Championship Battle Heats Up as Trans Am Cup Series Heads to Perth

A grid of 20 Trans Am Cup Series cars heads west this weekend for Round 3 of the season, as part of the Bosch Power Tools Super 440 Supercars event, July 31-August 2.

Championship leader Nathan Herne will be looking to extend his lead, with the NSW driver riding a wave of confidence after a podium finish at the famed Watkins Glen Circuit in the United States two weeks ago.

Herne's 31-point championship lead is, ironically, over his freshly announced Bathurst 1000 co-driver, James Moffat — the two are well known to each other from their time together at GRM.

Third and fourth in the standings are Supercars co-drivers Jarrod Hughes and Todd Hazelwood, separated by just a single point, while Pro Am Class leader Tyler Cheney, fresh off an outright podium at SMP TA2, will make his WA debut aboard his Carlton Zero Camaro.

West Aussie and speedway legend Jason Pryde, who recently raced in the TA2 Tag Team Enduro, is no stranger to the Wanneroo circuit, having raced in the TA2 "Kings of the West" event last year. He'll be joined by another local, "Kings of the West" podium finisher Clinton Rayner, with both competing under the Ashley Jarvis Racing banner — Rayner's regular TA2 team.

Adding further depth to the field, Supercars team owner Tim Blanchard is back behind the wheel this weekend in the #10 Cooldrive Ford Mustang, joined by Adam Garwood at Maverick Performance.

Marcos Ambrose Motorsport pilot Jordan Freestone is hoping for a clean round after fitting a new engine following Darwin, as will GRM driver Lachlan Evennett, who suffered a round to forget up north.

Tasmanian Harrison Sellars, who showed great improvement at Round 2 of the series, will make his WA debut having never even been to the state, let alone the racetrack, while Pro Am Class competitor Domain Ramsay will have his second stab at the track after competing in the Kings of the West in 2025.

Blake Tracey will be looking for a strong result at Round 3 after winning the final race in Darwin, only to fall foul of the officials after the race. He comes into the weekend full of confidence, after a podium last weekend in the GT4 Mustang he shares with former Trans Am and TA2 racer George Miedecke.

Fans can catch all the action live on Fox and Kayo Sports.

QUOTES

Nathan Herne, #29 BlueGold Industries, Chev Camaro

"I’m really looking forward to be heading over to Perth, it's an awesome track, and it works really well for these Trans Am cars, long corners, high speeds, so it'll make for fun racing to watch. It's going to be an interesting weekend, I'm not too sure what to expect, but I'm sure it'll shake up the championship points a little given the lack of experience at this track across the field.”

"I'm super excited to be competing in this year's Bathurst 1000 as a wildcard entry with Garry Rogers Motorsport. It's a box I've wanted to tick for a long time, and it's great to finally get it across the line, and to do it with GRM, given I've had a pretty good history with them, winning the S5000 series and the Trans Am championship in 2022. To finally get into Supercars and do the wildcard with James Moffat, after so many years of trying and not quite getting there, it's pretty cool to see it all come together and become real.”

"I'm so thankful for everything the Trans Am category has given me in my career. I started out in the TA2 series  in 2019 when I was 16, and I've since raced all over the world in different cars. Being able to build a pathway into Supercars from TA2 and Trans Am is pretty cool, and it puts those categories on the map as a genuine stepping stone into Supercars."

Jarrod Hughes, #118 IES/Chevrolet Performance, Chev Camaro 

"The team and I are really excited to head to Perth this weekend. I drove that track last year, racing against Nathan Herne in the TA2 Kings of the West round, and it's an absolute heap of fun in these Trans Am cars."

"I'm looking forward to getting back there with a bit more experience under my belt than most of the field. The championship is tight up the top, so I'll be looking to bring home as many points as I can, stay out of trouble, and try to track down Herne and Moffat ahead of me."