Tony Karanfilovski’s 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO featured in Unique Cars Magazine 13 April 2011
After delays with parts supply saw Tony Karanfilovski campaign his 1968 Alfa Romeo GT AM for the opening round of the 2011 season, the time has come for the launch of his new machine, a 1971 Ford Falcon XY GTHO.
The Alfa may be retiring from this series, but Karanfilovski is already looking towards a possible entry at the 2011 Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca in the United States later this year.
The introduction of the new vehicle stems from the desire to be competitive further towards the head of the challenging field, and this XY is no stranger to tarmac racing, having previously raced in the Touring Car Masters series with Rod Wilson behind the wheel, taking a podium place at the 2009 Clipsal 500.
After acquiring the car from the stable of fellow competitor Gavin Bullas, initial plans were to race the XY as it was, but after realising the strength across the 2011 field, Karanfilovski decided to further develop the car and make a valiant effort to secure top ten results this season.
Moving from the Class A Alfa to a 5.8L 351 Class C GTHO will present its own challenges, including harsher braking and a comprehensively revised driving style to handle the increased horsepower, now having more than double the output of the Alfa ready to launch Karanfilovski towards the head of the pack.
Completing the first shakedown at Winton Raceway last week, the TIFS Warehousing & Distribution team was confident that the car was well sorted early in the day, and were pleased with better than expected handling from the first laps. Somewhat slowing the progress of the day was a rear of engine oil leak along with some oil pressure dramas, both to be addressed prior to a second test session this week.
Further adjustments heading to Perth will include minor steering revisions, changes to the driver ergonomics and the team will hold focus on the braking performance of not just the vehicle, but the driver as the heavier machine requires an earlier application of braking, far removed from the requirements of the lighter Alfa.
Thanks to the long hours from staff at Classic Speed Shop, led by head engineer Spencer Rice, Synergy Race Engines and Savy Motorsport, Karanfilovski is confident of a promising debut in the new car at round two on the tarmac of Barbagallo Raceway at the end of this month.
Tony Karanfilovski
“I’m more than confident in the team’s ability to prepare a highly competitive car for each race, so if we have reliability and I can get the car home without dropping any positions, then I think we could go OK.”
“The team has high expectations for the 2011 season and will only be happy if we finish amongst the top ten in the championship, but it’s going to take some luck considering we didn’t score points at Clipsal.”
“I think the car will be quick straight out of the box, but I’ll have to work on adapting to new car nuances during practice to ensure we qualify somewhere in the middle.”
“We hope to nail down the set up before qualifying, so we can be challenging for a top ten weekend in Perth.”
