The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will hold the penultimate round of its 2022 season this weekend with a bumper entry list on show at Sandown.
With three races forming part of the Sandown Raceway round, it’s series leader Tony D’Alberto who enters the round as the driver to beat as he headlines the healthy field of 18.
In what is D’Alberto’s home round, the Victorian will be looking to continue his run of form from Queensland Raceway, where he took out his first wins of the season to extend his lead at the top.
Last time TCR was at Sandown, it was visiting international star Nestor Girolami who dominated the event in 2019, but with the Argentine not in attendance this year, it’s anyone’s pick for who will take out round honours.
One of those drivers in contention for some big points is inaugural series winner Will Brown, who claimed a podium and the outright 2019 title at Sandown last time out. The Queenslander will certainly have confidence in his Audi RS3 LMS TCR again, which will suit the long Sandown straights.
Jordan Cox is also one hoping for a successful weekend with the Garry Rogers Motorsport star 58 points behind D’Alberto on the standings, while Jay Hanson sits a further two points behind.
Despite being solid contenders – Cox’s last outing there saw him have a mixed round with a podium marred by a DNF and a P13, while Hanson’s was a flag marshal at Sandown at that same event.
Other drivers in contention for the title outside of D’Alberto, Cox, Hanson and Brown are surprise packet Zac Soutar, Josh Buchan and Dylan O’Keefe – the latter of whom will be looking to bounce back from a disastrous performance at Queensland Raceway.
For Buchan, the event will be the first time he has raced at Sandown and the New South Welshman believed the wet weather forecast would play a role in the round results.
“Surprisingly, I have never actually raced at Sandown before,” Buchan said.
“I have done plenty of laps around there with driver training events in road cars, but that isn’t an indication of how the weekend is going to go for me.
“Looking at the weather report though, I think all bets are off and the form guide is going to be very hard to read.
“Hopefully the fact we’re not carrying any weight penalties this weekend means we have an advantage compared to others, and it is important for me to have a clean weekend and carry the championship challenge into the final round at Bathurst.”
The only driver in the current crop to have secured a podium last time out not in contention for the title is Cox’s GRM teammate James Moffat – the Renault Megane RS TCR grabbing third in the middle race of the weekend.
Click here to view results from the 2019 visit to Sandown.
Other drivers to keep an eye on with a lot to prove include Michael Caruso, Luke King and Aaron Cameron, with the latter using the event as preparation for his stint in October’s FIA Motorsport Games for Team Australia.
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will have three races this weekend the opening race to run on Saturday afternoon, as part of the 9Gem/9Go free to air coverage from 3pm AEST, while Sunday’s two races will form part of Stan Sport’s live, uninterrupted and on-demand coverage.
Tickets for the event at Sandown are still available and can be purchased via motorsporttickets.com.au here.
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series is part of the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships’ penultimate round at Sandown Raceway on 16-18 September.