Lap record set to fall at Baskerville when S5000s hit the track

The fastest open-wheeled race cars in Australia are set to smash the Baskerville lap record this weekend, while 16 V8-powered Trans Ams that will contest the Baskerville Ten Thousand.

• His dad won Bathurst and Ben Bargwanna hopes to follow in his dad’s motor racing tyre marks as they race in Tassie
• Tassie driver Greg Crick’s grandson Charlie Parker also has the need for speed

AUSTRALIA’S newest low-flying motor racing rocket ships are certain to break John Bowe’s longstanding outright lap record when part two of Race Tasmania hits Baskerville Raceway this weekend.

That’s what has Race Tasmania founder and GRM Supercars team boss Garry Rogers excited ahead of practice for the open-wheeled S5000s there on Friday ahead of qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday.

As well as S5000, Race Tasmania also features TCR two-litre turbo touring cars, Touring Car Masters and 16 V8-powered Trans Ams that will contest the Baskerville Ten Thousand with a prize of $10,000 to the winner.

Victorian Thomas Randle won the S5000 round weeks after hospital treatment for cancer. Picture Angryman Photography

After reaching its COVID-19 restricted crowd limit of 5000 people per day for Race Tasmania part one at Symmons Plains from Sunday to Tuesday, part two promises to be one of the biggest race meetings at Baskerville in decades.

“The whole concept for the back-to-back meetings was about promoting travel to Tasmania for motor racing events and spreading them out so people could come to Tassie, enjoy the sport, spend some money and support the local economy,” Rogers said.

Garry Rogers Motorsport owner Garry Rogers at the Tasmania Supersprint at Symmons Plains. Picture: Chris Kidd

Rogers is confident the S5000 cars would break Bowe’s 40-year-old lap record of 50.16s set in his Ralt RT4.

“There is no doubt about that,” Rogers said.

“They broke the lap record at Symmons Plains, and I have no doubt they will do the same at Baskerville.

“We were working on getting a championship round at Baskerville for the S5000 but there are some track regulations [that] haven’t quite met yet.

“We will do that over the next few months and certainly next season they will have a championship round at Baskerville as well as Symmons Plains.”

Tasmanian Owen Kelly, whose crew chief is Nascar ace Marcos Ambrose, heads the field for the Trans Ams.

Former Bathurst 1000 champion Jason Bargwanna racing his Peugeot TCR race car at Symmons Plains.

“The pick of the bunch will be the Trans Ams — they are seriously exciting cars and they have extremely close racing.

“The level of competition among the top five or six drivers is as good as anything there is about.”

John Bowe, along with fellow-Tasmanian Adam Garwood, headline the Touring Car Masters field with “JB” having just claimed his 100th TCM career win at Symmons.

Practice starts on Friday, followed by qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets from https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/race-tasmania-tickets/artist/2759975