MOTORSPORT: carsales TCR Australia Series ready to rumble

There will be firsts on all fronts when the carsales TCR Australia Series fires up for the first time this weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park.

There will be first-time race winners and a championship leader, but also the first time a new style of international touring car racing has graced Australia.

TCR competition is for compact front-wheel drive cars powered by turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines – just like the hot hatches you can buy, but with limitations on modifications and a Michelin control tyre to ensure equal competition.

It’s the first genuinely global tin-top race series since the days of Super Touring, which turned into an Audi-versus-BMW battle in Australia -- with cameos including Peter Brock in a Volvo.

Honda is the first manufacturer official on board and a promising pack of 17 cars will hit the grid at SMP with the mix of makes and models spanning Alfa Romeo Giulietta to Volkswagen Golf GTI.

In between there will be the Audi RS 3, Holden Astra, Honda Civic Type R, Hyundai i30 N, Renault Megane RS and Subaru WRX.

Drivers will range from relative rookies to Supercars stand-outs. Among those making the move from Supercars are Jason Bright, who has won Bathurst and is jumping into a Volkswagen Golf, current Nissan Altima racer Andre Heimgartner, who is driving a Subaru WRX, race winner James Moffat and Chris Pither.

“It’s a little bit difficult to know what to expect. It looks like it’s going to be very competitive,” says former Super2 champion and front-running Bathurst 1000 co-driver, Tony D’Alberto.

“It’s new for all of us, so we’ll have to wait and see.”

The TCR challenge has drawn two teams from the Supercar pitlane, Kelly Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport, as well as female drivers Molly Taylor, Chelsea Angelo and New Zealander Alexandra Whitley.

Dutch youngster, 21-year-old Rik Breukers, is also joining the Australian championship to drive the only Audi RS 3 in the field.

Competition will run over three 30-minute races, one on Saturday and two on Sunday, following a single qualifying session on Saturday. In a progressive grid system, starting positions for the two races on Sunday will be set by the finishing order in the previous race.

Teams and drivers have had a series of shakedown sessions at Winton Raceway in Victoria but, as yet, there is no clear picture of the pecking order.

Based on overseas results, the Hyundai i30 N and Honda Civic Type R should run at the front, but there have also been reports of strong pace from everything from the Renault Megane RS to the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The Hyundai is the most popular car in the field, with four starters.

“TCR looks pretty cool and the car feels great,” says youngster Will Brown, who is dovetailing his Super2 season with a race place in the Hyundai i30 N of HMO Customer Racing.

“It’s obviously very different to what I’ve driven, but I feel like we will be competitive. It was on the money during the day at Winton.

“I’ve had a look at the races overseas and the Hyundai always seems to be in the top four or five. It’s one of the good cars.”

Both D’Alberto and Brown are keen to get going, but also to see what TCR racing is about.

“It’s going to be a big learning curve, not only for the drivers but also the teams. We are still working out what the car wants to go fast,” says D’Alberto.

“You go into the race hoping you’re going to be at the front, but I don’t have any expectations. We just have to put our best foot forward.”

Brown is aiming for the top but, like D’Alberto, is not sure what to expect in Sydney.

“You never get too carried away, but we’ll push on. If we get on the podium we’ll be happy and if we win we’ll be ecstatic. I love driving and I just want to race,” says Brown.

Teams are still finalising the look and feel of their cars ahead of the SMP debut, but Alex Davison -- a previous Carrera Cup champion and European racer in Porsches, as well as a Supercars main-game driver and current long-distance co-driver -- will be the Driver Standards Officer for the TCR championship.

Races will be run without tyre changes or refuelling.

This weekend’s races at SMP will be broadcast live and free on SBS, with commentary by Greg Rust and Aaron Noonan, and the timetable is as follows.

Friday:
Practice 1: 13.40-14.10
Practice 2: 16.35-17.05

Saturday:
Qualifying: 10.55-11.25
Race 1: 14.10-14.40

Sunday:
Race 2: 13.10-13.40
Race 3: 14.15-14.45

carsales TCR Australia Series line-up:
#2 Aaron Cameron, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Melbourne Performance
#6 Molly Taylor, Subaru WRX, Kelly Racing
#7 Jimmy Vernon, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Garry Rogers Motorsport
#8 Jason Bright, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Alliance Autosport
#9 Dylan O’Keefe, Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Ashley Seward Motorsport
#11 Nathan Morcom, Hyundai i30 N, HMO Customer Racing
#22 Rik Bruekers, Audi RS 3, Melbourne Performance
#24 John Martin, Honda Civic Type R, Wall Racing
#29 Michael Almond, Hyundai i30 N, GWR Australia
#30 Will Brown, Hyundai i30 N, HMO Customer Racing
#33 Chris Pither, Renault Megane RS, Garry Rogers Motorsport
#34 James Moffat, Renault Megane RS, Garry Rogers Motorsport
#35 Alexandra Whitley, Volkswagen Golf GTI, Alliance Autosport
#37 Chelsea Angelo, Holden Astra, Kelly Racing
#50 Tony D’Alberto, Honda Civic Type R, Wall Racing
#62 Alex Rullo, Holden Astra, Kelly Racing
#777 Andre Heimgartner, Subaru WRX, Kelly Racing