2020 TCR Australia Series

2020 TCR Australia Touring Car Series

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2019

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2021

Parent series:
Motorsport Australia Championships
Support series:
TCR Asia Pacific Cup
Australian S5000 Championship

Will Brown was the defending TCR Australia series winner.

The 2020 TCR Australia Series (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2020 carsales TCR Australia Series) ^[1] was to be an Australian motor racing competition for TCR cars. It was planned to be the second TCR Australia Series and was to be run as part of the renamed Motorsport Australia Championships. The Series was sanctioned by Motorsport Australia as a National Series with the Australian Racing Group appointed as the Category Manager. ^[1]

The series was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[2]

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers were under contract to compete in the 2020 series:

Team Car No. Drivers Class Rounds Ref. HMO Customer Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR 1 Will Brown TBA TBA [3] 11 Nathan Morcom TBA TBA [4] Melbourne Performance Centre Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 2 Chelsea Angelo TBA TBA [5] Audi RS 3 LMS TCR 35 Alexandra Whitley TBA TBA [6] 75 Garth Tander TBA TBA [7] 97 Liam McAdam TBA TBA [7] 100 Hamish Ribarits TBA TBA [7] Garry Rogers Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR 7 Michael Caruso TBA TBA [8] [9] 74 Jordan Cox TBA TBA [10] Peugeot 308 TCR 17 Jason Bargwanna TBA TBA [11] 18 Aaron Cameron TBA TBA [12] [9] 71 Ben Bargwanna TBA TBA [11] Renault Mégane R.S TCR 33 Dylan O'Keeffe TBA TBA [13] 34 James Moffat TBA TBA [14] Ashley Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR 9 Jay Hanson M TBA [15] 10 James Allen TBA TBA [16] 65 David Brabham TBA TBA [16] Michael Clemente Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 15 Michael Clemente M TBA [17] Track Tec Racing Audi RS 3 LMS TCR 22 Jack Milligan M TBA [18] [19] Wall Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 24 John Martin TBA TBA [20] 50 Tony D'Alberto TBA TBA [20] [21] 51 Takuya Shirasaka TBA TBA [20] Tilton Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR 26 Bradley Shiels TBA TBA [22] Team Soutar Motorsport Honda Civic Type R TCR (FK8) 110 Zac Soutar M TBA [23] DashSport Hyundai i30 N TCR 111 Michael King MP TBA [24]

Key Icon Class M Michelin Rookie of the Year P Panta Cup

Summary

• Ashley Seward Motorsport will expand to enter three cars. ^[16] The team had entered a single car throughout the 2019 series before entering a second car at the final event. Australian Formula Ford driver Jay Hanson will make his début in the series with the team. ^[15]
• Reigning Hyundai Excel Cup—a series run as part of the Shannons Nationals competition—champion Michael Clemente will make his series début after purchasing a Honda Civic Type R used by Wall Racing in 2019. Clemente's team will compete under the name Michael Clemente Motorsport. ^[17]
• Garry Rogers Motorsport will expand from a three-car entry to a six-car entry. The team will add one Renault Mégane R.S at selected events to their two full season entries from 2019, one of which will be driven by James Moffat; and a second Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce alongside the single entry from the previous season, with Michael Caruso and Jordan Cox driving them. The team will also run two Peugeot 308 cars under the GRM Customer Racing banner for New Zealand Touring Cars champion and former Supercars driver Jason Bargwanna, who will make his series début, and Aaron Cameron, coming from Melbourne Performance Center. A third Peugeot will be entered by the team at the TCR Asia Pacific Cup for 2019 TCR BeNeLux Touring Car champion Julien Briché. ^{[8] [10] [14] [11] [25] [26]}
• Australian Formula Ford driver Zac Soutar will make his series début with the family-run Team Soutar Motorsport. The team will enter the Honda Civic Type R used by Tony D'Alberto in 2019. ^[23]
• Production Touring Car driver Michael King will make his series début in a new Hyundai i30 N run by DashSport. ^[24]
• Kelly Racing, who ran Subaru WRX STI and Holden Astra cars during the 2019 season, withdrew from the championship to focus on their Supercars team following their switch to Ford cars. ^[27]
• Toyota 86 Champion Jack Milligan and Stan van Oord will make their series début with Track Tec Racing. They will drive a pair of Audi RS 3 LMS. ^{[18] [28] [19]}
• Wall Racing will enter three Honda Civic Type R cars retaining John Martin and Tony D'Alberto with Paul Ip joining the team. In addition to the three full season entries, the team will enter a fourth Civic for Münnich Motorsport founder and 2019 TCR Middle East Series champion René Münnich at the TCR Asia Pacific Cup. ^{[20] [29] [21]}
• Chelsea Angelo will drive for Melbourne Performance Centre driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI. ^[5]
• Declan Fraser will make their series début with Milldun Motorsport driving a Volkswagen Golf GTI. ^[30]
• Bradley Shiels will make his series début in a Hyundai i30 N run by Tilton Racing. ^[22]

