Will Brown will be absent from the upcoming third round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Winton Motor Raceway on June 9-11.

Brown and his Erebus Motorsport Supercars team will be in the United States next week, on a fact-finding mission at a NASCAR race in St Louis. The date clashes with the upcoming Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton meeting in country Victoria.

Brown and his Liqui Moly-backed, Melbourne Performance Centre prepared Audi have had a challenging start to their 2023 season. Missing a round is unlikely to affect what has become an outside chance of another title.

However, MPC and Brown have confirmed their commitment to the remainder of the series, with TCR World Ranking points are on offer, as well as the chance to compete head-to-head with the best of the global TCR scene when the Kumho TCR World Tour arrives to Sydney Motorsport Park and Mount Panorama later this year.

‘I am excited to head to America to expand my racing knowledge and gain insights into the teams and drivers, and how they prepare and run for race weekends,” Brown said.

“It is disappointing to miss the Winton round of TCR, and I will be back for the remaining four rounds of the season to gain as many points as possible to boost my World TCR ranking.”

Liqui Moly backed the decision and voiced their support for both the driver, team and series.

“We went into this partnership with Will, knowing any Supercars commitments would come before TCR. We got through last season without any clashes, but these things happen when you have someone as talented as Will on your team,” said Belinda Narbey, Head of Partnerships.

“Troy [Russell] and the Melbourne Performance Centre team are working hard to get the car right after the issues that have plagued us for the first two rounds of the year.”

MPC chief Russell added that the car Brown has been driving, which was previously driven by Jay Hanson in 2022, gave the team no issues throughout the year despite some running repairs needed.

“This year has not been the start me or the team had hoped for, but we are all working hard to get the car and Will back to the top of the field,” Russell said.

Audi will still have a strong presence at Winton, with the brand to be represented by Zac Soutar, Lachlan Mineeff, the returning Iain McDougall, and Supercheap Auto TCR Australia debutant, Clay Richards.

All the Winton races will be broadcast live, ad-break free and on-demand via Stan Sport with Saturday’s action also on the Nine Network. Tickets for Hi-Tec Oils Race Winton are on sale now via motorsporttickets.com.au.