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Introduction

The Historic Touring car movement has grown into one of the most popular categories of motor racing in this country. There is an association in every mainland state, and a national body(AHTCA). In recent research Historic Touring Cars were rated the second most popular support event behind SuperCars. Which is probably why Historic Touring Cars support Bathurst and numerous V8 SuperCar events.

Historic Touring Cars relive the exciting days of Touring Car Racing from the 60’s and 70’s. Now 50 to 60 years on this is again recreated with close, tight racing and fields of up to 52 cars (Bathurst and Phillip Island). With 1965 Mustangs pumping out over 450 Horsepower from skinny 6 inch wheels, it’s more fun than ever. And it keeps getting better as more and more people discover the fun our group has.

Getting into an Historic Touring Car won’t set you back a fortune. You can buy cheaper cars like a Mini or Ford Cortina ready to race for $25,000 – $35,000 or for a bit more get into a Torana for $35,000 to $50,000 or a V8 Mustang for $70,000-$90,000. There are always cars for sale, if not locally then a few phone calls can usually find the right car for you interstate. And running costs are very low in comparison with other categories.

The SA Association

The association in South Australia welcomes anybody who is interested in saloon cars of the period, although our focus is towards competition. The association was founded in late 1998 to help facilitate Historic Touring Cars as a support category for the first Sensational Adelaide in 1999. Previously the category had been run from within the Sporting Car Club of South Australia. Sensational Adelaide approached John Virgo to help organise the support race, Alan Heath was already meeting with other State delegates to organise and create the Australian Historic Touring Car Association (AHTCA) and with John Bryant on board John became the first president of the South Australian Association.

The HTCASA is affiliated with Motorsport Australia (Formerly CAMS), the AHTCA (National Body) and the SCCSA (Sporting Car Club of SA) which is the largest car club in Australia. Many members are also members of the SCCSA and attend their HRR (Historic Racing Register) meetings.

Members can participate in a points scored competition that covers all events entered during the year. First, second and third place driver of the year trophies are presented at the end of year function. Points are scored depending upon the capacity class of the vehicle and number of cars competing in each class. This system lends itself to more spirited and interesting competition, and gives all a chance of scoring well. See the Previous Driver of the Year Results page for results from previous years.

The association has a very strong social component, with 30 – 80 people attending the numerous social functions held throughout the year. Social events from Cruises, Winery tours, Bowling nights, Christmas functions and after race eats and drinks

Full Membership and Associate Membership are available. The annual contributions are as follows:
Full Member $75.00 per year (Inc Motorsport Australia affiliation)
Associate Member $30.00 per year

General Meetings

General meetings are held quarterly, (Refere to Calender for exact details) on the second Monday of the month. Members can get together at the local hotel for a drink or supper and socialise before the meeting proper, where any business pertaining to historic touring cars can be discussed. Members are kept in touch with regular updates by Email, Facebook and the Website. The normal meeting venue is:

Meeting proper 7:30pm (Refer Calender for exact details)
Sporting Car Club
51 King William Road
Unley 5061

Club Contacts

Please address all written correspondence via email to:
admin@htcasa.com.au

Or for information call:
HTCASA President
Paul Atkins
0417 733 323

Motorsport Events

Active members compete in a series of circuit races and hillclimbs for points towards the South Australian driver of the year. Other events such as regularity trials, super sprints and track days are available to further increase the use of your Historic Touring Car.

In South Australia, Mallala Motorsport Park is used for racing and regularity events along with The Bend racetrack at Tailem Bend and Collingrove Hillclimb near Angaston is used for hillclimbs. There are a number of competition events scheduled during the year providing opportunities for enthusiasts to exercise themselves as well as their cars. There are also many great interstate race meetings to compete at, contact club representatives for more information.

The two major circuit racing events held for historic touring cars are the Mallala Anzac Historic in April and the SA Historic Touring Car Cup usually held later in the year. Its not uncommon to get 20-30 entries for each of these events.

The HTCASA is affliated with Motorsport Australia and can assist anyone in obtaining the necessary licences for the different levels of competition, along with car preparation, technical assistance, information, and promoting contact and friendship within the historic vehicle fraternity as a whole.

Categories

There are there categories within the Historic Touring Car class. Groups Na, Nb and Nc. Currently in South Australia there are not any Na cars, these cars cover the period pre 1958.

Group Nb

This category was the basis for the revival of what was affectionately called “Appendix J” after its reincarnation in 1981. It was no accident that the fans and many involved in the scene referred to this class as “Appendix J” as it was known as exactly that when in 1960 it was introduced and became the premier form of touring car racing in Australia. It lasted until the end of 1964 and spawned such names as Geoghegan, Beechey, Foley, Manton, and Muir to name but a few. Other classes were introduced for the start of the 1965 year but races for “Appendix J’ classes were held right up until 1969.

Cars which qualify for this class must be manufactured prior to Dec 31 1964 (see regulations) and include such models as Holden FX through to EH, many Mini models including the mighty Cooper S, Cortina GT and Lotus, Mustang, Chevrolet, Falcon, Peugeot and Alfa Romeo to mention a few. Examples of these models are at present running at circuits around Australia and many other makes and models have also been raced.

Until the recent introduction of Groups Na and Nc, Group Nb had been the sole touring car category at the popular Historic race meetings held in all states of Australia.

Group Nc

With the spectacular success of Group Nb as a Historic touring car class the natural progression was the introduction of the follow-on class. In the late 1960s and on into the ’70s the “Australian Muscle Car” was born. 

During the period there was a great leap forward in technology and the regulations that existed during the period varied tremendously. A new set of regulations was developed in the hope of representing a diverse period in one set of common regulations. Group Nc fills that role and represents cars from the period 1965-1972.

This period saw the rise to fame of new names such as Moffatt and Brock added to Australian icons like Jane, Beechey and Geoghegan in cars like Falcon GT, Mustang, Chevrolet Comaro, BDA Escort, Torana GTR XU1, Holden Monaro and Valiant Charger, all of which are represented in the fields emerging in this relatively new category.

Eligibility

The eligibility officer for the HTCASA is Alan Pickstock. He will be able to provide you with specifications for building or modifying your vehicle of interest and organising a Motorsport Australia log book

Note: an alternative to building a car is to buy an already log booked car which these days can be a far quicker way to go and defiantly a cheaper way to get started. These cars can be found in the classifieds, MY105.com.au of Auto Action and Motorsport News magazines each week or through interstate associations and word of mouth.