Straight podiums for The Enforcer

It was a weekend of ups, more ups, a down and then more ups for Audi Sport customer racing at the fourth round of the TCR Australia Series at Queensland Raceway. 

International star, Jean-Karl Vernay, hit the ground ground running, arriving in Australia on Thursday and then impressing from the outset from Friday practice and on into qualifying and race one on Saturday.

The Frenchman was blindingly fast and with a pole position, fastest race lap and a huge margin to win race one, was definitely the man to beat come Sunday. Russell Ingall in the #100 Audi RS 3 LMS scored his first TCR Australia podium on the Saturday with a third place finish and the Melbourne Performance Centre Audis were looking threatening for the two races on Sunday.

But with Sunday came the news that Vernay had succumbed to illness and on doctor’s orders would not take part in the Sunday races. The pressure then fell to Ingall and Leanne Tander to step up and continue the Audi assault, while MPC made the decision to get Vernay’s car out on the circuit, enlisting Aaron Seton – son of touring car great, Glenn Seton – at the last minute to take the drive.

“It’s a real shame about the situation that we have with JK [Vernay]” said Troy Russell, Managing Director of Melbourne Performance Centre.

“It’s great that we’ve been able to get Aaron Seton to drive the car in JK’s absence. His name needs no introduction to our sport, and he has built a great reputation as a driver in his own right. It will be a baptism of fire, but we’re looking forward to seeing how he goes.”

With all three Audi RS 3LMS cars ready for the day, the action began, and it was The Enforcer who stepped up from the start, relishing his time in the front-wheel drive Audi on a track that is very familiar to him, improving on his performance in race one to secure second place and his second podium for the weekend.

Leanne Tander was quick, but was again caught up in some close racing further back in the field to finish ninth, while Seton in his first ever TCR drive (and first time in the car), produced a creditable performance and finished 14th.

The second Sunday race produced more close racing and again saw Ingall’s experience shine through in a carbon copy of the earlier race. Ingall again came in second in a close race, giving him three podiums from three starts over the weekend. Leanne Tander made it another top 10 finish to come home in ninth, while Seton improved on his first performance to finish 11th.

“Really good. Enjoyed the weekend – it’s been a long time between drinks, not only getting a trophy but also enjoying going racing,” said Ingall at the end of the weekend.

“The quality of driving in the field’s really good. The level of the category is very, very high, which bodes well for the championship in general because I think all the way down the field there’s talented the good thing, there’s unpredictability.”

With three more rounds of the championship to go, TCR Australia heads to Victoria at the end of the month to Winton Raceway and Round 5.