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WILL BROWN JOINS HYUNDAI FOR TCR WORLD TOUR ROUND IN CHINA
Reigning Supercars Champion Will Brown will make a one-off return to HMO Customer Racing substituting for Josh Buchan at next weekend’s seventh round of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour at Zhuzhou International Circuit in China.
The 27-year-old Queenslander has been drafted into the Hyundai Australia-backed team for the penultimate round, while Buchan makes his Ferrari 296 GT3 debut in the GT World Challenge Australia series on the same weekend.
Buchan will return for the final round of the 2025 FIA TCR World Tour at the Guia Street Circuit in Macau on November 13-16.
Brown is no stranger to TCR competition or HMO Customer Racing, having won the inaugural TCR Australia Championship in 2019 with the team, driving a Hyundai i30 N TCR hatchback, and has 15 race victories and 30 podium appearances to his name.
He was also the first driver from a domestic series to win in the TCR World Tour, when he took two victories at Sydney Motorsport Park in 2023.
Following on from Buchan’s most recent success in South Korea, where the two-time Australian champion scored a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the opening race at Inje Speedium, Brown is confident of continuing HMO Customer Racing’s front-running form at the tight and technical 3.77km Zhuzhou circuit.
His teammate, 18-year-old fellow Queenslander Ryan MacMillan, showed massive potential with top 10 results in practice and battles against world TCR champions during the three races at Inje Speedium.
Both drivers will have ample time to learn the Zhuzhou circuit with a shakedown and two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday ahead of qualifying and the first 30-minute race on Saturday with two more races on Sunday.
Australian fans can watch the 2025 TCR World Tour from Zhuzhou International Circuit live on the TCR TV YouTube channel.
Car 301: i30 Sedan N TCR – Will Brown
“First of all, I want to congratulate Josh and the entire team on their performance in South Korea – that was an incredible achievement, and another fantastic showcase for the talent that exists in Australia.
“I am stoked to be joining HMO Customer Racing again for the TCR World Tour round in China and hopefully continue that front-running form. While it will be the first time I have driven the Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR, I am confident the team will give me a rocket ship and hopefully bring home another trophy for them.”
Car 5: i30 Sedan N TCR – Ryan MacMillan
“The Zhuzhou circuit looks like a totally different type of circuit to what I’ve raced on so far at The Bend and Inje Speedium, with a lot more heavy braking zones and slow-speed corners which should allow for more overtaking opportunities.
“The team did a fantastic job developing a new set-up direction at Inje which has transformed the car, and I know we’ve got the speed on my side of the garage as well to run at the front, just as Josh did in South Korea.
“My weekend there was hampered from the outset by starting outside the top 10 when a red flag spoiled my fastest lap in qualifying. But I learnt a lot during the races with some good, hard battles against some of the best touring car drivers in the world, and plan to take another step forward again in China.
“It’s exciting to be sharing the garage with Will for the weekend too. He brings an enviable record with him, and another opportunity to benchmark myself against a TCR Australia championship winner.”