Get to know a bit more about the 17 TCR Australia drivers - and their cars and teams - hitting the grid in Sydney for the first round of Australia's Touring Car Series.
#2 Aaron Cameron - Melbourne Performance Centre (VW Golf GTI TCR)
Aaron Cameron joins Melbourne Performance Centre (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
"I’ve driven the cars already at the test day and at a couple of 24 Hour races overseas, and I absolutely love the front-wheel drive aspect of these cars.
"I’m only 19 years old but I have a fair bit of racing experience already. I’m the current KZ2 Karting national champion, and previously raced Super Utes and the Toyota 86 Racing Series.
"I’ve done two Creventic 24 Hour races with MARC Cars Australia at Barcelona and Dubai, and it was great to share the car with some skilled racers and learn off them. These cars were great to drive for 24 Hour races and I’m sure they’ll be awesome in the sprint format as well.
"My expectation for the weekend is to try and stay out of trouble, we don’t know what the racing is going to be like in a sprint format here, but if we can get into a top five or a podium position by the end of the weekend that would be great."
#6 Molly Taylor - Kelly Racing (Subaru WRX STI TCR)
#7 Jimmy Vernon - Garry Rogers Motorsport (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR)
#8 Jason Bright - Alliance Autosport (VW Golf GTI)
#9 Dylan O'Keeffe - Ashley Seward Motorsport (Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR)
#11 Nathan Morcom - HMO Customer Racing (Hyundai i30 N TCR)
Nathan Morcom of HMO Racing Source: TCR Australia
“The team is looking really good. It’s great to have the two cars here in Australia already, it provides a great platform for our engineers to prepare the cars properly leading into Round 1.
“The team is definitely looking forward to seeing how far we can push the Hyundai i30N in the season opener in May.”
“The test session went well at Sydney Motorsport Park. It provided a further insight into the habits of the car, and it was pleasing to see what we put in place was running nicely within the Hyundai set up.”
HMO Racing (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
#22 Rik Breukers - Melbourne Performance Centre (Audi RS 3 LMS TCR)
Rik Breukers will drive Melbourne Performance Centre's Audi RS 3 LMS TCR (TCR Australia) Source: Daniel Kalisz Photographer
#24 John Martin - Wall Racing (Honda Civic Type R TCR)
“Up until TCR got announced in Australia, I didn’t really picture myself racing in touring cars, but the more I spoke to people and the more hype that has been building, it now seems like the obvious next career choice.
“The category is massive in Europe. I was over there when it first started and I’ve watched a fair bit of the racing. It’s very exciting, door to door battles and that’s what people want to see.
“The other lure for me is that it’s an international class. There’s nothing stopping us from going to Asia or Europe and racing these exact same cars on some of the world’s best circuits. That definitely played a part in my decision.
“I’ve had some dealings with David Wall and his team of late and they are a great team. There is no fuss with their racing. They enjoy it and they are good at it. I’m really looking forward to the season kicking off in Sydney.”
John Martin's Honda Civic TCR (TCR Australia) Source: Daniel Kalisz Photographer
#29 Michael Almond - GWR Australia (Hyundai i30 N TCR)
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxb6Ei-FqS0/
“It’s just for one event at the moment, but we’ll see how we goes. If everyone gets excited and get more support, we’ll have a look and see if we can finish the season.
“I used to love playing TOCA (the 1990s game based on the British Touring Car Championship). That was some of my favourite times as a teen, playing the game. I was a huge fan of the BTCC. The racing is always close, with the cars going three wide and hard, solid racing.
“The cars have the paddle shift gearbox and a really nice Michelin tyre. Both of these things I’ll be used to from my Porsche racing. I’ve haven’t done much front-wheel drive racing, but the recipe is there to have some fun so I’m really looking forward to it.”
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#30 Will Brown - HMO Customer Racing (Hyundai i30 N TCR)
#33 Chris Pither - Garry Rogers Motorsport (Renault Megane RS TCR)
“I’m very grateful for the opportunity to drive for and represent GRM in TCR Series Australia.
