An event for touring cars which raced in Australia in the 1990s and early 2000s will be held with the Shannons Nationals at Winton later this year.

Known as the ‘V8 Sleuth Touring Car Classic’, it is open to the V8 Supercars from the very earliest versions to around a decade ago, as well as a host of other touring cars of the day.

There will be classes for V8 Supercars from 1992 to 2002 (Falcon EB, EF, EL, and AU; Commodore VP, VR, VS, VT, and VX), Project Blueprint-era V8 Supercars from 2003 to 2007 (Falcon BA, BF; Commodore VY, VZ), Super Tourers (including cars which raced overseas), and V8 Future Tourers.

Conceived by motorsport historian Aaron Noonan, operator of V8 Sleuth, and Kumho Super3 Series category manager Liam Curkpatrick, the event essentially fills the space from the start of the five-litre V8 era up to Super3.

“There’s huge interest among car owners and fans of the early era of V8 Supercars covering the early 1990s to the early 2000s,” said Noonan.

“There were over 150 Falcons and Commodores built and raced between 1992 and 2002 and, with the vast majority of them still around, that’s a fairly large potential pool of cars which could race now and into the future.

“The Super3 Series has evolved into a category with more and more young drivers starting on their pathway to Supercars in more contemporary machinery, which is fantastic.

“So the time is right for the previous generation cars to be included in an event like this and encourage more of them to come out and race.

“We also want to help unite owners with Super Tourers and Future Tourers too. We know there are some of those cars around but they have, in essence, nowhere to race. The Classic gives them somewhere to enjoy their cars.”

Michael Smith, CAMS’ General Manager – Motor Sport, believes that the Classic will be a welcome addition to the program.

“We’re really thrilled to support the Touring Car Classic concept and make it part of our Winton round of the Shannons Nationals later in the year,” he said.

“The concept of celebrating Australian touring car racing in this way is a really exciting one.

“The cars and eras covered by this Classic format are diverse and will bring back many memories for fans of V8 and two-litre racing from the last few decades.”

The VE Commodores and FG Falcons which currently form the backbone of Super3 are not eligible.

Streaming of the V8 Sleuth Touring Car Classic will be as per the regular Shannons Nationals coverage.

Friday practice will be optional, before qualifying and three races across August 31-September 1.