Reigning Touring Car Masters Series Champion, John Bowe, headed to Winton last Friday to re-join forces with his muscle machine now commonly known as ‘Sally’.
Hitting the track with everything in the 1969 Ford Mustang Trans Am replaced, refreshed and renewed, Bowe and his crew were thrilled to see the lap times straight away exceeding expectation as Bowe explained,
“The car’s been genuinely pulled apart to the last nut and bolt by the team at Savy Motorsport, had a redesign by ssMEDIA, a complete repaint at LA Smash Repairs, and now she’s back as ‘Sally’ and I can honestly say I’ve seen V8 Supercar teams that have much more drama on a shakedown than we had today.
“The car has truly taken on a personality of its own through online support and fans visiting our garage at the track, she’s almost acquired a cult following, and she’s truly impressive, far better again than the winning setup from last year.
“From the first lap back on the tarmac, the time we put down was already impressive, and after a break for the passing storm, we went back out.
“’Sally’ didn’t miss a beat. There wasn’t a squeak, rattle, bang or oil leak to be found so it was a really good test and I’m really looking forward to the season.
“I’m looking forward to renewing the battle with Jim (Richards) and Andrew (Miedecke), and I think we all know there’s going to be many more names up for the outright challenge this season.”
Having completed some twenty laps of the 3km circuit during the day’s dry conditions, Bowe admitted it’s going to be an interesting season from the moving showroom of muscle cars with names coming and going, new cars joining the grid and the return to favourite circuits.
“This season the series will certainly keep it interesting with Bullas and Seton looking to be on for the hunt again,some outstanding new machines, we’re all wondering if we’ll be able to take it to Jim’s (Richards’) new weapon, then there’s Les Walmsley running in the Morris XA Phase 4 Falcon, Makarios running faster than ever before in his GTHO, Pye is back, and so many more to speak of.
“All I can say is be there and be watching!”
The Touring Car Masters is proudly supported by Shannons Insurance, Rare Spares and Unique Cars Magazine, with official suppliers Hoosier Tires and Australian Sports Marketing.
