MOTORSPORT: Trio of winners as TCR resumes
Mixed results from TCR Australia Series resumption TassieThere were three different winners but Josh Buchan banked the best points, despite a stupid mistake in the final race, as the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series led the revival of top-level motorsport in Australia for 2022.
Veteran Tim Macrow was best in the S5000 single-seaters at Race Tasmania at Symmons Plains, while Tim Brook leads Nathan Herne in the Trans Am standings in the re-named SuperSeries championship that has been lured to Stan Sport in a push for a younger generation of streaming viewers.
The weekend was marred by some silly driving and a series of crashes, repeating the pattern from the Bathurst meeting that closed last year’s championships for the second-tier championships.
One of the biggest casualties was James Moffat, who was tipped heavily into the barriers in the second TCR sprint, making it the second consecutive year that has was lucky not to be badly hurt at Symmons Plains. His crash came after a promising fourth place in the first leg of the three-race weekend in his Renault Megane RS.
The TCR weekend began when Jay Hanson scored a first-up win with a new Audi RS 3 on Saturday afternoon, as he was followed home by the Hyundai i30 Ns of Buchan and his team-mate Nathan Morcom
Jordan Cox won on Sunday morning in a Peugeot 308, ahead of rookie Bailey Sweeney in a Hyundai, with Tony D’Alberto finding some much-needed form for third in a Honda Civic Type R.
The final TCR race on Sunday afternoon was stopped for barrier repairs after another big crash involving Dylan O’Keefe, who went into the fence at the same place as Moffat as the innocent victim in a Peugeot 308, to set up a 10-lap sprint.
Buchan was the leader but lost his shot at success when he was smacked with a five-second penalty for weaving to warm his car’s tyres when he should have been lined up straight behind a Safety Car.
So the Hyundai racer was first to the flag but the victory went to another youngster, Zac Souter in a Civic, with D’Alberto second again and Cox taking third.
“Look, it is what it is, that’s motor racing. I’ve made mistakes before. I haven’t made that one. I can guarantee you that will be the last time,” said Buchan, who was relegated to fourth by his penalty.
“I’m not here to collect points. I’m here to win races. It’s very good for the championship.”
At the end of the weekend, with TCR racing to continue at Phillip Island in Victoria, Buchan has a two-point margin over Soutar in the standings, with D’Alberto to be third after a weekend that was Honda’s weakest last year.
Former champion Will Brown had a tough return to TCR in an Audi RS 3, including a collision with a teammate, and only sits seventh in the championship.
Fabian Coulthard, the former Supercars driver who was left without a seat following the sale of Team Sydney, is only 13th in the points after his first races in any form of front-wheel drive race car but hopeful of continuing in the series with backing from Stan Sport on his Honda.
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series points (after round 1):
- Josh Buchan, Hyundai, 118
- Zac Soutar, Honda, 116
- Tony D’Alberto, Honda, 114
- Jordan Cox, Peugeot, 106
- Nathan Morcom, Hyundai, 99
Related: MOTORSPORT: Supercars kick for TCR series return
Related: Three Aussie titles still go – for now
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