“It’s a great feeling to continue our successful relationship since winning the Dunlop Super2 Series together last year. GRM is a fantastic team and very supportive of its drivers and staff. I’m very pleased to continue to drive with them.
“TCR is growing internationally so to be competing in the series from its initiation in Australia will be exciting.
“TCR will be a new challenge adapting my driving style and understanding the set up characteristics.
“Now I have some positive direction, I look forward to driving the Renault Megane RS TCR and working hard towards another successful season.”
Chris Pither's Renault Megane TCR (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
#34 James Moffat - Garry Rogers Motorsport (Renault Megane RS TCR)
James Moffatt (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
“It’s great to be reunited with the guys and girls at GRM as well. Having driven full time in 2016 and 2017, I know them really well, there’s lots of familiar faces so it will be pretty easy to slot back in and get on with things.
“In terms of results, I’m keeping an open mind, but working with a team that has plenty of experience should play into our hands. We’ll all be learning on the run, but I’ve got a good experienced team-mate in Chris (Pither), so between the two of us and the team, we should be competitive and fighting at the front of the field.”
GRM Racing up close (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
#35 Alexandra Whitley - Alliance Autosport (VW Golf GTI TCR)
“This is an opportunity that I have been working towards and I’m very grateful to Matt Stone and Jason Bright for helping to make it happen.
“Both Matt and Jason have years and years of experience. They really know what they are doing and I’m just looking forward to learning from their knowledge, soaking it up and doing my best.”
#37 Chelsea Angelo - Kelly Racing (Opel Astra TCR)
“There’s a lot of ex-Supercars drivers in there, plus Porsche drivers, rally car drivers, a few females. It’s a real mixed bag.
“I’ve never raced a front wheel drive car before and I’ll be trying to get my head around it as fast as I can. When I tested at Winton last week, one of the things I found tricky was trying to get the temperature of the rear tyres up. I’ve been speaking to a lot of people to learn as much as I can before we get to Sydney.
“I’m confident of getting my head around it all, but I love a challenge. I’m excited. I have absolutely no expectations, so it’s nice to go there with an open mind set."
A newly unveiled livery for Chelsea Angelo's Holden Astra TCR with her major backer for the entire race series Dare Iced Coffee (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
#50 Tony D'Alberto - Wall Racing (Honda Civic Type R TCR)
Tony D'Alberto (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
“The Honda Civic is a great car. From all reports, it is one of the best TCR Series cars in the field at the moment. The JAS Motorsport team has built a fantastic car and I’m confident that with Wall Racing we can be up the front and be competitive.”
Honda Civic Type R (TCR Australia) Source: TCR Australia
#62 Alex Rullo - Kelly Racing (Opel Astra TCR)
#777 Andre Heimgartner - Kelly Racing (Subaru WRX STI TCR)
“It is terrific to extend the Kangan Institute program across to TCR having worked with them in Supercars since my time with Kelly Racing," said Andre Heimgartner.
“We’ve had some great success together on track through the Supercar program and I hope to deliver them the same in TCR starting this weekend."
How to watch the TCR Australia series on SBS
Round One: Sydney Motorsport Park
Saturday 18 May - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 19 May - Race 2 & 3
1300–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Two: Phillip Island
Saturday 8 June - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 9 June - Race 2 & 3
1300–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Three: The Bend
Saturday 13 July - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 14 July - Race 2 & 3
1300–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Four: Queensland Raceway
Saturday 3 August - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 4 August
1300–1500 AEST - Race 2 & 3
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Five: Winton Raceway
Saturday 31 August - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 1 September
1300–1500 AEST - Race 2 & 3
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Six: Sandown
Saturday 21 September - Race 1
1400–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 22 September - Race 2 & 3
1300–1500 AEST
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Round Seven: The Bend
Saturday 16 November - Race 1
1400–1500 AEDT
SBS and SBS OnDemand
Sunday 17 November - Race 2 & 3
1300–1500 AEDT
SBS and SBS OnDemand
