Trans Am Series announces new production racing classes for 2016

The Trans Am Race Company (TARC) has formally announced a restructuring of the Series’ production racing class designations commencing in 2016. Three classes, TA3, TA4 and TA5, will replace the previously existing TA3 American Muscle and International Groups, as the Trans Am Series continues to refine and build upon its production racing platform to offer participants the best possible conditions for competition.

“We’ve seen a huge outpouring of interest in production racing under the Trans Am banner," said John Clagett, President of The Trans Am Race Company. “Nearly every day we receive more and more inquiries from drivers looking to ply their trade in Trans Am. At TARC we strive to create an environment that improves competition, allows for a customer centric approach and creates quality racing—in these changes we’re continuing to work towards those goals."

The TA3 class will encompass cars previously included within the International Group, with the exclusion of Porches. This includes, but is not restricted to, the following vehicles: Aston Martin GT4, BMW M3/E46/E36, Chevrolet Corvettes, and Dodge Vipers.

The TA4 class will include the vehicles previously eligible for the TA3 American Muscle Group, taking in the age-old production battle between the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger—the very same pony wars that helped Trans Am forge its name 50 years ago.

Finally, the Trans Am Series has added the TA5 class to accommodate the ever-increasing interest from the Porsche community. The class will also run Hoosier Racing Tire slicks rather than the DOT tires that the rest of the TA3 class will continue to run.

“We’ve had members of the Porsche racing community interested in this change for quite some time," said Clagett. “Now that we’ve created the class, all of us are excited to see the potential of TA5 and its impact on Trans Am. Production racing, Porsches— they’ve both played a major role in helping create the Trans Am legacy from the glory days of Peter Gregg to today. Now we’re taking steps to help solidify that legacy going forward."

While the addition of the TA4 and TA5 classes continues to expand the classes within the Trans Am structure, TARC is also taking steps to maintain the quality of racing throughout all classes.

“We’ve successfully secured separate races for the TA2 class at 11 of our 12 events on the 2016 calendar," said Clagett. “Over the course of 2015, TA2 proved itself capable of putting on its own show time and time again; by adding independent races for TA2 we open up more space on track for our other classes while increasing Trans Am’s value for our partners and fans."

The new class structures are detailed in full within the 2016 Trans Am Rulebook. Trans Am will begin the 2016 Trans Am Championship, the 50th Anniversary of the Trans Am Series, on Sunday March 6, 2016, at Sebring International Raceway.