The 2022 series champion was central to a controversial second round of the season at Symmons Plains that led to him benching himself as a protest.

A shortened opening race, won by D’Alberto, was later stripped of its points-paying status, which cost him pole for the third race.

Feeling that decision had been made too late, D’Alberto refused to take part in the third race.

An appeal to Motorsport Australia regarding the situation was heard this week, the governing body siding with its stewards over D’Alberto.

In response to that outcome, D’Alberto took to social media to further explain his position, and draw positives from what was, effectively, a negative outcome for himself.

“My first DNF in TCR… and it was voluntary!” he wrote.

“Now that the dust has settled on the TCR event in Tasmania last month and a result has come from the tribunal hearing regarding the outcome of that event, I thought it was time to clear the air, from my side.

“The outcome from the Motorsport Australia tribunal hearing did not go in our favour, but that’s not to say that the issues that snowballed and turned Tassie into a major headache for myself, my team and other competitors weren’t heard or dismissed.

“The simple facts were that at Symmons Plains, we qualified on pole, won the first race (which was eventually deemed a non-race because not enough laps were complete – fair enough), and finished Race 2 in a position to warrant starting from pole for the all-important final.

“Of course, none of that actually happened. A protest saw Race 1’s results scrapped and, effectively, the reverse top 10 race set the grid for Race 3 (which we learnt 15 minutes prior).

“That is simply not right, so I decided to withdraw.

I didn’t want to take this matter to a tribunal. I certainly didn’t want to sit out the last race. But the simple facts are, my weekend was turned on its head through a procedure mistake that the tribunal agreed happened and shouldn’t have.

“As competitors we have to abide by the rules that Motorsport Australia outline. This is where the confusion sets in.

“Will we see change in the future? I genuinely hope Motorsport Australia and TCR Australia look at what happened and make changes for a fairer future.

“If by taking the stand achieved nothing but force conversations on how to improve this series, then I see that as a win.

“Lastly… I received a HUGE amount of support, thank you to the many people who called, messaged, reached out over social media and offered kind words.

“It was nice to see and hear that people care – not just about my results, but the state and future of our sport.”