OPEL PLANS FOR TCR AUSTRALIA

Opel plans for TCR Australia

ANOTHER MANUFACTURER is slated to join Honda, Volkswagen, Audi, Alfa Romeo and Hyundai on the TCR Australia grid.

By HEATH MCALPINE

Team Redline Motorsport will be Opel’s representative in TCR Australia after securing the Australian distribution rights for the Astra TCR, with Glenn Jagger heading the operation.

“I’ve always had my eye on TCR from the word go a few years back overseas,” Jagger told Auto Action.

“I’ve always been interested especially when the rate of the category exploded over the last couple of years. When it looked like it was heading for Australia, I started to research what car options were around and just looking at other countries at what cars were competitive.”

Once it had been confirmed that TCR was launching in Australia, Jagger seriously looked at Opel, a manufacturer that hadn’t been considered.

“No one was really taking interest into it [the Opel], so I had more of a look into it and found that it was a pretty competitive car considering it won the championship in Germany and the year before that was runner up,” explained Jagger.

The alignment with Holden was another reason for choosing the Opel with the Astra also being sold here in Australia.

“For a big category like TCR that could potentially be a big category in this country, it would be a shame not to have a Holden on the grid,” Jagger continued.

The job of acquiring the Opel distribution was made hard as the European builder changed hands earlier this year, however Jagger has a strong relationship with Lubner Motorsport.

Although there isn’t an Opel in the country yet, Jagger is fielding inquiries from drivers as varied as ex-Supercar and young upstarts looking to take that next step.

“Just with how late we’ve taken this on and how serious we’ve got, just trying to find a buyer who is keen on the category and keen on investing into these cars is very hard,” said Jagger.

“Especially when the category hasn’t proven itself in Australia yet.”

As it currently stands the team hasn’t ruled out making it to the opening round at Sydney Motorsport Park in May, but it seems unlikely with the aim being to be at Phillip Island for Round 2 of the TCR Australia Series.

“It’s looking doubtful at the moment that we’ll have a car in time for the first round, which is a real shame, but considering how much work we have done in the last two months, we’ve come a long way,” Jagger concluded.

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