MINEEFF CONFIRMS AUDI SWITCH

Lachlan Mineeff has made the jump from Volkswagen to Audi for the next round of the TCR Australia Series.

Speaking ahead of TCR’s Round 5 battle at the Queensland Raceway next month, Mineeff is excited about his future prospects.

“We’re just really excited to be able to have a proper crack at TCR in a model that is very capable of winning races and that’s what we’re setting out to achieve,” said Mineeff.

“I don’t think we’ll be winning straight away, but if we can have the progression of being top 10, top five, podium, then number one, that’s the idea and continue to move forward.”

Mineeff takes the Audi RS3 LMS over from Liam McAdam, in place of his Volkswagen Golf GTI, which is planned for a lease-out to another driver as the perfect entry car for a hopeful TCR entrant.

“We still own the Golf and I think it would be great to continue to run it as a customer entry at rounds this year. Last year, we were able to show with a new team and rookie driver we’ve been able to get some really good results,” said Mineeff of his old drive.

“If we can find a customer who wants to experience TCR for the first time and gets some laps under their belt, the Golf is perfect. In 21 races, we’ve only had one DNF, which is a credit to the car and team. It’s reliable and a great way of getting some laps under your belt.”

As for his new Audi, the move is so fresh that he hasn’t been able to get behind its wheel thus far, but there is testing planned before the next TCR round, and the enthusiastic anticipation is obvious to hear.

“I haven’t driven the car yet. I’ve just loaded on and taken it off the truck! We’ll definitely get a test day in either way before Queensland Raceway, which will be really good. It is the very top spec it can be for this generation, so we’re obviously very excited to sink our teeth into it,” Mineeff quoted.

“There are definitely a lot of common parts and similarities shared with the Golf, so I think it will be great for the team as well as myself to be able to quickly transition between the two.”

For more of the latest motorsport news pick up the current issue of Auto Action.