Kumho TCR World Tour and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia

Warm Up

The first opportunity for TCR World Tour to take to the track at Sydney Motorsport Park was in a session topped by TCR Australia title contender, Josh Buchan.

Buchan led the way in the 15-minute session ahead of the Lync & Co duo of Santiago Urrutia and Yann Ehrlacher, with Ma Qing Hua not far behind in fourth.

The Wall Racing pairing of Brad Harris and Tony D’Alberto were the next best for the local series.

Practice 1

Thed Björk led the way in the opening Practice session of the weekend, with Frenchman Yann Ehrlacher and warm-up leader Santiago Urrutia rounding out the top three.

The international competitors filled seven out of the top 10 runners, but it was Tom Oliphant who led the way in TCR Australia, closely followed by Will Brown and Tony D’Alberto.

The session saw limited running after Kody Garland found himself in the wall at turn one after a suspected mechanical failure, forcing a red flag.

Practice 2

Thed Björk made it two from two after yet another fantastic display in Practice 2, this time going fastest by one-tenth of a second ahead of Santiago Urrutia.

Rounding out the top three was Spain’s Mikel Azcona, while TCR Australia’s Tony D’Alberto found himself in the mix by going fourth fastest.

Will brown was the next best Aussie in seventh, with less than half a second between himself through to Zac Soutar in 17th.

Qualifying

Australia put the world on notice with Ben Bargwanna and Will Brown going one-two in a tricky two-part qualifying session.

Bargwanna exected the dry tyre strategy to perfection and was by far the fastest driver on track as a result, finishing the session seven-tenths ahead of brown in second.
Spain’s Mikel Azcona rounded out the top three fastest drivers and will head the second row alongside TCR Australia series leader, Bailey Sweeny.

Five Australians filled the top 10 places in a fantastic session.

Race 1

The first of three races for the weekend certainly didn't disappoint, with Australian Will Brown making history with a superb race win in a chaotic affair.

Brown excelled in the changing of conditions, with a safety car and red flag intervention not enough to take away his victory, crossing the line a mammoth seven and a half seconds ahead of Mikel Azcona and Ma Qing Hua - who was promoted to a podium place at the expense of a five second penalty handed to Yann Ehrlacher post-race.

Aaron Cameron was the next best for TCR Australia in seventh, finishing behind Rob Huff and Frédéric Vervisch in fifth and sixth respectively.

Kumho TCR World Tour and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia will return for race two on Saturday at 4:05pm AEDT.

National Trans Am Series

Practice

The category lived up to its competitive reputation in the weekends opening session, with James Moffat leading the way ahead of the returning Tim Brook.

The Racing Academy saw Elliott Cleary and Cody Gillis in third and fourth respectively, while Moffat’s teammate Lochie Dalton rounded out the top five.

The session saw 10 drivers finish within one second of Moffat’s fastest time, building anticipation ahead of Qualifying.

Qualifying

James Moffat recovered from an early gearchange issue to take pole position in emphatic fashion ahead of Nash Morris.

An early unplanned pitstop to fix a mechanical issue didn’t hold the series leader back as it only took one flying lap to set his fastest time, four-tenths of a second ahead of the Supercheap Auto Racing entry.

Rounding out the top three was Elliott Cleary, who edged out Moffat’s teammate Lochie Dalton and his own counterpart, Cody Gillis who rounded out the top five starters for race one under the lights.

Race 1

James Moffat took victory in a lights-to-flag performance, extending his series lead over teammate Lochie Dalton.

Dalton would move up one place to finish in third, unable to make his way past Nash Morris after an entertainment mid-race scuffle.

Cody Gillis would hold on to finish in fourth place, while Edan Thornburrow rounded out the top five ahead of a determined Elliot Barbour.

National Trans Am Series will see a busy Saturday with another three races scheduled to take place, kicking off with race two at 2:10pm AEDT.

Workhorse Radical Cup Australia

Practice

The one and only Practice session of the weekend saw title contender, Elliott Schutte go fastest in convincing fashion.
There were seven-tenths of a second separating Schutte and second place runner, Peter Paddon while Chris Perini rounded out the top three.

Series leader, Alex Gardner finished back in fifth, one and a half seconds back from his title rival.

Qualifying

Alex Gardner took a big leap towards a maiden title by claiming pole position in an epic qualifying session.

His closest title rival, Elliott Schutte looked the goods byt will have to settle for fourth, behind Cooper Cutts and Josh Hunt.

Chris Perini rounded out the top five drivers ahead of Peter Paddon – who despite starting sixth, was only five tenths of a second off the pace.

Race 1

Alex Gardner converted pole position into a race win under the lights at Sydney Motorsport Park, holding off an impressive Elliott Schutte.

Schutte made a brilliant move in the early stages to find himself in second and was able to stay within a couple seconds of the series leader throughout, but ultimately ran out of time in his pursuit.

Rounding out the top three was the driver who started in second place, Cooper Cutts while Peter Paddon and reigning series winner, Chris Perini rounded out the top five.

Workhorse Radical Cup Australia will open Saturday's Race Sydney action with race two at 1:30pm AEDT.

Series X3 NSW

Qualifying

The local Excel category jumped straight into qualifying action, and it was James Lodge who prevailed above the rest by taking pole position for Friday afternoons opening race.
Half a second was the difference from Lodge and second place Toby Waghorn, while young Blake Tracey rounded out the top three.

Race 1

James Lodge converted his pole position into a race win in an eight lap affair on Friday afternoon.

Lodge was forced to recover from a slow start that saw Toby Waghorn take the early lead, before the polesitter was able to take back the advantage and cross the line ahead of the Victorian by two-tenths of a second.
The top three remained the same with Blake Tracey crossing the line in third, while an impressive Will Longmore sat at the rear of the leading pack to finish fourth.

Race 2

16-year-old Blake Tracey took victory in an all-time classic Excel’s race, outlasting Toby Waghorn and Will Longmore in an epic final lap battle.

The fight for the win between Tracey and race one winner, James Lodge proved entertaining in the final stages, with the latter making a mistake and going off track with only a matter of corners to go.

Both Waghorn and Longmore were also forced to work for their positions, joining the back of the fight for the lead before Waghorn was able to cross the line three-hundredths of a second ahead of Longmore.

Series X3 NSW have three more races to come this weekend, with the first to kick off at 2:50pm AEDT on Saturday.