Will Brown doubles up after fabulous TCR Australia debut weekend

Race fans were given a taste of what to expect after a new world of touring car racing was introduced to Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park today.

The action packed day saw passing, bumping and penalties dished out across the two races, both won by young Hyundai driver Will Brown.

The 20 year old was made to work for his victories, having to overcome the fast-paced Alfa Romeo of Dylan O’Keeffe to secure the wins.

Brown leads the championship, ahead of O’Keeffe and the consistent Honda of Tony D’Alberto.

In today’s first race, Brown took the win after passing the fast-starting O’Keeffe with a clean cut passing move at Turn 6. O’Keeffe finished second ahead of D’Alberto.

The short 20 minute turn around was fast and frantic for the teams, but all cars made it out for the start of Race 3.

The action started thick and fast when the Audi of Rik Breuker stalled at the start and heavily collected by Jimmy Vernon who launched his Alfa Romeo off the back of the Audi. 

The Subaru of Andre Heimgartner was the surprise packet, launching from fifth to second on the opening lap and was offering a challenge for the lead until a steering issue halted his run.

Like today’s first race, O’Keeffe led until Brown swooped to take the lead and race on to a double win, securing a tight title lead.

The man of most interest to the race stewards was Nathan Morcom. The Sydney-based Hyundai driver was penalised for three separate incidents in the final race, with the third fine costing him an additional 30 seconds to his overall race time. Morcom collected rubbed panels with D’Alberto and Race 1 winner Jason Bright and was issued a post-race 15 second penalty for both incidents. He then copped a further 30 second penalty for hitting the back of John Martin’s Honda which left the track at high speed, glancing the wall.

Amongst the action, Friday's fast man Michael Almond dragged his Hyundai up to third place at the end of the race in an impressive drive.

The TCR Australia Series reconvenes in three weeks time at Phillip Island. 

QUOTES

Will Brown
Driver, HMO Customer Racing Hyundai

“I had a ball out there today,” said Will Brown.

“The racing was so close, I really didn’t expect it to be so close this weekend, I thought it would be a bit more spread out. Everyone drove so well and so clean.

“Race 2 was awesome with so many passes and then Race 3 the real MVP goes to Andre Heimgartner, he made a lot of really good passes and I just loved every second of the racing.

“I can’t wait to get to Phillip Island. I think we’ve got an awesome package. 

“I don’t think the Hyundai was better than the Alfa or anything like that, but Dylan’s car just gripped up towards the end of the race. You could see it where he was understeering out of corners but we could get the rear to loosen up and that’s where we could make the move for the win.

“Everyone was a little bit cautious but the racing was really tough, the whole experience this weekend was great.”

Dylan O'Keeffe
Driver, Ashley Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo

“I’m really happy with how everything’s going so far, we’ve made so much progress in the car over the weekend,” said Dylan O’Keeffe.

“It’s been fantastic working with the guys at GRM and Ashley Seward Motorsport, they’re very knowledgeable and it showed on track with our performance. 

“We were quick at the start of the races but slowed towards the end compared to the Hyundais but it’s a great start for our campaign overall. 

“I knew the Alfa would be quick out of the box, we’d seen that with TCR racing overseas so the baseline setup we had was great. We made a few little adjustments with the car and I think we’ve got in a good setup window.

“I’m looking forward to Phillip Island, it’s a faster and more flowing track so it will be interesting to see how we perform there.”

Michael Almond
Driver, GWR Australia Hyundai 

“The car was fantastic all weekend. GWR Australia and Platinum Motorsport did a great job to put the car together,” said Michael Almond.

“I calmed down a bit after Qualifying and moved on from the bad luck in Race 1 and drove the car nice and smooth and it seemed to reward me.

“There was a little bit of carnage in the races so we got lucky with that but we had the speed to hunt down the guys at the front towards the end which was really promising."

TCR SCHEDULE, ROUND 1, SMSP

Sunday

Race 2 – 13.15 – 13.40 (30mins) LIVE ON SBS
Race 3 – 14.20 – 14.45 (30mins) LIVE ON SBS