Fishtail Fisher ready to slide into Sydney
V8 Ute Racing regular Andrew 'Fishtail' Fisher will trade one sideways Falcon for another at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
Fisher will join the ENZED Touring Car Masters Series for the weekend - where the Touring Car Masters race alongside the V8 Supercars -racing a 1971 Ford Falcon XY GT prepared by long-time TCM competitor and engine builder, Steve Makarios.
The Sydney Motorsport Park round will mark Fisher's TCM debut and it comes against one of the most competitive fields of the season, that includes the return of Chrysler Charger ace Greg Crick.
The Jesus Racing driver says his years of success in the ultra-competitive Holden-versus-Ford V8 Utes category will make the transition to TCM easier than others may have found.
"Drivers coming from other categories may struggle with the fact that the cars are 1600kg, have relatively small brakes and a lot of grunt, but coming from the Utes will make the transition easier," he said.
"The Utes require a similar driving style where you have to manage the weight transfer when getting the car into a corner and I think that experience has helped me get my head around the TCM car quicker.
"The smile you get on your face when you unleash the horsepower is amazing."
Following a strong test at the Sydney circuit last week, Fisher has modest expectations about what the new combination can achieve at the round next week.
"Steve Makarios has done an excellent job and the car should be very strong," he said.
"It's always difficult to predict what is going to happen at a race weekend, I would like to think we will be on the pace but as with the Utes, we have to recognise that the guys that run at the front of the category are at the top of their game and are racing cars that are well sorted, reliable and familiar to them so we don't expect any miracles.
"The car has been lovingly built by Steve (Makarios) who builds the best engines in the category which means it is strong and reliable."
Sydney Motorsport Park will mark the first of three outings in TCM this season for the Canberra-born, Sydney-based driver who heads up the 'Life Choices' program that reaches more than 30,000 people each year via regular seminars.
Fisher introduced the Jesus Racing program to V8 Utes and has since enjoyed success in the category; currently coming off a round podium at Hidden Valley in June.
He sits seventh in the V8 Utes championship and says his TCM campaign will include the Sydney event, plus two of the final three rounds of the season at Bathurst and the Phillip Island season finale'.
"TCM is a fantastic, profile category and the cars have a huge appeal to the Australian public," Fisher said.
"I have been a long-term fan (of the) category and where else do you get the chance to race with legends of the sport such as Richards, Bowe, Miedecke, Crick and others? The cars are very cool, sound great and the category has been able to transcend generational changes and is therefore is a great fit with our Jesus Passion. Purpose. Life branding.
"I speak to thousandsof men at dinners (as part of the Life Choices program he runs) across Australia and the TCM style cars are a perfect fit. We have recently launched our replica XYGT and took this to a number of High Schools as part of the Jesus Racing Life Choices program, and we were amazed at the response it received from the younger generation.
"I personally thought they might struggle to connect but both the guys and the girls absolutely loved it.
"It's been positive so far and we're looking forward to possibly getting more involved next year."
A 26-car field will tackle the ENZED Muscle Car Classic across three races at Sydney Motorsport Park with the V8 Supercars Sydney 400 next week.
The field will include the return of Tasmanian racing hero Greg Crick in his MOPAR-sponsored Chrysler Charger E55.
Chrysler fans will have a double boost with Sydney's best-known historic Touring Car racing family, the Tilley's, set to dust off their hugely popular 1969 Valliant Pacer for the first time this season, with Cameron Tilley behind the wheel.
The Touring Car Masters are just one of the great support categories to run at the Sydney Motorsport Park 400, with Radical Australia, Australian GT and Porsche Carrrera Cup also on track over the weekend. Tickets are available now.
