Four nations take on the TCR Australia grid

The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series entry list for EVENTelec Race Queensland has been confirmed and welcomes a more diverse grid with four different nationalities participating.

Kiwi Ben Stewart will make his debut at Queensland Raceway, racing as the 66^th driver in TCR Australia, for 99motorsport in Will Brown’s 2023 Audi.

The Australian field also celebrates the inclusion of Indonesian and British drivers at this round, including Tufflift Racing’s Glenn Nirwan and HMO Customer Racing’s Tom Oliphant. This year will be Oliphant’s first visit to Queensland Raceway as he missed this round in 2023.

So far this season, no driver has been able to maintain a series lead for consecutive rounds, with Zac Soutar currently dominating due to his double victory at The Bend Motorsport Park.

Josh Buchan was able to take the Race Tailem Bend round win and second in the standings after being reunited with his title-winning Hyundai Elantra N. Sitting in third is Bargwanna, alongside his Garry Rogers Motorsport teammates Jordan Cox and Ryan Casha, thus completing the top five in the standings.

Unfortunately, Cox and Oliphant will receive a 5-place grid penalty for Race 1 this weekend as both drivers swapped out engines due to issues at The Bend.

Past races in Queensland suggests that the Audis and Hondas will be strong this weekend, with the two manufacturers taking out seven of the nine previous race wins at the circuit combined. Tony D’Alberto and Wall Racing are looking confident this weekend, with the aim extending their fourth consecutive pole position record.

This weekend kicks off on Friday with two Practice sessions, followed by Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday. Race 2 and 3 will take place on Sunday afternoon, with all the races airing live and free on 7plus.