Hyundai steerer Josh Buchan has taken his second lights-to-flag victory in three Supercheap Auto TCR Australia races this weekend at Phillip Island.
As was the case in Race 1, the HMO Customer Racing driver led the field to the first corner and stayed in front all the way to the chequered flag, securing the overall Round 2 win in his #30 i30 N Sedan.
Race 2 victor Michael Clemente finished 0.9394s behind in the Cupra Leon Competicion which he debuted this weekend, with Ben Bargwanna third in a Peugeot 308 after 14 laps.
Buchan lined up in first on the grid with Clemente alongside by virtue of results earlier in the weekend, and the former got the jump when the lights went out.
They led Bargwanna to the Southern Loop as Jordan Cox (Peugeot) and series leader Bailey Sweeny (Hyundai i30 N) diced for fourth position.
Cox prevailed in that battle and Aaron Cameron (Peugeot) got Sweeny for fifth, but the HMO driver reclaimed that position on Lap 3 at Southern Loop.
Click here to find out how.
By then, Buchan led by a full second, while 2019 series winner Will Brown (Audi RS 3 LMS) circulated in seventh until he was overtaken by Zac Soutar (Audi) on Lap 5.
Buchan looked like seriously clearing out when he set a new fastest lap of 1:38.4201s on Lap 6 but Clemente stemmed the bleeding and even recovered a handful of tenths of a second.
Soutar sent it down the inside of Cameron at Miller Corner (Turn 4) on Lap 10 but outbraked himself also and the move did not stick.
Sweeny pressured Cox late in the piece but failed to find his way through and finished fifth, ahead of Cameron, Soutar, Brown, Tom Oliphant (Lynk & Co 03), Lachlan Mineeff (Audi RS 3 LMS), Tony D’Alberto (Honda Civic Type R), Kody Garland (Peugeot), and Bradley Harris (Honda).
In the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series standings, Buchan’s lead is 22 points, with Cox second, from Cameron and Buchan, while D’Alberto has dropped to ninth at 81 points off the pace.
The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series is now off to Winton on June 9-11 for the next Shannons SpeedSeries event, which will be streamed live and ad-free on Stan Sport.
Results: Race 3
| Pos | Num | Team/Sponsor | Driver | Car | Laps | Race time |
| 1 | 30 | HMO Customer Racing | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30N Sedan | 14 | 23:12.7232 |
| 2 | 15 | Michael Clemente Motorsport | Michael Clemente | Cupra Leon TCR | 14 | 23:13.6626 |
| 3 | 71 | Burson Auto Parts Racing | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 23:15.0577 |
| 4 | 33 | Schaeffler GRM | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 23:15.9500 |
| 5 | 130 | HMO Customer Racing | Bailey Sweeny | Hyundai i30N TCR | 14 | 23:16.4848 |
| 6 | 18 | Team Valvoline GRM | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 23:17.4410 |
| 7 | 110 | Team Soutar Motorsport | Zac Soutar | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 14 | 23:18.1752 |
| 8 | 9 | MPC Team LIQUI MOLY | William Brown | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 14 | 23:21.1822 |
| 9 | 115 | Ashley Seward Motorsport | Tom Oliphant | LYNK & CO | 14 | 23:21.4170 |
| 10 | 14 | Forza Brakes Motorsport | Lachlan Mineeff | Audi RS3 LMS SEQ | 14 | 23:22.3373 |
| 11 | 1 | Honda Wall Racing | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic FK7 TCR | 14 | 23:26.1989 |
| 12 | 41 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Kody Garland | Peugeot 308 TCR | 14 | 23:31.9672 |
| 13 | 74 | Exclusive Switchboards | Brad Harris | Honda Civic FK7 TCR | 14 | 23:40.4352 |
Series points
| Pos | Driver | Pts |
| 1 | Bailey Sweeny | 252 |
| 2 | Jordan Cox | 230 |
| 3 | Aaron Cameron | 229 |
| 4 | Josh Buchan | 224 |
| 5 | Michael Clemente | 214 |
| 6 | Ben Bargwanna | 198 |
| 7 | Lachlan Mineeff | 196 |
| 8 | Kody Garland | 186 |
| 9 | Tony D’Alberto | 171 |
| 10 | Tom Oliphant | 164 |
| 11 | Brad Harris | 90 |
| 12 | Iain McDougall | 80 |
| 13 | Zac Soutar | 69 |
| 14 | Will Brown | 62 |
Discussion about this post