Chelsea Angelo will pilot an Opel Astra for Kelly Racing in the inaugural TCR Australia Series which begins this weekend.

The former Porsche Michelin GT3 Cup Challenge is set to drive the #37 Astra TCR machine in the seven round series, joining the already confirmed Alex Rullo (Opel Astra) and Molly Taylor (Subaru WRX) at the four-car Braeside outfit.

Kelly Racing is expected to announce the driver of its second Subaru in the days leading up to this weekend’s Sydney Motorsport Park opener.

A deal to sign Angelo increases the grid to 14 drivers with the 22-year-old the third female to contest the series alongside Taylor and Alexandra Whitley (Alliance Autosport, Volkswagen Golf GTI).     

The Victorian driver, who has experience in touring cars having raced in Super2, sampled a Kelly Racing TCR Subaru at last week’s Winton test.

Angelo had been assessing her racing options for this season, with TCR a target, having been unable to secure another season in Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, while also missing out on a W Series drive.

In order to increase her publicity the young gun has been competing in the Speedweek eSeries.

“It’s incredible to confirm that I will race in TCR this year,” said Angelo.

“I wasn’t sure what my racing options were at the start of the season, but when I saw that TCR was coming here, I always felt that it was a great category for myself.

“There’s a lot of ex-Supercars drivers in there, plus Porsche drivers, rally car drivers, a few females. It’s a real mixed bag.

“I’ve never raced a front wheel drive car before and I’ll be trying to get my head around it as fast as I can.

“It will be interesting. When I tested at Winton last week, one of the things I found tricky was trying to get the temperature of the rear tyres up.

“I’ve been speaking to a lot of people to learn as much as I can before we get to Sydney.

“I’m confident of getting my head around it all, but I love a challenge. I’m excited. I have absolutely no expectations, so it’s nice to go there with an open mindset.

“TCR is a great category. It’s known worldwide and it can open up doors to overseas racing, so to be able to bring that here is a great thing. And it will be an even playing field. I’m excited and can’t wait to get my bum back in seat.”

Kelly Racing team owner Todd Kelly has revealed that the team had earmarked Angelo as a driver with potential.

“We have been speaking with Chelsea for some time and it’s great to have her locked in with our team,” said Kelly.

“Chelsea is still very young, but she has been racing at the top level of Australia’s national categories for some time. We have been keeping an eye on her so it’s great to see here progress her career into TCR with us.

“The Opel performed extremely well at the test and we really feel that it is going to be a strong contender in the series with Alex and Chelsea as the drivers.”

The TCR Australia Series begins at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend with all seven rounds broadcast live on SBS and via the series’ live streaming service.  

Entry list: Round 1, Sydney Motorsport Park