FOLLOWING an impressive performance in this year's inaugural Bathurst 6 Hour race, Bathurst's Terry Nightingale will be back on track this weekend at Wakefield Park.
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He will be driving in Brett McFarland's two-car BAM Racing team in a one-hour Series X3 NSW Endurance Challenge.
The opportunity for Nightingale to compete in the event coincides with the launch of BAM Racing's new Excel racing leasing arm.
It will give people the chance to compete in what is a very exciting and popular category in a competitive car run by a top-line team.
The last time the Excel Enduro was conducted at Wakefield Park was in 2014, when the podium was almost full of Bathurst drivers.
Nightingale had picked up a last-minute drive with the AGI Sport team alongside then Excel champion, Sydney's Nathan Gotch. Together they posted a most impressive victory.
Second was Brett McFarland with his father Phil McFarland, having his first ever race, while in third was Mick Ridings and rally driver Nik Hough.
Like Nightingale, McFarland starred in the Bathurst 6 Hour. He is a two-time NSW HQ Holden champion and also the reigning NSW Excel champion, but he wants to spend more time both setting up his new car leasing arm and driving his Subaru WRX in production touring car championship events.
He will not be defending his NSW Excel championship, but will make cameo appearances like in this weekend's enduro.
Nightingale will be driving solo in the #27 car McFarland used to win the 2014 title, while the second BAM entry – the #72 BAR Construction Excel - will be driven by the McFarlands.
The Series X3 NSW Challenge was formed last year with the intention of building on from an existing states series.
This year the enduro is a round of the series as opposed to when it was last run as a one-off event. As a result they have received a very strong entry of 22 cars.
In all there are five cars and seven drivers entered from Bathurst teams, which is a record for any category.
Apart from the two BAM Motorsport cars, RPH Motorsport have two cars headed by Ridings and Hough.
The other RPH entry will be driven by a young Cowra hot-shot Tom Manwaring and Queensland-based Porsche racer Dominic Martens.
On top of that, Michael Golding will be driving the #85 Bathurst Towing entry, along with Kerry Janssen (#2 Clancy Motors Group Excel) and Josh Knox (#6 CS Mechanical Excel).
It will also be a reunion of sorts for the once all conquering AGI Sport team, with the three original drivers all competing. Glenn Smith, still racing his AGI Sport entry will have Gotch with him, while Tom Muller has car #77’s original driver Nico Filipetto joining him this weekend.