MOTORSPORT: TCR exceeds expectations, but work to do

Comment

This TCR thing can work.

It’s not going to explode, or threaten the domination of Supercars, but that’s not the point. Australia needs more variety, a new look, new drivers and new fans, and the carsales TCR Australia Series already looks like it can deliver that whole package.

There is zero chance of it happening overnight, but the business and entertainment model looks good and a slow burn is a good way to under-promise and over-deliver in a way that most motorsport championships get wrong.

This came home to me, not at the carsales TCR season opener at Sydney Motor Sport Park (SMSP), but after a weekend of binging motorsport on television.

Supercars at Winton is interesting and the cars look and sound great as they boom out from a big-screen television, while the magic of Monaco makes F1 look special and exotic and interesting.

But a quick reality check reveals the shortcomings.

Most notably, the winners who invariably come from pole position. Or at least the front row.

That didn’t happen in the inaugural TCR races at SMSP and, unlike the hefty Supercars that struggle to pass at wintry Winton and the F1 missiles that struggle to even run close together at magical Monaco, there is passing and real racing in the junior championship.

While the Supercars stars bleat about their problems, or give their race rivals a touch-up to create a potential pass, I saw the TCR cars running three-wide (even four-wide on one start ) with the cars jiggling and jostling for position.

The smaller new touring cars make the track wider, their skinny little Michelins mean they move around, and a relative lack of aerodynamic grip means they are not glued to the road. This creates the potential for action and reaction.

This brain dump is not intended to be a criticism of Supercars, because I’m a touring car fan and have been since the 1970s when Allan Moffat and Ian Geoghegan and Bob Jane and Norm Beechey raced cars that looked like something you would see on the road (even if the Mustangs and Camaro were imports).

Supercars is good, sometimes great, and nothing matches the excitement and speed and spectacle of the V8 monsters racing around Bathurst. The series even claims to be the best touring car racing in the world.

But, there are some buts…

There are more buts, as well as maybes, around TCR racing and a lot of the comment comes as a comparison with the failed days of Super Touring in Australia.

As someone who watched, reported and even raced in the Super Touring time, there are two clear reasons why it failed.

Firstly, because it became a money-driven factory-funded category where only Audi and BMW could really compete in Australia. Secondly, because it went head-to-head with Supercars for fans and tracks and even the Bathurst 1000.

TCR is not planning to repeat those mistakes.

The cars are developed with car maker’s money (or at least their blessings), but then built by ‘customer racing’ outfits who sell them to individual teams. So there are no factory teams, although plenty of the Aussie TCR outfits are hoping for handouts.

The carsales TCR Australia Series has also avoided going head-to-head with Supercars on the same program, is happy to build a new audience through the Shannons Nationals series operated by CAMS, and is not even talking about a plus-and-minus comparison with the Supercars superstars.

Early numbers from the TCR opener at SMSP show just under 5000 spectators and reasonable ratings from the SBS live telecasts. TCR says close to 100,000 people watched the broadcasts and another 70,000 followed its live stream over two days.

Looking at the SMSP parking areas, there are almost zero Fords and Holdens. It’s all about ‘rice burners’ and Hyundai N-cars, with 20-something owners who can relate to the front-wheel drive and turbocharged engines of the TCR cars.

As the second meeting at Phillip Island comes into focus, there are some extra good signs.

TCR organisers predict a grid size of close to 20 cars, with more than 25 by the end of the year, and the drivers and teams are happy.

How long the hug-fest continues is difficult to predict, but the drivers are a mix of proven professionals - Tony D’Alberto, Andre Heimgartner, Jason Bright - and promising youngsters - Will Brown, Molly Taylor - who are happy just to be racing in a series which provides close competition and a new take on touring car action.

Tickets are now on sale for Round 2 of the carsales TCR Australia Series on June 7-9 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.