Russell Ingall and Leanne Tander will again pilot Melbourne Performance Centre’s Audi RS 3s at this weekend’s Shannons Nationals in the carsales TCR Australia Series.

With Ingall making his TCR debut last time out at The Bend, and Tander at Phillip Island, the duo are relishing the opportunity for another weekend to become acquainted with the formula.

“It’s fantastic to be back again. I really enjoyed my first TCR outing at The Bend,” Ingall said.

“It was pretty challenging – learning, car, circuit and the lot, but by the end, I was starting get my eye in. Unfortunately, the event was over just as I was getting into it, so having a second stab at a track that I know really well is going to be awesome.”

Tander has stated her intention of a full-time drive in 2020 and will use opportunities this season to build on her experience.

“Getting another chance to drive the Audi is really valuable,” Tander said.

“I’ve just been on round-by-round deals at the moment, which is okay as I want to get more seat time in preparation for, hopefully, a full-time deal for next year. These laps will only help.”

Having identified qualifying as an area for improvement, Tander will be eager for a strong Saturday to establish her weekend in Ipswich.

“Hopefully it’s third time lucky for me, because I feel that we’ve been close, but my qualifying results have been sub-optimal,” Tander said.

“The Bend’s mixed weather caught me out in qualifying, but if I can qualify in the top 10, I feel I have the race pace to stay there and move forward.”

Ingall was full of praise for the new category after his first outing at The Bend and is looking forward to introducing the new TCR formula to the Queensland sunshine.

“I had all of the intentions of just enjoying the experience, but no matter how young or old you are, you want to be competitive, and I’m hoping a lot of our fan base will come out and get to meet us and see what TCR is all about,” Ingall said.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Thanks to Melbourne Performance for putting this deal together and we’ll try and shake things up.”

carsales TCR Australia will be one of seven categories in a busy weekend of motor sport at Queensland Raceway.

With free live streaming from Saturday and Sunday, TCR will share the track with Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge, MRF Tyres Australian Production Car Series, Australian Prototype Series, National Sports Sedan Series, and invitational categories with Queensland Improved Production and Series X3 Queensland making an appearance.

Tickets to the event are available for purchase online or at the gate. Can’t get to the track? Watch the free live stream at thenationals.com.au and carsales TCR Australia live on SBS this weekend.