TCR set for championship showdown

The fight for the 2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series Championship fight will go down to the wire this weekend at the Bathurst International.

With a maximum of 210 points left on the table, there are up to eight drivers still in mathematical contention, but all eyes will be on Tony D’Alberto and Jordan Cox with Will Brown leading a host of wildcards.

Only 46 points separate series leader D’Alberto and his nearest rival Cox after the former was handed a post-race penalty after the penultimate round at Sandown.

Tony D’Alberto will be busy trying to fend off many challengers in the fight for the TCR Australia championship. Image: TCR Australia/Jack Martin

It sets up a grandstand finish on the biggest stage of all this weekend with D’Alberto holding the upper hand in his yellow Honda Wall Racing Civic after scoring two wins at Queensland Raceway.

Cox has not seen the top step of the podium since the opening round in Tasmania, but has been a picture of consistency.

Brown is not giving up on his dream of claiming his second TCR championship crown and is determined to push hard after having his Sandown win stripped almost a month after the chequered flag.

Whilst Brown will have his eyes forward, he must also keep a lookout behind him with both Josh Buchan and Zac Soutar level on the standings, just 16 points behind the Erebus Motorsport Supercars driver to set up a tantalising battle for third.

This weekend will be the second trip to Bathurst for the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series after round 3 was held at the famous circuit on Easter weekend.

Aaron Cameron was close to unstoppable at the Easter round at Bathurst earlier this year. Image: TCR Australia/Jack Martin

Aaron Cameron set the pace winning the first and third races of the round and he will be eyeing some similar results in his Peugeot 308 TCR after taking on the world at the FIA Motorsport Games at Circuit Paul Ricard recently.

The only man to beat Cameron in a race that weekend was Bailey Sweeny, who took a dominant win in the reverse grid race, while the likes of Buchan, Ben Bargwanna and Dylan O’Keeffe also scored podiums.

But the form of Cameron at The Mountain could be tough to stop with the Peugeot driver standing on the podium in eight of the last nine TCR races at Bathurst.

The experience of Michael Caruso could play a factor and he hopes his luck has finally turned after being handed a late race win at Sandown.

The Garry Rogers Motorsport duo of O’Keeffe and Bargwanna will like their chances of victory this weekend with the Peugeots being the superior package at the Easter round.

James Moffat hopes to repeat Renault’s strong pace shown at Bathurst earlier this year. Image: TCR Australia/Jack Martin

Renault also displayed some strong pace at the early season Bathurst round which was its best performance of the year and James Moffat and rookie Kody Garland hope to end 2022 with some big results.

In addition to the local stars fighting for championship glory, there will be a few wildcards thrown into the mix to add some international flavour to the race meeting.

French star Teddy Clairet will be seen driving a fifth Garry Rogers Motorsport car and could be fighting at the front if he can come to grips with the famous circuit.

Clairet has been one of Peugeot’s top servants and is a proven frontrunner in the highly competitive TCR Europe Series, while he was also in medals contention at the FIA Motorsport Games before mechanical issues got in the way.

The other wildcard will be a new car, rather than driver with title contender Buchan being the first to debut the Hyundai Elantra N TCR in Australia.

Josh Buchan will debut the new Hyundai Elantra N TCR at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International this weekend and hopes to can push him to a championship charge. Image: Supplied

The new Elantra has been seen on the WTCR stage and Buchan hopes it can give him enough speed to challenge for the title after completing an extensive testing program since Sandown.

With so many drivers in championship contention, the Supercheap Auto Bathurst International shapes up to be a classic conclusion to a big year of racing.

The on-track action begins on Friday with practice ahead of the usual two-part qualifying and three races held across the weekend to decide the 2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series winner.

2022 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series entry list

Car Driver Model

2 Luke King Hyundai i30 N TCR

8 Dylan O’Keeffe Peugeot 308 TCR

9 Jay Hanson Audi RS3 LMS TCR

10 Michael Caruso Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR

11 Nathan Morcom Hyundai i30 N TCR

14 Lachlan Mineeff Audi RS3 LMS TCR

15 Michael Clemente Audi RS3 LMS TCR

18 Aaron Cameron Peugeot 308 TCR

20 Teddy Clairet Peugeot 308 TCR

22 Iain McDougall Audi RS3 LMS TCR

30 Josh Buchan Hyundai Elantra N TCR

33 Jordan Cox Peugeot 308 TCR

34 James Moffat Renault Megane RS TCR

41 Kody Garland Renault Megane RS TCR

50 Tony D’Alberto Honda Civic Type R TCR

71 Ben Bargwanna Peugeot 308 TCR

110 Zac Soutar Honda Civic Type R TCR

130 Bailey Sweeny Hyundai i30 N TCR

999 Will Brown Audi RS3 LMS TCR

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

AUTO ACTION, Australia’s independent voice of motorsport.