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Brown flicks the reset switch ahead of TCR return
Will Brown has confirmed he will return to the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series when it heads to Queensland Raceway next month.
After making the tough decision to miss the third round of the season at Winton Motor Raceway to embark on a fact-finding mission in the United States for his Supercars Championship endeavours, the 25-year-old will be back behind the wheel of his Audi RS3 LMS TCR Gen2 in his home state as he looks to work his way back up the series standings.
After a challenging start to the year, Brown and the MPC LIQUI MOLY team have used the extended break from the series to reset and ensure they come back strong for the remainder of 2023.
“It was a little bit disappointing that I had to miss out at Winton, but with the first couple of rounds being so tough, we were keen to have a reset,” Brown said.
“We had a good trip in the US and it was cool to check out the NASCAR scene and how they do it over there, and if we could bring anything back to Australia
“I think there are definitely things we could learn from, while there were also things they could learn from us. It was a short trip, so it would be good to get back over there at some point.
“It will be good to be back (in TCR), obviously the first two rounds weren’t that good to us and the title race, but I’m looking forward to competing at Queensland Raceway and especially the international rounds later in the year.”
Brown’s 2023 campaign kicked off with a pole position in the opening qualifying session of the year at AWC Race Tasmania in February, before a broken driveshaft resulted in his absence in races one and three, plummeting the Queenslander down to the bottom of the standings.
A nightmarish start to the season got even worse after a rear-right suspension failure in race one at Phillip Island saw his title hopes crumble before his eyes.
But while he may not be in the title race, the 2019 champion has shown in the past that he cannot be written off and is certain to pose a major threat to race frontrunners at various points throughout the remainder of the year.
“I raced at Queensland Raceway in 2019 and we were quite strong, so I don’t see any reason why we can’t be again,” Brown added.
“You have got to take each round as it comes with this category, especially with the BOP and how it works.
“I’m racing in a lot of different categories, which has helped me prepare, but we need to make sure the car is ready to go and we have no dramas beforehand, and if that goes well, we should be fine from there.”
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series is one of six national categories to feature at Queensland Raceway in August and will take the track for the first time on Friday for two practice sessions before qualifying on Saturday morning will decide the grid for the afternoons opening race, before the final two races take place on Sunday.
All three of the category’s races will feature in the Stan Sport coverage as is every round of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia, where fans can watch the action live, on-demand and ad free.
The fourth round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will take place at Queensland Raceway as part of the fifth round of the Shannons SpeedSeries on 11-13 August.