TCR AUSTRALIA TO FINISH AT BATHURST
Australian Racing Group’s Bathurst International will host the final round of the TCR Australia Series, with the planned 500km endurance race abandoned.
Originally scheduled to be a non-series TCR endurance event aimed at attracting some of the world’s leading touring car drivers, the event will now host the category’s grand finale and will instead revert to three sprint races.
This is due of course to the worldwide pandemic and Australia’s overseas border restrictions.
The category debuted at Mount Panorama earlier this year in support of the Bathurst 6 Hour production car race held across three 10-lap races, each won by Melbourne Performance Centre Audi RS3 LMS TCR driver Chaz Mostert.
For the event, category management pitched to teams two innovations, which it had hoped to experiment with.
The first was to introduce a soft-tyre compound with one set being supplied to be used in one of the three races, while the second was to invert the top-10 to form the grid for Race 2.
These were rejected by teams however, AUTO ACTION understands the soft tyre option is one category management aims to introduce in the future.
The format for the Bathurst finale includes two 17-lap events and a 21-lap grand finale, with the winner scoring 75-points for the win.
It is also understood an early bird incentive will be provided to teams to aid with regular event costs such as accommodation, travel, tyres and fuel.
This expands the second season of TCR Australia to seven rounds after it was originally slated to conclude at Sandown on September 20-22. ARG’s Bathurst International event is slated to occur on November 26-28.
Morgan Park Raceway will host the next round of the series as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships on August 13-15, with Supercars star Mostert leading the title by 106-points.
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