A FIRST FOR BUCHAN AND THE HYUNDAI I30 N TCR SEDAN AT PI

Josh Buchan has taken the opening race in the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Phillip Island. Read our race recap for TCR Australia along with Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia, Trans Am. S5000 and Production Cars.

The HMO Customer Racing driver claimed his first TCR win of 2023, which also marked the inaugural victory for the Hyundai i30 N TCR Sedan in Australia.

Buchan began the weekend with an inauspicious run in practice before unleashing the #30 in qualifying to take pole position from Zac Soutar, Tony D’alberto and series leader Bailey Sweeny.

It was only during the outlap from the pitlane that Buchan was every headed.

From the moment the light went out Josh Buchan was in control, leading the field into Doohan corner. He briefly fended off a half challenge at Southern Loop then cleared away on the run to the Turn 4 Miller corner.

Bailey Sweeny was less fortunate as the #130 HMO Customer Racing machine was swamped off the line. It placed him in a battle with Cody Garland, Michael Clemente and Dylan O’Keeffe near the fringe of the top 10.

Tony D’alberto found himself in a lonely second place in a bitter sweet moment. Too far from the slipstream of the race leader, he was also comfortably ahead of the pack. A late tyre issue ruined his chances of assuming the championship lead and end the race back in pit lane as a dnf. The result has seen him plummet down the leaderboard to 8th in the championship.

Will Brown was another to find dramas throughout the race, as did fellow Audi pilot and front row starter, Zac Soutar. Both cars fell foul of an engine miss before Brown skidded across the gravel at Miller corner after a suspected suspension issue led him up the escape road and back to the garages.

Up front Buchan kept his lead to a comfortable 2.5 seconds at the chequered flag from a late charging Lachlan Mineef in the older model Audi. Aaron Cameron rounded out the podium in his GRM Valvoline Peugeot 308 TCR. Sweeny recoverd to take fourth ahead of Bargwanna, Clemente, Garland, Cox and debutante Brad Harris. D’alberto, Soutar and Brown all recorded dnfs.

SEE OUR PI SPEEDSERIES PHOTO GALLERY HERE

Fanatec Australian GT, Trans Am, S5000 and Production Cars.

Yasser Shahin and Garnett Patterson have won the opening race in Round 3 of the Fanatec GT World Challenge, holding off Jayden Ojeda by just 3/10ths of a second at the chequered flag.

Shahin stormed past pole-sitter Liam Talbot to lead into Turn 1, with the Bend Motorsport Park EMA Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R untouchable throughout the race.

Talbot closed on the leader as the Compulsory Pit Stop window neared, but fell back when a Safety Car period saw Shahin pit as the green flag waved. Talbot elected to stay out, with the race beyond reach by the time co-driver Fraser Ross returned to the track.

The Poulakis/ Ojeda Mercedes AMG GT3 loomed in the mirrors of the bright green Porsche, before the late Safety Car brought it and the Grove Motorsport Porsche into the reckoning for the win.

Patterson drove brilliantly to hold off his pursuers and establish a buffer to Ojeda in second. His advantage stood at a third of a second when the chequered flag flew with Grove a further second behind.

SEE OUR PI SPEEDSERIES PHOTO GALLERY HERE

Ash Samardi and Andrew Fawcet fell foul of an ambitious move by the former which saw both cars collide and spin at Miller corner. Both cars returned to the circuit and toured back to the pits. Samardi managed to return some 16 laps behind the leader, while Fawcet retired. Adrian Deitz was the second retirement when his car slowed and then stopped at Stoner Corner, which brought out the Safety Car.

Owen Kelly  inherited the race win in the first Trans Am race of the weekend after James Moffat was called into the pit lane with his safety net became unfastened. Moffat look assured of the win to that point and subsequently finished at the tail of the field. Nash Morris charged to second with Brett Holdsworth third.

A FAST start and a flying restart saw Joey Mawson deliver his ACM Finance 88 Racing / Team BRM team a fourth consecutive S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship race win today at Phillip Island.

Starting second, Mawson made the better start of the front row duo and led polesitter Cooper Webster into the opening corner.

He then cleared himself of any attack from the Versa Motorsport driver, while behind them Aaron Cameron edged out James Golding for third position.

Webster finished a close second, while the GRM duo swapped positions in the closing stages, Golding racing his way past Cameron at turn four in a close arm-wrestle with a few laps to go.

Blake Purdie finished fifth, Nic Carroll sixth and rookie Winston Smith was seventh.

SEE OUR PI SPEEDSERIES PHOTO GALLERY HERE

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