Hyundai drivers Josh Buchan and Bailey Sweeny matched the world’s best touring car drivers in a challenging, weather-effected first Australian round of the TCR World Tour at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The HMO Customer Racing teammates scored a double podium – finishing second and third on points among the local drivers – in the sixth and penultimate round of the TCR Australia Championship.
The duo now heads into the championship-deciding final round of the 2023 TCR Australia series – and another round of the TCR World Tour – at Mount Panorama next weekend at the top of the driver’s standings, with Sweeny holding a 29-point advantage over Buchan.
The condensed two-day schedule at Sydney Motorsport Park started on a positive note for HMO Customer Racing with Buchan setting the fastest time in a 15-minute warm-up session.
Both drivers fine-tuned their machines on used tyres during the opening practice session to finish with the 12th and 13th fastest times respectively and backed-up their pace with Buchan slotting into the top 10, in ninth, in second practice, followed by Sweeny in 11th.
A light rain shower hit the track moments before qualifying, throwing a spanner in the works. Both drivers made it through the first section but chose an alternate tyre strategy for the top 10 shootout: Sweeny opting to run on four slick tyres while Buchan continued with an off-set slick front/wet rear set-up. With the track drying, Sweeny’s inspired gamble paid dividends as he set the fourth fastest time while Buchan could only manage seventh.
The first 17-lap race, held under lights, was a frantic affair. Buchan and Sweeny were among the fastest cars in the opening segment and closing in on the leaders when a sudden downpour created havoc and the majority of runners – including both Buchan and Sweeny – skidded off the track at Turn Two, leading to a red flag stoppage.
When the race re-started, both drivers struggled on wet tyres and fell back through the field with Sweeny crossing the finish line in 14th and Buchan in 16th.
Fired-up for the second race, held in dry conditions, Buchan showed the true pace of his HMO Customer Racing Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR by charging into the top five and challenging factory Hyundai driver and TCR World Tour Championship leader, Hungarian Norbert Michelisz, with Sweeny tailing him home in sixth.
Buchan repeated his form with another fifth-place finish in the final 17-lapper under lights, while Sweeny consolidated his TCR Championship lead by staying out of trouble in 11th.
The seventh and final round of the 2023 TCR Australia Championship will be held at Mount Panorama, Bathurst, on November 10-12 as part of the TCR World Tour.
Car 30: i30 Sedan N TCR – Josh Buchan
“Wow, what an up-and-down weekend that was. It started off pretty well being the quickest in the warm-up, and then we just fine-tuned the car through the practice sessions. We proved to be the quickest in every race and were flying in race one before the downpour.
“We definitely had a car to fight at the front this weekend, but we lost track position on the wet tyres in the second half of the opening race and had to fight back from there. Picking off 15 spots in the last two races was pretty crazy and shows what could have been.
“Now, it’s just eyes forward looking at Bathurst. I’ve reduced the gap to Sweeny out in front and increased the gap to third behind me, so all-in-all it’s not too bad. Sweeny is pretty quick up at the mountain, but we’ve always picked up a trophy at Bathurst and if there is a move to be made then we’ll take it.”
Car 130: i30 N TCR – Bailey Sweeny
“Our goal this weekend was to protect the championship lead heading into Bathurst, and we managed to do just that. But it wasn’t easy. We looked good after qualifying on the second row, but then really struggled for pace in the wet in the second half of race one – that was crazy!
“That put us on the back foot for the rest of the weekend, but we had great speed in the dry and we showed our pace coming through from 14th to sixth in race two. The last race, I just got boxed around a bit at the beginning, so I let them go to stay out of trouble.
“Bathurst is one of my strongest tracks: we had two rounds there last year and I won both of them. So I’m confident we can repeat that next weekend and take home the championship.”
Race Results: Round 6, Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW
| Josh Buchan | Bailey Sweeny | |
| Practice 1 | P13 (1:36.4157sec) | P12 (1:36.2981sec) |
| Practice 2 | P9 (1:35.8777sec) | P11 (1:35.9231sec) |
| Qualifying | P7 (1:43.1993sec) | P4 (1:39.3579sec) |
| Race 1 | P16 (1:37.0801sec) | P14 (1:37.7386sec) |
| Race 2 | P5 (1:36.0981sec – FL) | P6 (1:36.4159sec) |
| Race 3 | P5 (1:36.4657sec) | P11 (1:36.8123sec) |
2023 TCR Australia Championship Standings
| Position | Name | Car | Points |
| 1. | Bailey Sweeny | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 708 |
| 2. | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR | 679 |
| 3 | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 659 |
| 4. | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 612 |
| 5. | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 598 |
| 6. | Lachlan Minneef | Audi RS3 LMS | 571 |
| 7. | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 R | 526 |
| 8. | Tom Oliphant | Lynk&Co 3 TCR | 470 |
| 9. | Michael Clemente | Cupra Leon TCR | 434 |
| 10. | Will Brown | Audi RS3 LMS | 404 |
