Reigning Supercars Champion Will Brown was the leading Hyundai driver, in fourth position on overall points, during his one-off return with HMO Customer Racing in the penultimate round of the 2025 FIA TCR World Tour at Zhuzhou International Circuit in China.
The 27-year-old Queenslander substituted for Josh Buchan in China while the two-time TCR Australia champion made his debut in the GT World Challenge, driving a Ferrari 296 GT3, at Hampton Downs in New Zealand.
Despite never having driven the latest generation Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR, Brown, who won the inaugural TCR Australia Championship in 2019 driving an i30 N TCR hatchback for HMO Customer Racing, was among the fastest drivers all weekend. Brown finished the three action-packed 30-minute races with two fourth places and sixth in the dramatic reverse grid sprint, which was held in wet conditions.
Teammate Ryan MacMillan scored his best result so far in only his third round of TCR competition, finishing sixth in the final race, ahead of all three factory Hyundai drivers from the world championship-winning BRC Squadra Corse outfit.
Brown was quick to re-acclimate with the front-wheel drive TCR machinery, and adapt to the i30 Sedan N TCR, setting the fifth fastest time in both practice sessions on Friday before improving to fourth in qualifying.
In Saturday’s opening race, Brown dropped a couple of positions off the start but quickly recovered back to fourth following a momentous battle with series leader Yann Erlacher driving a Lynk&Co.
MacMillan improved from his starting position to cross the line in 12th, narrowly missing out on pole position for the second race which started with the top 10 finishers in reverse order.
The reverse grid sprint turned out to be one of the standout races of the entire 2025 TCR World Tour season as rain began falling just as the drivers left the grid on the formation lap.
Brown made a conservative start during the opening laps and lost several positions from seventh on the grid, falling to as low as 12th at one stage, while MacMillan charged through up to seventh. Brown gradually moved back through the field before a mid-race safety car neutralised the race for two laps.
The restart created even more chaos as Brown banging doors with the front runners on his way through to sixth position at the chequered, while MacMillan crossed the line in 10th with a heavily damaged car following a last-corner incident.
While his team of mechanics scrambled heroically to repair the Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR in time for the final race, MacMillan was handed a 10-second post-race penalty for an unsafe re-entry to the circuit that dropped him to 13th in the final classifications.
The 3.774km circuit was dry again for the final race, with Brown once again dropping a few places off the start line before recovering to challenge for the final podium position, ultimately ceded a close fourth place.
Following a fast getaway, MacMillan made ground on the opening lap and was involved in a race-long battle for 10th position. Then, on the final corner of the last lap, the 18-year-old rookie sliced past four cars to claim his best finish yet in sixth place.
HMO Customer Racing will next head to Macau for the final round of the 2025 FIA TCR World Tour on the iconic Guia Street Circuit on November 13-16, with Buchan returning to the team following his sensational victory in the previous round at Inje Speedium in South Korea.
What the drivers said
Car 301: i30 Sedan N TCR – Will Brown
“It was an awesome weekend to be back at HMO Customer Racing. When team owner Barry Morcom offered me the chance to fill-in for Josh and race in China, I definitely couldn’t turn that down and great to be back in the TCR World Tour and race against the factory teams.
“It’s fantastic to be part of what is a privateer team giving it to the big guys. I had some great battles over the weekend with Yann, banging doors and giving him a fright or two -especially in race one.
“I made a few set-up changes for the second race, but they didn’t work in the rain so that hurt us a little bit. And then the last race, I felt like if I had got a better start, we could have raced for a well-earned podium. But still, super happy with what we achieved and glad to hand the car back over to Josh in one piece for Macau.”
Car 5: i30 Sedan N TCR – Ryan MacMillan
“We started the weekend on the back foot and struggled with the balance of the car, which was sliding a lot in practice. We made some good changes for qualifying and I woke-up knowing what I had to do to find some speed, but couldn’t get it to work when it counted.
“The races were much better; I improved in each one and was involved in some great battles with the TCR World Tour drivers that have much more experience with these cars than I do. The second race was crazy, and I probably had the most action in one race than I will for the rest of my life. I had good speed in the wet and was stoked to cross the line in 10th, full ’Ricky Bobby’-style with my front left wheel hanging off after a clash with Michelisz on the last corner of the last lap. But then I copped a penalty, which was a shame.
“The boys did an amazing job to get it fixed in time for the last race, where I had a ripper of a start and was catching up to the guys in front, looking good for another top 10. And then, bizarrely, all three BRC Hyundais were trying to let each other past in the last few corners and just stood on the brakes and, with a Lynk&Co also coasting, I gained four positions between the final turn and the chequered flag. It was a great way to finish after a slow start to the weekend and I’m now looking forward to carry that momentum to Macau in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Race Results: Round 7, TCR World Tour, Zhuzhou International Circuit
| Session | Will Brown | Ryan MacMillan |
| Shakedown | P7 (1:42.054sec) | P15 (1:42.953sec) |
| Practice 1 | P5 (1:45.050sec) | P12 (1:46.551sec) |
| Practice 2 | P5 (1:44.990sec) | P12 (1:45.636sec) |
| Qualifying | P4 (1:44.553sec) | P13 (1:45.757sec) |
| Race 1 | P4 (1:45.527sec) | P12 (1:47.001sec) |
| Race 2 | P6 (1:57.773sec) | P13 (1:58.244sec) |
| Race 3 | P4 (1:46.075sec) | P6 (1:47.252sec) |
