News
Winners recognised at the inaugural TCR Australia awards night
The carsales TCR Australia Series was booked ended with a special awards presentation in Adelaide.
Inaugural series champion Will Brown, the runners-up and a host of others were rewarded for their hard work and dedication to the all-new touring car category.
Brown accepted his series trophy to a standing ovation, along with the $100,000 prize that came with his season of dominance.
The Hyundai driver claimed a staggering seven race wins, 15 podiums and nine fastest race laps and did enough to wrap up the crown with one round to spare.
“It has been a great season and I’ve loved every minute of it,” said Brown.
“The HMO Customer Racing team were great to work with and if everything works out, I absolutely plan on being back next year to defend my crown.
“Also, a special thanks to the Australian Racing Group for putting everything on and making the racing so enjoyable.”
HMO Customer Racing also received the Teams Champions prize, while Brown was acknowledged by his rivals, winning the ‘Driver’s Driver’ award – voted on by all of the regular TCR Australia stars.
Series runner-up Tony D’Alberto was absent from the evening as he travelled back to Melbourne to be with his heavily pregnant wife. Wall Racing Honda’s David Wall accepted his second place trophy and his $50,000 prize.
Aaron Cameron finished third overall, and also won the inaugural Michelin Cup, winning $25,000 for each of those.
Alfa Romeo driver Dylan O’Keeffe dropped from second to fifth in the final round after a disastrous run at The Bend, however, his pole position on Saturday meant that he picked up the Astrontech Most Pole Positions award.
The Melbourne Performance Centre, responsible for running three Audis across the year, the Volkswagen of Cameron plus the two VWs of Jason Bright and Alexandra Whitley, were handed the Best Presented Team award, consistently being one of the benchmarks for presentation – on and off track.
Wall Racing received a special prize for the ‘Clean Sweep’, thanks to Nestor Girolami’s amazing performance at Sundown where he topped all six sessions across the weekend.
Nestor ended both practice sessions on top. He scored pole and won all three races. To accept the clean sweep award, could we please welcome David Wall to the stage.
Garry Rogers Motorsport and Renault Australia won the Best Activation Initiative for their Sandown effort where they invited over 50 Renault car owners for a special engagement piece.
The media were acknowledged for its great coverage across a range of mediums, with Auto Action receiving a special gong for its dedication to the new class, routinely breaking good quality news stories and offering its readers in-depth features.
The Media Choice award was handed presented to the person who, in the media’s eyes, made a positive difference to the new series and showed outstanding commitment. The award was given to Daniel Kalisz, the category’s official photographer.
The next time that the Australia TCR teams converge will be at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park for the TCR Asia Pacific Cup in March.