WHILE a lot of attention this weekend at Oran Park will be on the final round of the V8 Supercars, for one local racer it will be a case of stepping back into history as Walkinshaw Commodores do battle with Nissan Skylines, Ford Falcons, BMWs and Ford Sierras.
Norm Mogg will line up in his former Walkinshaw VL Commodore in the Group A-C category.
Group C Touring Cars represent the period 1973 to 1984 and it was during this era the legends of touring car racing of today and the recent past forged their reputations.
It was the period that strengthened the Ford v Holden rivalry that is the basis of today’s V8 Supercars.
The cars racing are not replicas, they are the actual cars raced during 1973-1984, many of them still carry the names of sponsors and drivers now long gone from motor racing.
And Mogg will line up right in the middle of the action in his former HRT VL Commodore which was campaigned by Neil Crompton and Win Percy.
“It is an exciting form of racing and great to see these superb cars of former eras still going round,” he said.
And he knows he will have to be right on his game as he comes up against a number of other Group C Walkinshaw Commodores, the Nissan Skyline, the Army Reserve Falcon, the Peter Jackson Ford Sierra and JPS BMW.
They will also do battle with some of the slower Group A cars like Toyota Corolla and the Holden Gemini of another Nowra local in Kerry Post.
Mogg said his Commodore is in superb condition for this weekend’s meeting which will see the class have three races at Oran Park, in what many believe may be the last time at the iconic west Sydney racetrack.
“The car is beautiful, it is in great condition for the meeting,” he said.
“We have changed the diff ratio for this circuit to a 3.9 ratio and have a brand new aluminium diff.
“We have also moved to Kumo tyres, looking for more grip.
“Our car preparation has been first class, we sent the computer off to have some checks done after we had an electrical gremlin at its last outing at the Muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek in September and it’s come back fine.
“I think it was down to the weekend - it was extremely wet and we got some moisture in there, but it is all fine now.”
The team was looking for a good run in qualifying which was staged late yesterday afternoon.
“We want to get out early in front and get some clear air for good runs,” Mogg said.
“If we get caught back in the field in qualifying that won’t allow us to post any fast runs and we will qualify well down the field which will make it hard to work our way back.”
The team will line up against what is expected to be 40 entries on the weekend and will have three races.
There is a 14-lap race this afternoon starting at 5pm, followed by another 14-lap race at 5pm tomorrow and a final 14-lap race at 8.30am Sunday.
That final race may provide a few headaches for the local team.
“We won’t really know what to expect in Sunday’s race,” Mogg said.
“We will have the car set up for late afternoon conditions and then have to radically change for a morning race.
“And because we aren’t really getting a lot of extra track time we will just bank on information we have from previous races there.
“It makes it tough, but we are expecting to do well over the weekend.
“The engine is fresh, the car is in showroom condition and we are ready to go.”
Mogg said he has the backing of a great team of locals behind his endeavours.
“I must thank Online Labour Hire, PB Smash Repairs, Robert Bridge Motorsport and Precision Auto Electrics who all help with the car,” he said.