Will Brown has come out strongly at Queensland Raceway for Round 4 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series.

While the news that the Supercars driver will depart Erebus Motorsport at the end of 2023 dominated headlines, the Melbourne Performance Centre Audi RS3 LMS driver topped Friday practice.

“We had a test day here which was good, but qualifying will be a different matter and then in the races the tyres will go away,” said MPC boss Troy Russell.

Ultimately it was series leader Bailey Sweeny in the HMO Customer Racing Hyundai i30N who was second by the end of the day. Sweeney and teammate Josh Buchan will be out to break a hoodoo as Hyundai have never won at QR.

Brown’s fellow Supercars star Tim Slade was third quickest overall in the Ashley Seward Motorsport Lynk & Co previously campaigned by Tom Oliphant who had to miss the meeting as he is in England getting married.

Off the back of two race victories at this venue last year, reigning champion Tony D’Alberto in the Wall Racing Honda Civic FK8 was fifth fastest in front of Zac Soutar (Audi RS3 LMS TCR).

The four Peugeot 308s take up the next four spots in combined times with Ben Bargwanna leading the way ahead of Kodi Garland, Jordan Cox and Aaron Cameron.

In 10th was Buchan, from D’Alberto’s Honda team-mate Brad Harris, Lachlan Mineeff (Audi) and Michael Clemente’s Cupra, which has backing from the Spanish brand for the first time this weekend.

The Hyundais are currently first and second in the 2023 championship with Bailey 36 points ahead of Buchan, while Cox and Cameron are third and fourth.

The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will qualify at 11:45 AEST on Saturday August 12, before the first of three races which will start at 16:15.