Oliphant claims crazy TCR Tassie finale

Tom Oliphant emerged on top in a crazy final TCR race at Symmons Plains which had everything from incidents, battles and even protests.

The 29-lap race had action from before the start to the chequered flag and Oliphant went from as low as sixth to a solid 2s win over Clay Richards and Dylan O’Keeffe.

One of the big victims was Josh Buchan, who was fighting with Zac Soutar for third until they dramatically collided at the fastest point of the circuit.

The race did not feature 2022 champion Tony D’Alberto, who parked his Wall Racing Honda in protest of a controversial decision to remove all points from Saturday’s race where a second standing start took place following a red flag.

Full points were initially awarded but then removed on the eve of race 3 which meant the grid was based off the reverse grid race 2.

As a result there was plenty of tension in the air up and down the 12-car grid and many of the drivers turned their frustration into some epic racing.

Oliphant emerged victoruous from it all and he was delighted after not unlocking everything from HMO Customer Racing debut at Sandown.

“I have not had the easiest start to the season with a lot of issues in Sandown where we went the wrong direction in qualifying,” he said.

“But the engineers and the team never stopped working and the car was on rails – a dream to drive.

“People who have watched me in BTCC know none of my wins are easy and I make people sweat and that was the case today.

“I drove impeccably in the first couple of laps and was second behind Cox and he was just really slow going into turn 1.

“But I really should not have stuck my nose in and got run wide which put me all the way back to sixth.

“At that moment I thought ‘here we go’ and I was getting bashed around, going sideways down the straights but racing is my strength and I knew it was never lost so I kept my head down, luck came my way and we made the most of it.”

After winning the reverse grid race 2, the removal of race 1 points allowed O’Keeffe to start on pole.

He retained the lead as Jordan Cox made a strong getaway to jump from fourth to second.

This displaced Oliphant and Soutar to third and fourth respectively while the latter was lucky to get away with a big lockup into the hairpin.

Buchan and Ben Bargwanna raced hard side by side for fifth and their battle was resolved by the #71 Peugeot being squeezed wide at the final corner.

On lap 3 Cox got a mighty exit from the hairpin and charged into the lead with assistance from Oliphant, who drafted him up the entire length of the back straight.

But their teamwork ended by the time they arrived at turn 6 when Oliphant tagged the rear of Cox.

Although the Peugeot stayed in front, his left rear tyre was rubbing on the bodywork from the contact.

But the Hyundai also found trouble at turn 3 when the Brit got crossed up halfway up the first straight after contact with Soutar.

They were at the front of a crazy gaggle of cars stretching back to 10th fighting like crazy for the minor placings.

It reached a tipping point at the start of lap 5 when Bargwanna was sent spinning off on the approach to turn 2. Despite the scare he was able to ensure the Peugeot avoided the barriers and carry on in 10th.

As all of this unfolded Cox was still manhandling his bruised Peugeot in the lead but lost it on lap 5 when O’Keeffe made a big dive down the inside.

But Cox fought back brilliantly to wrestle back the advantage with the switch back at the start of lap 6.

Soutar joined the party at the hairpin where he surged from third to first with a great move beneath both of the previous leaders.

By the end of the lap Cox and O’Keeffe dropped from first and second to fourth and fifth respectively with Oliphant and Richards also sneaking past.

The Lynk and Co and Peugeot continued battling side by side until lap 8 when Aaron Cameron came from nowhere.

Cameron locked up and flew over the turn 2 kerb and bounced into Cox. Somehow Cox was able to stop his 308 from spinning and they all carried on but not without tyre smoke.

Buchan was able to avoid all the chaos to shoot to fourth while behind him was Ryan Casha who charged from 10th to fifth despite going off earlier in the race.

A wild opening 10 laps ended with a race-winning move by Oliphant who made a big dive on Soutar to steal the lead at the hairpin.

Richards was also able snag second with a dogemcar style move at the following tour of the tight left hander, which allowed Oliphant to build a 2s lead.

Soutar had to settle for third but soon had Buchan breathing down his neck and their battle reached a climax on lap 25.

The pair were charging through the high speed right-handed turn 5 side by side, but the Audi became unsettled and found the grass.

This fired Soutar into the Hyundai and the collision sent the reigning champion on a high speed tour through the outfield.

Buchan was able to stay away from the barriers and rejoined down in 11th, but Soutar did a great job to keep his car on the tarmac and hold down third.

But he could only retain the top three position for a lap before O’Keeffe breezed past to take third.

Fourth was enough for Soutar to secure third in the round behind winner Oliphant and runner-up O’Keeffe.

After an eventful and tense trip to Tasmania, the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia field returns at Phillip Island on April 12-14.

Supercheap Auto TCR Australia race 3 results

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