Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series star Ben Bargwanna has relished the opportunity to drive the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit as part of his second outing in the Kumho TCR World Tour.
Bargwanna, who claimed rookie honours in the opening round of the TCR Europe series in Portugal, had a mixed return during his first ever laps of the iconic Belgian circuit.
Driving his Burson Auto Parts / Team Clariet Sport Peugeot 308 TCR, Bargwanna was unable to maximise the potential of the car in qualifying due to being caught up in traffic on all three hot laps.
He eventually finished the session in 17th position, leaving himself with a bit of work to do in the opening race.
The first of two races saw Bargwanna power through the grid on the opening lap, making up four places to find himself as high as 13th.
Unfortunately, that’s as good as it got for the sole Australian driver as he was taken out by another Hyundai at the beginning of lap two – ending his race as a result.
The second outing saw Bargwanna finish the race in 17th position and unable to pick up any championship points despite showing great form.
Although he didn’t get the results he wanted, Bargwanna said the experience had been nothing short of incredible.
“I am having a really hard time putting today into words. Spa is just purely epic and nothing short of incredible,” Bargwanna said.
“My eyes are still completely wide open and it was something of dreams, my first laps through Eau Rouge and Raidillon was the best experience of my life – and I now know what all the hype is about when talking about this track.
“Even the atmosphere, the Forrest surrounding the track, the facilities, it’s just all so damn cool.”
You can watch the replay of the Spa round on Stan Sport, if you don’t have an account you can get a free 7 day trial when you sign up.
The Kumho TCR World Tour will be taking place in Australia as part of the Shannons SpeedSeries later this year with rounds at Sydney Motorsport Park on 3-5 November and at the Bathurst International on 10-12 November.
The next round of the Kumho TCR World Tour will take place in Vallelunga on 9-11 June.
Another Shannons SpeedSeries driver to take the track overseas was Cooper Webster in the British GB4 championship.
After recently competing in the S5000 Australian Drivers Championship at Phillip Island, Webster competed at Donington Park, England and walked away with a huge haul of points.
Qualifying in third, Webster was able to move up into second place in the opening race and was able to mirror the effort in the following two.
The results meant he moves up to second in the championship after three rounds, sitting 86 points behind KMR Sports Tom Mills.
The next round of the GB4 championship takes place at Snetterton on 17-18 June.
