The Historic Sport and Race Car Association’s (HSRCA) 2023 Sydney Classic will host Heritage Touring Cars’ inaugural combined grid, featuring early 5 Litre V8s and 2 Litre Super Tourers.

Following on from the success of the 2022 Sydney Classic and Summer Festival race meetings, the HSRCA’s 2023 historic race season will open with a spectacular Sydney Classic from June 9-11.

The Heritage Touring Cars series will be the feature category for the meeting, alongside a full contingent of historic sports and race cars, covering everything from the magic specials of J, K and L to the wings ‘n slicks racers of Q & R and packed grids of Group S and Group N cars.

Dubbed the ‘Legends of Bathurst’, the Heritage Touring Cars series puts iconic Group C and A touring cars on track in anger in a three-round national series. These historic race machines were driven by local heroes like Peter Brock, Jim Richards, Dick Johnson and Glenn Seton, making history in the Australian Touring Car Championship, both on The Mountain and around the country.

For the first time ever, at the 2023 Sydney Classic, the series will run alongside early 5-litre V8 Supercars and 2-litre Super Tourers. The early 5-litre V8 Supercars pick up where Group A left off in 1993, including cars like a Perkins Engineering Commodore VS, Paul Radisich Falcon and Bob Pearson Pro-Duct VP Commodore.

The 2.0-litre Super Tourers ran alongside the 5.0-litre Touring Cars during a similar period throughout the early ‘90s until 2002, providing a home for the smaller capacity race machinery that competed so fiercely in Group C and A. BMW dominated the series, with Paul Morris claiming four Drivers Championships on board the 318i and 320i, Audi’s A4 Quattro also making a mark.

Heritage Touring Cars president Terry Lawlor plans to bring the ex-Dick Johnson Greens Tuff Mustang out to the meeting.

“Heritage Touring Cars are delighted to have our inaugural combined round with Super Tourers and early-V8 Supercars at the HSRCA meet at Sydney Motorsport Park in June,” said Terry. “This is the start of a new chapter in historic racing and it’s great to join up with them for it.

“The HSRCA is honoured to host this significant inaugural outing, and we look forward to seeing the categories running together this June. As always, we are proud to be supported by all fifth category categories, and look forward to putting on a full schedule of events and quality track time for all groups, which will also include Group Q, O and M Sports and Racing cars, Groups J, K and L, Formula Vee and Ford, Group N, Group S, Regularity and Super Sprint.”