Sweeny makes statement in TCR Tassie opener
Hyundai young gun Bailey Sweeny has made a statement in the season-opening round of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series in Tasmania.
Sweeny strolls away from Symmons Plains with a 14-point championship lead over reigning champion Tony D’Alberto after taking two of the three wins on offer.
Sweeny’s success started with a dominant win in the opening race on Saturday afternoon.
The HMO Customer Racing driver was never headed across the 30-lap encounter after being the sole car on the front row with the Audi RS3 LMS TCR Gen2 cars of Will Brown and Zac Soutar failing to make the start due to driveshaft issues.
Sweeny cruised to a seven-second win over D’Alberto, while Kody Garland joined them on the podium leading home a train of Peugeot 308’s in a relatively quiet season opener.
By the time Sunday arrived, both Brown and Soutar were back in action Aaron Cameron’s win in race 2 was made possible by a lightning start.
Lachlan Mineeff started from pole, but Cameron soared to fifth, while the likes of Sweeny and D’Alberto struggled to make progress.
Despite being back on track and fighting towards the front, both Brown and Soutar were forced to retire.
It was a weekend of frustration for Will Brown. Image: Daniel Kalisz Photographer
But the fight at the front started to heat up between Cameron and Mineeff and it was decided at the hairpin where the GRM driver made the race-deciding move.
Just three seconds separated Cameron and Mineeff, while Jordan Cox finished third and round winner Sweeny settled for sixth.
With Brown and Soutar back on the sidelines, the third and final race of the weekend only featured 11 cars, but it was still an intriguing affair.
D’Alberto in the Honda won the jump off the line to take control into Turn 1, while pole sitter Sweeny slumped to third.
Tony D’Alberto leads an angry pack of drivers in car #1 at Symmons Plains. Image: Daniel Kalisz Photographer
The HMO Customer Racing Hyundai snatched second from Jordan Cox with a switchback move at the final corner.
Sweeny then set his sights on D’Alberto and a tense battle for the lead emerged.
The key moment arrived when the reigning champion’s hopes were dashed by an intermittent gear shifter problem, which allowed Sweeny to drive to a second victory.
Despite the dramas, D’Alberto held onto second ahead of Cox and Cameron.
Round 2 of the 2023 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series takes place at Phillip Island on May 12-14.
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