Herne ready to dominate Trans Am again

Nathan Herne is coming back to dominate Australian Trans Am once again at the AWC Race Tasmania season opener.

Herne is back down under after a year racing in America and will make an anticipated cameo at Symmons Plains as a privateer.

Herne is the most successful driver in Trans Am, dominating the 2021 and 2022 seasons where he stormed to 19 wins and 33 podiums in 35 races.

Whilst he was victorious steering a Garry Rogers Motorsport Mustang in 2022, the “Lismore Bullet” will reunite with the Dodge Challenger he took to the 2021 crown.

Herne spent 2023 racing in America in the TA2 Series where he took three podiums in his rookie campaign.

The Dodge Challenger Nathan Herne raced with to secure the 2021 Trans Am title with. Image: Jack Martin Photography

However, due to off track dramas Herne has been unable to secure a 2024 drive and has been racing closer to home recently.

He recently dominated the NZ v Aus TA2 Series, taking out every session in an effective one-car, one-man operation.

Herne also has happy memories of Symmons Plains winning three of the six races he has participated in the Apple Isle.

Despite having such an impressive Tran Am record, Herne knows it will be extremely difficult to carry on that form.

“I definitely want to come back and go straight to the top,” he said. 

“The stuff I’ve learnt over the last year, the cars were quite different but there’s plenty of things I can relate in theory. 

Nathan Herne celebrates the 2021 Trans Am title. Image: Jack Martin Photography

“The competition in Trans Am has stepped up to an extent, which is good, there’s more of those professional benchmarks – guys like (James) Moffat, (James) Golding, (Todd) Hazelwood and (Tim) Slade.

“I’ll do a shakedown at Winton just to make sure everything works how it should, but then we’re straight into the deep end in Tassie. 

“A lot of people say Symmons Plains is a drivers’ track, but I believe a lot of it also comes down to the setup of the car, if it’s just one percent off it’s very hard to make that up.”

Like in New Zealand, Herne will carry on with his more hands-on approach to racing being a one-man band.

“I’ll be the crew chief, engineer, and mechanic in the garage at home,” he said. 

Nathan Herne racing to a podium in the penultimate American TA2 round in Virginia last year.

“I have some guys coming to help out at the track which will take the load off but it’s very much a self-run effort. 

“It’s an awesome opportunity to try and test myself off the track as well as on it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, especially more so recently, as I think taking responsibility is pretty important to moving forward, and unfortunately for myself, if things go backwards there won’t be many others to blame!

“I think it’ll be a stressful weekend, but hopefully rewarding.”

The AWC Race Tasmania will feature four races across the March 15-17 weekend, with all of the action live and free via the Seven Network.

There is also lots more loaded into a bumper edition of AUTO ACTION magazine, on sale at newsagents and available digitally here.

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