lot of times and taking the round win there, and obviously being the last person to win in Adelaide before they stopped racing there for the time being. 

“I’m not sure what the future holds after this round, but I’ve got good memories of both Bathurst and Adelaide which this season still has to come, and I’ve had success at both those places, but I’m really looking forward to being back at Sandown first of all.”

When asked who he was most looking forward to reigniting rivalries with, Bressington’s response highlights just how good this category can be.

“JB (John Bowe) and junior (Steven Johnson) are two guys I’ve always loved racing against, and Ryan Hansford really looks like the driver to beat this year, but it just goes to show that when you look at guys like that, you see just how competitive this series is.

“My fondest memory was probably 2018 at Sandown, and I remember having the best dice out with Ryan (Hansford) at the Supercars round. We went at it for about 7 laps and I believe he even set the lap record there in that little stoush.

But I finally got him on the last lap and I thought, phew…but then we came up against a lapped car and he ducked around it and pipped me at the post.”

Fans will have some of the most handsome views this season if they get down to Sandown, with the TCM’s lined up with the Trans Am’s behind the pits it’s worth the entry price alone, let alone seeing the speed that both categories will be getting down Sandown’s two monster straight’s. 

For ticketing, visit the Shannons Motorsports Australia Championships website.

Fans can also see the race live on Stan sports or live on the Nine Network for Saturdays TCM trophy race and race 1.

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the latest issue of Auto Action.