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Semi-final attack for HMO Customer Racing at Sandown
It’s finals time for Australia’s footy codes and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia is entering this crucial period of the season as Sandown returns as the penultimate round of the title for the first time since 2019.
A mixed event at Queensland Raceway, but all three HMO Customer Racing drivers feature inside the top 10 in the standings led by Josh Buchan, who will make his racing debut at the venue this weekend.
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“Surprisingly, I have never actually raced at Sandown before,” he revealed.
“I have done plenty of laps around there with driver training events in road cars, but that isn’t an indication of how the weekend is going to go for me.
“Looking at the weather report though, I think all bets are off and the form guide is going to be very hard to read. Hopefully the fact we’re not carrying any weight penalties this weekend means we have an advantage compared to others, and it is important for me to have a clean weekend and carry the championship challenge into the final round at Bathurst.”
Impressive rookie Bailey Sweeny recently made his racing debut at the historic circuit situated in Melbourne’s metropolitan area and is confident the strengths of the Hyundai i30 N TCR will be well suited to the venue.
“I’m looking forward to heading back to Sandown Raceway, having raced there only a few weeks ago in the Toyota series,” said Sweeny.
“But the Hyundai i30 N TCR is a completely different machine and I’m excited by the challenge. We had a pretty successful run in the previous round at Queensland Raceway that put us in the top 10 on the championship ladder for the first time this season.
“I’m aiming to continue that momentum at Sandown even though we’re carrying a fair chunk of success penalties. The possibility of rain could counteract though and be a bit of an equaliser.”
Following a collision during the opening race of the weekend in Queensland, HMO Customer Racing has worked hard to repair the damage inflicted to Nathan Morcom’s i30 N TCR as he hopes the weather will play a part during the event.
“I’m pumped to get back in the car this weekend and return to Sandown Raceway for the first time in a couple of years,” he said.
“It’s such a historic track which presents plenty of unique challenges, especially if it is wet which is forecast for this weekend. That could actually be a blessing for us in a way as we’re still carrying 30kg of success penalties from qualifying in the top 10 at Queensland Raceway.
“We had good speed in the last round, and it was a shame we couldn’t capitalise on it when I was taken out in the opening race. The team has done an amazing job preparing the car for this weekend, and I’m aiming to repay them with a clean weekend at the pointy end and move back up the championship ladder before the final round at Bathurst.”
Last time the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series contested a round at Sandown Raceway, HMO Customer Racing’s Will Brown sealed the inaugural title.
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia’s three races will be covered by Stan Sport’s live, uninterrupted and on-demand coverage.
The opening race will also be broadcast live on 9Gem/9Go! (check your local guides) as part of two hours of free-to-air coverage on Saturday at 3pm AEST.
To purchase tickets to the penultimate round of the SpeedSeries at Sandown featuring Supercheap Auto TCR Australia, Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia, Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters, Turtle Wax Trans Am, Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge and the Australian Production Car Series brought to you by LIQUI MOLY head to motorsporttickets.com.au.
You can sign up to a free 7-day trial with Stan Sport. Head to http://www.stan.com.au/