Race calendar

The calendar was announced in October 2019 with seven confirmed rounds, plus two non-championship rounds. ^[31] The final calendar was published in January 2020. ^[32] A revised calendar, expanding into 2021 was released on 26 May 2020. ^[33]

Round	Circuit	Location	Date
1	Sydney Motorsport Park	Eastern Creek, New South Wales	15–16 August
2	Sandown Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	12–13 September
3	Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit	Phillip Island, Victoria	TBA October
4	Mount Panorama Circuit	Bathurst, New South Wales	12–15 November
5	Symmons Plains Raceway	Launceston, Tasmania	24–26 January
6	Baskerville Raceway	Hobart, Tasmania	30–31 January
Cancelled due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic
Circuit		Location	Original Date
Winton Motor Raceway		Benalla, Victoria	1–3 May
The Bend Motorsport Park		Tailem Bend, South Australia	12–14 June
Morgan Park Raceway		Warwick, Queensland	3–5 July
Mount Panorama Circuit		Bathurst, New South Wales	13–15 November [34] [a]
Partially cancelled due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic
Circuit		Location	Original Date
Albert Park Circuit		Melbourne, Victoria	13–15 March [a] [b]

Calendar changes

• The series will visit the Mount Panorama Circuit for the first time, originally having been planned to occur as part of the Bathurst 6 Hour weekend over Easter. ^[31] Due to the cancellation of the Easter event, the round was rescheduled to the date originally planned to hold the non-championship Bathurst International event.
• The Bend Motorsport Park was originally scheduled to only host one event rather than two as in 2019, while Queensland Raceway was also not listed on the initially released calendar. Neither circuit appeared on the revised calendar.
• Morgan Park Raceway was intended to host a round of the series, marking its first competitive event since 2011. ^[32] However, it also did not appear on the revised calendar.
• In addition to the seven series rounds originally scheduled, there were originally also planned to be two associated events; a round supporting the Australian Grand Prix weekend was intended to be held as the TCR Asia Pacific Cup, along with an endurance race at Mount Panorama late in the year. Both of these rounds were to be non-championship events. The TCR Asia-Pacific Cup event was cancelled after qualifying was held, due to its status as a support event to the Australian Grand Prix, which was cancelled on the Friday morning. The Bathurst International endurance race was also cancelled, as it had been intended to draw international entries alongside the local teams; the event slot is to be used instead to host the rescheduled series round, along with a rescheduled Bathurst 6 Hour.
• The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic forced a major reschedule before the first series round took place. All events barring the Sandown round were rescheduled, with an intended March start being pushed to August, and the extension of the season into the 2021 calendar year. Apart from the above-mentioned circuits which were not on the rescheduled calendar, Winton Motor Raceway was also removed from the schedule, while two Tasmanian circuits, Symmons Plains Raceway and Baskerville Raceway were added.

The series was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[2]

Rule changes

• The 2020 series winner will drive in either the World Touring Car Cup or an International TCR race as a wildcard entry as a prize. ^[35]
• The winner of the Michelin Rookie of the Year will be awarded a test day with a European TCR team. ^[35]
• Another new class will also be introduced—the Panta Cup, named after the series' fuel supplier, Panta Fuels—in which six semi-professional and amateur drivers will be eligible for. The winner of the Panta Cup will get a drive in an International TCR Endurance race. ^[36]

Notes

1. Originally a non-championship round.
2. Originally part of the TCR Asia Pacific Cup. Only one of three races completed.

