Lee Holdsworth believes that the Sydney Motorsport Park round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series “needs to be the turning point in our season” after two damaging outings.

Holdsworth was the early series leader by virtue of qualifying on pole and winning Race 1 in Round 1 at Symmons Plains, before leaving Tasmania just four points off top spot despite a penalty in Race 3.

At Phillip Island, however, a technical problem meant he stalled on the grid just as Race 2 was about to get underway, then incurred a puncture in Race 3, meaning finishes of 16th and 19th respectively in those encounters.

Last time out in Bathurst, a turbo problem for his Alfa Romeo hampered Holdsworth on the Saturday, before a fire broke out under the bonnet of the Giulietta on the Sunday.

It leaves the Ashley Seward Motorsport driver fifth in the series standings, 99 points behind leader Chaz Mostert, or the equivalent of exactly three quarters of a perfect round.

“This needs to be the turning point in our season,” said Holdsworth.

“We’ve given away plenty of points over the last two rounds which we can’t afford to do this weekend.

“If we can capitalise on the speed our car has, there is no reason for us to not run well.

“I’ll look to work on my starts this weekend too, as they weren’t amazing at Bathurst.

“I see a very strong championship result possible this year, so if we can turn it around this weekend we can work towards that.”

Team-mate Jay Hanson, 14th in the series at present, has a somewhat similar take.

“We’ve showed a lot of car speed but we haven’t quite got the results on the board, so I’m hoping everything runs smoothly this weekend,” said Hanson.

“We should be up the front, so we’ll look to maximise qualifying and start the weekend positively.

“I’m really excited to race at Sydney; the last time I raced there was a couple years ago in Formula Ford. It’s a great track with a combination of everything so it should be fun.”

Round 4 of the 2021 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series kicks off tomorrow, when two practice sessions will be held, on the Shannons Motorsport Australia Championships programme.

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