Sweeny swoops to another big TCR win

HMO Customer Racing’s Bailey Sweeny extended his championship lead by overcoming a fast-starting Aaron Cameron in the TCR finale at Sandown.

After Cameron’s dream start, he and Sweeny were in a two-horse race where the Hyundai proved too strong to score a 3s win and extend his championship lead to 29 points over teammate Josh Buchan.

The fight for third was not decided until the final lap where Tony D’Alberto denied Michael Clemente with a breathtaking move at Dandenong Road.

This was just one moment from a dramatic third and final race of the weekend where contenders took each other out.

It started with a notable absentee as Will Brown’s Audi was unable to recover from the engine issues suffered in race two.

But all eyes were on Cameron as he stunned all off the line by scything his way through the first row and into the lead.

The #18 Peugeot had a dream start and cut in between front row occupants Sweeny and Lachlan Mineeff within the first couple hundred metres.

Sweeny settled into second ahead of Zac Soutar, who jumped Mineeff as the field spread quickly.

A two-horse race for the lead between Cameron and Sweeny was then established with the Hyundai on the tail of the Peugeot.

There was also little separating Soutar and Mineeff, who were in an arm wrestle for third.

They would have been happy to have a gap over the rest of the field as an angry pack of up to seven cars were scrapping for the minor places.

At one point Clemente, Josh Buchan and Ben Bargwanna went three wide into Dandenong Road, while Kody Garland locked up into the sand and Jordan Cox and Tony D’Alberto traded blows.

After shadowing the back of the Peugeot all race, Sweeny finally made his move on lap eight, charging down the inside at turn one and within a lap the Hyundai was already a second up the road.

On lap 11 Cox and D’Alberto resumed their hostilities for fifth, where the pair went side by side from turns one to three which left the Honda touring the grass at the chicane and dropping to seventh behind Clemente.

The battle for third between Mineeff and Soutar had been clean for the first 18 laps until they were side by side at the final chicane.

Soutar ran wide at turn nine which opened the door for Mineeff to get a run up to the turn 11-12 complex.

The two Audis negotiated the first right hander together, but they could not make the left hander cleanly.

Mineeff stayed tough to take the inside line for turn 12, but could not avoid wheel to wheel contact.

The impact left Soutar on the outside being nudged off and having suffered significant steering damage his race only lasted a few more seconds as he pulled over on pit straight.

The race continued green and Mineeff appeared to get away with the incident until he arrived at turn one a lap later with a flat tyre and dropped to 10th.

This meant Cox led an angry pack of cars in a crazy fight for third that reached a climax on the last lap.

Clemente gave Cox a little nudge at turn five which unsettled the #33 Peugeot 308 and it was swallowed up by not only the Cupra, but also D’Alberto’s Honda.

This meant Clemente and D’Alberto entered Dandenong Road side by side in a game of chicken and it was the reigning champion, who was the bravest.

D’Alberto got the job done with a committed move around the outside of Clemente at fast left hander, which decided the final podium place.

But up front no one was stopping Sweeny from swooping to another big win to extend his championship lead.

The TCR World Tour now comes to town at Sydney on November 3-4.

Image: Thomas Miles

TCR race 3 results

1 Bailey Sweeny 

2 Aaron Cameron +3.327

3 Tony D’Alberto +19.689

4 Michael Clemente +20.118

5 Jordan Cox +20.508

TCR Championship standings 

1 Bailey Sweeny 588 points

2 Josh Buchan -29

3 Aaron Cameron -37

4 Tony D’Alberto -82

5 Jordan Cox -92

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