References

1. 2020 carsales TCR Australia Series Sporting Regulations, motorsport.org.au, as archived at web.archive.org
2. TCR Australia Series is go, January 11, 2021, www.carsales.com.au, as archived at web.archive.org
3. "Will Brown confirmed for return to defend TCR Australia title". TouringCarTimes. 18 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
4. Coch, Mat (14 February 2020). "Morcom continues with HMO for 2020". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 14 February 2020.
5. "Chelsea Angelo back in TCR with Volkswagen ride". TouringCarTimes. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
6. "Alexandra Whitley secures Albert Park entry". TouringCarTimes. 9 March 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
7. "Tander, Ribartis and Shirasaka added to finalised 22-car TCR Asia Pacific Cup grid". TouringCarTimes. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
8. Howard, Tom (9 February 2020). "Caruso joins TCR with two-year GRM deal". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 9 February 2020.
9. "Garry Rogers Motorsport unveil Peugeot livery". TouringCarTimes. 24 February 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
10. Coch, Mat (23 January 2020). "Cox to drive GRM Alfa in 2020 TCR Series". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 23 January 2020.
11. "Ben Bargwanna to partner father Jason for 2020". TouringCarTimes. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
12. "Aaron Cameron lands Peugeot drive at Garry Rogers Motorsport". TouringCarTimes. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
13. "Dylan O'Keeffe secures Renault drive for Garry Rogers Motorsport". TouringCarTimes. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
14. "Renault Australia confirm sponsorship with GRM for 2020". TouringCarTimes. 4 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
15. "Ashley Seward Motorsport takes on 16-year-old for TCR Australia campaign". TouringCarTimes. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
16. "Ashley Seward Motorsport expand to three Alfa Romeos for 2020". TouringCarTimes. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
17. "Michael Clemente confirms 2020 entry with a Honda". TouringCarTimes. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
18. "Track Tec Racing enter second Audi for Jack Milligan at Melbourne". TouringCarTimes. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
19. "Track Tec Racing unveil liveries for TCR Asia Pacific Cup". TouringCarTimes. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
20. "Three Hondas for Wall Racing in 2020 campaign". TouringCarTimes. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
21. "Tony D'Alberto confirmed for continued Honda Australia programme". TouringCarTimes. 13 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
22. Herrero, Daniel (10 June 2020). "Bathurst lap record holder enters TCR". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 10 June 2020.
23. "Formula Ford ace secures ex-Tony D'Alberto Honda for 2020". TouringCarTimes. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
24. Coch, Mat (12 December 2019). "State racer to make TCR Australia jump in brand new car". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 12 December 2019.
25. "GRM to take delivery of second TCR Peugeot". Speedcafe. 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2020-02-09.
26. Coch, Mat (11 February 2020). "French TCR racer joins Asia Pacific Cup field". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 11 February 2020.
27. Howard, Tom (19 December 2019). "Kelly Racing to step away from TCR after Ford Supercars switch". speedcafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 27 December 2019.
28. "Track Tec Racing confirm Stan van Oord for Melbourne race". TouringCarTimes. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
29. "René Münnich joins Wall Racing for Melbourne race". TouringCarTimes. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
30. "Declan Fraser lands TCR Asia Pacific Cup drive for Milldun Motorsport". TouringCarTimes. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
31. "TCR Australia announce 2020 calendar including Bathurst". TouringCarTimes. 28 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
32. "TCR Australia to head to Morgan Park in 2020". 16 January 2020.
33. "SIX EVENT 2020/21 CALENDAR CONFIRMED FOR TCR AUSTRALIA". TCR Australia. 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
34. Coch, Mat (16 January 2020). "November date confirmed for Bathurst International". speedafe.com . Speedcafe . Retrieved 16 January 2020.
35. "TCR Australia announce WTCR entry and European test as prize for 2020". TouringCarTimes. 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
36. Mulach, Jordan (7 January 2020). "TCR Australia launch Panta Cup for semi-pro racers". TouringCarTimes. Retrieved 7 January 2020.

External links

• Official website