Supercheap Auto TCR Australia young gun Ben Bargwanna will make his international TCR debut this weekend as he contends in the first ever round of the Kumho TCR World Tour.
 
In what is a history-making milestone in global touring car racing, the series’ 2023 season opener will take place at Portugal’s popular Algarve International Circuit in Portimao.
 
Up against many stars from around the world, Bargwanna will be backed by Burson Auto Parts behind the wheel of the Team Clairet Sport Peugeot 308 TCR and is tipped to contend the whole season.
 
With nine events spread across four continents making up the inaugural season, Bargwanna was looking forward to taking on the world’s best, an opportunity that has been four years in the making.
 
“I’m itching, I’m shaking, I’m excited, I’m buzzing, I’m going through all the emotions at the moment, but I’m so stoked,” Bargwanna said.
 
“It’s going to be one of the best experiences of my life and I can’t wait to go racing, I’m really keen.
 
“As soon as TCR came to Australia, dad and I looked at the overseas possibilities, but even still we’ve been talking about it for years and it’s never felt like it’s been a real opportunity. Then, all of a sudden it is and it seems unreal it’s happening, we’re actually doing this, we’re going overseas to race the best.
 
“It is a cool feeling especially when I remember watching the first Sydney (TCR Australia) race with dad and just talking about how cool this category looks to now going over to Portugal to take on the world’s best.”
 
An expected entry list of 40 cars will line up for the historic race with previous world champions Yann Ehrlacher, Mikael Azcona, Norbert Mischelisz, Thed Bjork and Rob Huff headlining the field.
 
Bargwanna will also have his hands full with the international stars such as Tom Coronel, Santiago Urrutia, Ma Qing Hua, John Filippi, Isaac Smith, Lewis Brown and Nestor Girolami, who Aussie fans will remember won multiple Supercheap Auto TCR Australia races at Sandown in 2019.
 
“The list of big names makes it more exciting and every time there has been an announcement I give dad a call or send him a message saying look who we’ll be racing,” Bargwanna added.
 
"That’s what you want to be racing the best of the best and these guys made TCR what it is, these drivers are the superstars of this category.
 
“It’s going to be cool to shape up against them and hopefully we can mix it up in the front, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
 
Not only will the event have a collection of high profile international touring car drivers, but it was also feature a variety of top tier manufacturers and cars with the likes of Lynk & Co, Honda, Hyundai and Audi to be represented.
 
In addition to enjoying his debut in Portugal, Bargwanna will also score points towards his TCR World Ranking, where the top 45 will qualify for the special final next year.
 
This weekend will see competitors have practice and qualifying sessions on Friday and Saturday before completing one race on both Saturday afternoon and Sunday.
 
The 2023 Kumho TCR World Tour season opener takes place at Algarve International Circuit in Portimao on 28-30 April.