“Buzzing” Bargwanna ready for more of “cool” Portimao

By Thomas Miles

Date posted: 28 April 2023

Ben Bargwanna is “buzzing” after getting a taste of the Portimao circuit and the TCR World Tour.

On the eve of the category’s opening round at Portugal, Bargwanna completed a private test program in his Peugeot 308 TCR.

The son of 2000 Bathurst 1000 winner Jason Bargwanna, is the sole Aussie in the 22-car field which will line up for the opening round of the global TCR World Tour.

After completing two sessions, Bargwanna was blow away by his first laps of the undulating Portimao layout, which has hosted both Formula 1 and MotoGP in recent times.

“Day one done here in Portimao and what an epic day, I’m still buzzing from it,” said Bargwanna.

“It’s such a cool track, it’s one of the best circuits I’ve ever driven on.

“Even the facilities are just amazing, the set-up is really cool and totally different to Australia.

“It’s the same car, but not my usual Garry Rogers Motorsport-prepared Peugeot, so I’m getting used to that and getting a good feel for things like the brakes. The balance was good, but still had a lot of time in me.”

Bargwanna admitted the first session was a bit of an eye opener, but after a debrief with the Team Clairet Sport team, he made giant strides in the next session.

“We had two sessions today, the first for me was just about learning the track. We found where I was weak and we rolled out in Practice 2 with some new learnings,” he said.

“We gained a lot of time and we still have some to find, but so we should as it’s only Thursday.

“These big boys are fast and the new generation cars are quick. We’re going to do the best we can, but we’ve had a very good first day.

“I’m really excited, loving it and having a great time and I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Finishing the day on a positive note is a big boost for Bargwanna as he straps up for Friday practice tonight.

Qualifying opens Saturday’s action before two races are held at 11.20pm Saturday and 8.30pm Sunday AEST respectively.

For more of the latest motorsport news, pick up the latest issue of AUTO ACTION.

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“Buzzing” Bargwanna ready for more of “cool” Portimao

After completing two sessions, Bargwanna was blow away by his first laps of the undulating Portimao layout, which has hosted both Formula 1 and MotoGP in recent times.

Bargwanna admitted the first session was a bit of an eye opener, but after a debrief with the Team Clairet Sport team, he made giant strides in the next session.

“These big boys are fast and the new generation cars are quick. We’re going to do the best we can, but we’ve had a very good first day.

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