Ashley Seward Motorsport’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta returns to the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia series this weekend at Winton, standing in for its new Lynk & Co 03 TCR.

The switch back to the car Tom Oliphant drove at the opening round has officially blamed on a logistics problem due to delays in overseas parts deliveries. The team tested just over a week ago at Winton where it believed, but not confirmed, an engine issue left them short of parts.

ASM debuted the Lynk & Co at Phillip Island at the second where the Brit Oliphant qualified sixth ahead of an eighth and a ninth in Races 2 and 3. He was a retiree from the first with a punctured tyre.

Oliphant is expected to be back in the Lynk & Co for the fourth round at Queensland Raceway in August.

“It’s obviously not an ideal situation as we have made really strong progress with the car during testing since the previous race and we were all keen to implement that at Winton,” said team owner Ashley Seward.

“But we fully understand the challenges of the logistics, especially in the current situation of global supply chains.

“We are thankful for the support we have received from Geely Group Motorsport in the current situation where we together have exhausted all options.

“We will continue to push forward this weekend look forward to returning with the Lynk & Co for the next round.”

Geely Group Motorsport Customer Sport Director Ron Hartvelt added, “We want to extend a big thank you to Ashley Seward Motorsport for their understanding and efforts regarding the current situation.

“We have together investigated all possibilities to get the necessary parts to Australia in time, but it is unfortunately not possible due to unforeseen delays in the delivery process.

“We wish them the best of luck this weekend and look forward to being back on track with them at Queensland Raceway.”

Practice 1 for Round 3 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series starts this morning at 11:15 local time/AEST.

Stan Sport’s live and ad-free coverage of the Winton Shannons SpeedSeries event starts tomorrow at 11:00 AEST.