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Hyundai and Will Brown become provisional TCR champs
Will Brown is the inaugural carsales TCR Australia Series champion.
At the end of a torrid day of racing at Sandown Park, including a first-lap spin that dropped him to the back of the pack, the youngster did just enough to provisionally claim the crown.
Brown drove his Hyundai i30 N back to an eighth-place finish, doing just enough to edge out his final championship threat, Dylan O’Keefe.
“I’m such an idiot. It’s not the way I wanted to do it, but I’ll take it,” says Brown.
“I just put my head down and went for it. And I got there.”
It’s the third Australian title for the pocket rocket, after victories in the Toyota 86 and Formula 4 series, and he is now looking ahead to an all-out attack on the series finale at Tailem Bend in November.
Brown’s title win overshadowed the brilliance of Nestor Girolami, the Agentinian raider who completed a Sandown sweep with his victory in the last of three races in a Honda Civic Type R.
He was followed home by veteran Garth Tander in an Audi RS3, although third-placed Andre Heimgartner was facing a protest after potentially overtaking under a caution flag in his Holden Astra.
“They were going crazy and I got on with the job,” says Tander.
“From where I was on Friday, P-nowhere, to this is pretty satisfying.”
D’Alberto finished fourth, and may be promoted to third, pending the stewards post-race enquiries.
The final round of the carsales TCR Australia Series will be held at The Bend Motorsport Park on November 15-17.
Results: TCR Australia Race 3, Sandown
| Pos | Num | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time |
| 1 | 38 | Nestor Girolami (ARG) | Wall Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 20 | 25:17.9768 |
| 2 | 3 | Garth Tander (Vic) | Melbourne Performance Centre | Audi RS 3 | 20 | 25:18.4446 |
| 3 | 777 | Andre Heimgartner (NZ) | Kelly Racing | Holden Astra | 20 | 25:20.7374 |
| 4 | 50 | Tony D’Alberto (Vic) | Wall Racing | Honda Civic Type R | 20 | 25:22.5334 |
| 5 | 8 | Jason Bright (Vic) | Taskforce/Melb Performance Cnt | Volkswagon Golf GTI | 20 | 25:25.4375 |
| 6 | 62 | Bryce Fullwood (NT) | Kelly Racing | Holden Astra | 20 | 25:25.7936 |
| 7 | 2 | Aaron Cameron (Vic) | Melbourne Performance Centre | Volkswagen Golf GTI | 20 | 25:28.0687 |
| 8 | 30 | William Brown (Qld) | HMO Customer Racing | Hyundai i30N | 20 | 25:34.9130 |
| 9 | 34 | James Moffat (Vic) | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Renault Megane RS | 20 | 25:42.6370 |
| 10 | 11 | Nathan Morcom (NSW) | HMO Customer Racing | Hyundai i30N | 20 | 26:00.1114 |
| 11 | 9 | Dylan O’Keeffe (Vic) | Ashley Seward Motorsport | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 20 | 26:31.9655 |
| 12 | 97 | Liam McAdam (Qld) | Melbourne Performance Centre | Audi RS 3 | 18 | 26:03.5963 |
| DNF | 7 | Jordan Cox (NSW) | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Alfa Romeo Giulietta | 19 | 24:08.1394 |
| DNF | 35 | Alexandra Whitley (Qld) | Melbourne Performance Centre | Volkswagon Golf GTI | 11 | 14:34.0702 |