News
FAST BROWN, CAREER BEST MACMILLAN CAP OFF SUCCESSFUL CHINA WEEKEND
HMO Customer Racing’s Will Brown and Ryan MacMillan have closed out the final day of racing in the Chinese round of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour with noteworthy performances.
In Race 2 earlier on Sunday, the two Australians were in the thick of what could best be described as ‘gloves off’ racing with Brown finishing sixth, while MacMillan’s race unravelled from a potential career best result to an incident in the final metres which saw the 17-year-old penalised and classified an eventual 13th.
In the third and final race, a quick Brown finished fourth to match his best result from Race 1. From 14th on the grid, MacMillan avenged his Race 2 misfortune to finish a starring sixth and record a career best finish after all.
Both Races 2 and 3 on Sunday at the Zhuzhou International Circuit were held in partially wet conditions, albeit dry enough for slick tyres, and were won by Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co, Race 2) and Aurelien Comte (Cupra, Race 3) respectively.
RACE 2 SUMMARY
Will Brown (#301) – Started 7th, Finished 6th
– Ninth on the opening lap after slow start, but showed promising pace amidst the early lap battles
– On lap 2, fought Esteban Guerrieri (Honda) and Thed Bjork (Lynk & Co) for seventh in a three-wide contest. On an outside line, the Aussie was forced to concede
– The following tour, was passed by Race 1 winner Comte but regained position on the French driver at Turn 10 (the same corner Brown passed Ehrlacher in Race 1)
– A late Safety Car deployment resulted in a three-lap sprint to the finish; with the field compressed and track low on grip, some breathless pack racing ensued
– Brown began the penultimate lap in ninth, but with decisive driving and car placement, executed numerous overtakes (including a double-pass on Comte and Santiago Urrutia at Turn 10) and momentarily ran as high as fifth
– Slid wide after running on a wet, outside line and eventually settled for sixth
Ryan MacMillan (#5) – Started 12th, Finished 13th (with 10-second time penalty)
– Strong start and early pace led to overtakes on Ignacio Montenegro (Honda) and a brief period leading Bjork
– After passing and momentarily leading Brown, ran consistently behind his more experienced team-mate for much of the race, and also read the late-race skirmishes well to run an excellent seventh on the final lap
– Slid wide on the final corner and in a desperate bid to save position, rejoined aggressively and made contact with the Honda of Montenegro
– Crossed the line in 11th with heavy front suspension damage, and was demoted to 13th post-race by way of a 10-second penalty
RACE 3 SUMMARY
Will Brown (#301) – Started 4th, Finished 4th
– Starting fourth on a grid determined by cumulative round points, conceded two positions by Turn 1
– With ‘the eyes on’ and clear strong pace, recovered to fourth after executing robust passes on the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse entries of Norbert Michelisz (lap two) and Nestor Girolami (lap three)
– Closed in on third placed Ehrlacher and looked threatening for a podium result, but was unable to break the championship leader
– Set second fastest race lap
Ryan MacMillan (#5) – Started 14th, Finished 6th
– Gained one spot with a rapid launch, and bravely tried a Turn 1 ‘send’ on the GOAT Racing Hondas of Montenegro and Guerrieri
– Passed Lo Sze Ho (Hyundai), then Guerrieri and promoted to 10th following a mechanical failure for Montenegro
– Kept the leading pack within reach, and in a remarkable reversal of fortunes from the previous race, gained four positions on the final corner after pouncing on Ma Qing Hua (Lynk & Co) and the three BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse drivers, who all slowed in an apparent attempt to redress positions for an earlier incident
HMO Customer Racing now heads to Macau for the final event of its Kumho FIA TCR World Tour campaign – the prestigious Guia Touring Car Race – on November 13-16.
Reigning two-time TCR Australia Series champion, Josh Buchan, will return for the Macau event alongside MacMillan.