The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series enters the fifth round of its 2022 season at this weekend’s Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships event at Queensland Raceway, and will celebrate a milestone in doing so.
 
When the category lines up for its second race of the weekend on Sunday, it will mark the 50th time the popular series has raced since its official inauguration in May 2019.
 
The history first race took place at Sydney Motorsport Park as part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships, and it was Bathurst 1000 winner Jason Bright who made history by winning the first ever race during that meeting.
 
Although it has had an interrupted run since that memorable day, the category has still managed to put on a show in the 48 races held after, with 19 different race winners – the most belonging to 2019 series winner Will Brown.
 
While Brown has picked up the most wins, Hyundai stands as the most successful manufacturer to date with 13 race wins.
 
Since the first practice session, there has always been close competition amongst the TCR fraternity, with very little separating the contenders in the past two seasons.
 
This year is no different. with 105 points separating the top 12 drivers. The largest gap belonging at the top with leader Tony D’Alberto holding a 24-point advantage over second placed Dylan O’Keefe.

 
Both drivers were at Queensland Raceway in August 2019, and both enjoyed decent results across the weekend. Although it was O’Keefe who had the better weekend, courtesy of two wins and a runner-up finish.
 
D’Alberto on the other hand picked up a podium and two fourth places – the same consistent run of results the Victorian has built his 2022 title tilt on.
 
“We’ve got some existing data from 2019 and the only real change is a little bit of bodywork as well as the structure of the tyre, so realistically not a lot has changed set-up-wise since then,” D’Alberto said.
 
“We’ve got a lot of work to do ahead of us to lift our game to make sure we’re quick this weekend because it’s pretty crucial that we’re fast, so that’s what we’ve been focusing on.
 
“We had good results in 2019, but we’re under no illusion it’s going to be a tough weekend and I think everyone is going to be quick, there’s no doubt about it.”
 
D’Alberto and O’Keefe aren’t the ones to watch this weekend, there are plenty of other drivers to keep an eye on – especially since every one of the top 10 will be present in Ipswich.
 
Many of the drivers who were at Queensland Raceway back in 2019 will be there this weekend, including Jordan Cox, Nathan Morcom, Aaron Cameron, James Moffat and Will Brown.
 
Of course, there are a number of younger drivers like Jay Hanson, Michael Clemente and Zac Soutar who will make their first appearance at ‘The Paperclip’ aboard a TCR, but the trio will hope for a big weekend in the sunshine state.
 
The series’ action begins with two 30-minute sessions on Friday, before a two-part qualifying and three 21-lap races conducted across the weekend at Queensland Raceway.
 
Tickets for the event can be purchased here, while those who can’t make it can watch the live broadcast between 11am-5pm on both Saturday and Sunday via Stan Sport.
 
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series is part of a bumper Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships schedule at Queensland Raceway on 5-7 August.