YOUNG HOPEFULS TEST TCR AT WINTON

Young hopefuls test TCR cars at Winton – Photo: InSyde Media

Dozen’s of young drivers descended upon Winton Raceway to take part in the TCR Australia test and evaluation day.

By RHYS VANDERSYDE

In total 22 drivers from a mix of categories around Australia and New Zealand took advantage of the test day following the fifth round of the series to sample TCR equipment.

Luke King sampled Jason Bright’s VW – Photo: InSyde Media

Toyota 86 Series racer Luke King, who also recently completed over in China in the FRD LMP3 series, took the opportunity to sample Jason Bright’s Matt Stone Racing prepared VW Golf TCR.

“It’s been a great day to really get a feel for the cars properly and I can’t thank Brighty enough for the opportunity.” said King.

“I’ve learnt a lot about setup and what it takes to be quick in these cars with their unique characteristics so I’m confident if we had an offer from a team that we’d be up to speed in practice”

“Driving the LMP3 car so recently is probably a good thing as it’s got me asking more from the TCR’s grip levels and I think so far we’ve been the fastest driver out on track which was our target coming into the test!”

Ricky Capo was also on the pace – Photo: InSyde Media

Ricky Capo was also immediately on the pace driving HMO Customer Racing Hyundai i30 for the first time.

Off the back of testing the S5000 at Phillip Island last week, the young Victorian is assessing his racing options since returning from a stint in the European Le Mans Series.

“I had a good time driving a TCR car for the first time with HMO in the Hyundai i30 today.” said Capo.

“I had a session of ten laps and was really happy with how quickly I was able to adapt to driving a front-wheel-drive car. They’re really fun to drive and it’s definitely a category I’d consider racing in the future. I’m also thankful to HMO and Panta Racing Fuel for organising the test!”

American Matt Powers who won the now-defunct Aussie Driver Search program and took part in the opening rounds of the Super3 Series was also on hand at the test getting a feel of the front-wheel-drive race cars for the first time as he looks to continue his ambitions of racing in Australia.

“It was my first time in any TCR car, well really any front-wheel-drive car on a race track. So it was a really unique experience.” said Powers

“The series has taken off, so it’s really cool to jump in one and get a couple of laps and chat with Brighty about it and see how it goes.”

Ollie Shannon behind the wheel of the Hyundai – Photo: InSyde Media

NSW State level racer Ollie Shannon also used the day to sample the cars to help him plan his move to a national level campaign in 2020.

“It was an awesome experience to drive a TCR car today. To be able to jump behind the wheel and sample one of the actual series cars was pretty special.” said Shannon.

“It’s a great initiative from TCR Australia to organise a cost-effective way for young drivers like myself to test out the cars that we could potentially be racing next year and in the near future.”

The next round of the TCR Australia series will take place at Sandown Raceway in three weeks time.

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