Winton hosted TCR Australia’s pre-season test day

Twelve cars took part in an open test session at the Winton Raceway, as teams and drivers start to get into race mode for the opening round of the TCR Australia Series that kicks off at Sydney Motorsport Park on May 17-19. Almost all of the confirmed drivers were able to sample their new cars, but no official lap times were recorded from the test. For many teams, it was the first time that they had the chance to put their new TCR cars to test.
Subaru rally star Molly Taylor was a popular figure in pit lane, attracting the lion’s share of media attention as she gets to grip with her new circuit racing role. The Hyundai HMO Customer Racing team brought one car to the test, allowing young gun Will Brown his first laps in the i30 N TCR. Jason Bright enjoyed a productive day in his Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The only confirmed cars that were not at Winton were the Garry Rogers Motorsport-prepared Renault Méganes and one of Kelly Racing’s Opel Astras. Those three cars will arrive in Australia this week. 

“It was a big first day for me. There was a lot to take in and so much to learn but I really enjoyed the day and I know what I need to work on heading to Round 1 in Sydney,” said Molly Taylor.

“I’ve driven a lot of different cars in my career, from GT cars to Le Mans Prototypes, Sports Cars and Open Wheelers, and the TCR is a lot of fun to drive,” said Bright. “I expect the racing is going to be awesome because the cars move and bounce around so much and it’s going to create plenty of excitement for the fans.”

“They’re fast, they look tough and they feel great to drive out on track. It was certainly a different feeling getting used to the front wheel drive, but once I got used to that it I loved every second of it, it was a ball of fun to steer,” said Brown.