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Josh Buchan ‘to give it a nudge at Sandown’, following tough Queensland round
A strong home event at Sydney Motorsport Park vaulted Josh Buchan into title contention, however it was a fraught weekend in Queensland as the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia raced in the state for the first time in three years.
HMO Customer Racing finished on the podium last time the category visited in 2019, with Nathan Morcom in Race 3. Buchan left Sydney third in the standings as he held hopes of closing the gap to series leader Tony D’Alberto in Queensland.
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Buchan’s TCR debut at Queensland Raceway failed to get off to a good start after a gearbox oil leak led to limited running and a wet practice session during the evening further compounded his lack of laps.
“We were on the backfoot from the start of the weekend with an issue that prevented us from any running in the opening practice session, and we only really went out in second practice to confirm the team had rectified the problems,” Buchan reflected.
“That meant we couldn’t get through our program and we had to run on-the-fly into the races. The team did a great job with the car and I felt we had really good pace.”
Just missing the top 10 in qualifying, Buchan proved the Hyundai i30 N TCR’s strength in race pace to be 10th in the opening encounter, placing him on pole for Race 2. However, a penalty dropped him back to 14th following opening lap contact with the Autoglym Ashley Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR.
Further improvement came in Race 2 where he cracked the top 10 to be ninth, while he finished eighth in the final to ensure he remains in title calculations.
“Unfortunately we lost the pole in Race 2, which would have improved our weekend, so we just chipped away in the final two races.
“We will consolidate, take the success ballast out of the car for the next race and give it a nudge at Sandown.”
Buchan will be in a similar situation at Sandown as he was at Queensland Raceway as the historic Victorian venue also makes its return after appearing in 2019. Placed fifth in the standings, Buchan will be one to watch during the final two rounds of this year’s Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series.
The penultimate round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will be held at Sandown as part of the SpeedSeries on September 16-18.