CUPRA JOINS TCR AUSTRALIA GRID

Cupra joins TCR Australia grid – Photo: Supplied

The final round of TCR Australia will witness the debut of two marques onto the grid as Garage1 has announced it will take to the grid with its Cupra Leon TCR.

By HEATH McALPINE

As revealed by autoaction.com.au in August, Garage1 imported the Cupra with the view of racing at Sandown, but a driver wasn’t found. But the team will make its debut as reigning Toyota 86 Race Series winner Tim Brook takes the wheel.

Brook debuted in TCR Australia at Winton driving a Wall Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR where he finished in the top 10 and is eager to re-join the TCR fight.

“I’m excited, for sure. It will be great to have another crack at TCR is a different car,” said Brook.

“The test will be good chance to get comfortable with the car. It will be an opportunity for the guys at Garage1 to do all of their systems checks, and then we can roll into the Bend and see how we go.

“I don’t really have an expectation for any results. The CUPRA is an unknown for everyone, but like almost every TCR car, they are all evenly matched. The CUPRA also shares many of the same components as the VW Golfs and the Audis, so if it’s close to them, then it will be competitive.

“It was great to do Winton in the Wall Racing Honda, I was a like a kid in a candy store the whole weekend. I really enjoyed it, and it was over before I knew it, but it did show me that TCR is where I want to be in the future.”

Tim Brook returns to TCR – Photo: InSyde Media

Garage1 will be aided through its debut weekend by fellow TCR team Melbourne Performance Centre, giving Garage1 owner John Evans confidence the car will be competitive in its maiden run.

“Tim had a solid race meeting in the Honda at Winton, so we felt that he was the perfect choice for our debut at The Bend,” said John Evans.

“We’ll test the car before we go, and we can make sure that we have everything in place.

“Tim is a really rounded driver and we are confident that he’ll do a good job. He is consistently at the front of the Toyota 86 Series, which is a very competitive championship.

“Compared to the other teams who have been racing TCR for the past six months, we’ve got some catching up to do, but we are confident that the package that CUPRA supplied, plus the support from Melbourne Performance Centre, is going to fast track our development.”

The car hasn’t turned a wheel in anger since hitting Australian shores with the team planning to test ahead of The Bend, which takes place as part of the final Shannons Nationals round on November 15-17.

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