HMO Customer Racing’s Josh Buchan will resume his 2024 TCR Australia Championship campaign in the title-winning Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR for the first time this season in Round 4 of the series at The Bend Motorsport Park in South Australia this weekend.
The reigning champion was forced to start his title defence in the previous-generation Hyundai i30 N TCR hatchback after his HMO Customer Racing team discovered a minor technical issue with the i30 Sedan N TCR during pre-season testing.
Despite the setback, Buchan has had his strongest start to a championship season so far and currently sits third on the standings, just 22 points behind the leader, with one pole position and six podium finishes from the nine races, including his first victory of the year during the previous round at Phillip Island.
Teammate Tom Oliphant will also switch machinery at The Bend, jumping into the driver’s seat of the newer, race-winning i30 N TCR hatch that Buchan drove in the first three rounds.
The double car swap will place additional emphasis on the drivers in qualifying as the TCR regulations mandate a five-place grid penalty for any driver swapping into a different car during the season.
Amplifying the challenge is the fact that neither driver has any experience racing a TCR car at The Bend Motorsport Park, which returns to the TCR Australia Championship for the first time since the inaugural season in 2019.
However, HMO Customer Racing have race-winning pedigree at the South Australian circuit as the team clinched its first TCR Australia Championship victory at The Bend with Will Brown in 2019.
HMO Customer Racing will have two 30-minute practice sessions at The Bend on Friday afternoon ahead of qualifying on Saturday at 9:30am and the opening race, which starts at 2:45pm. The team will return to the track on Sunday for the two remaining races, with the top-10 finishers from Saturday’s first race reversed for the second sprint.
Fans can catch all the action from Round 4 of the TCR Australia Championship at The Bend Motorsport Park and the Motorsport Australia Shannons Speed Series live and free via 7Plus.
What the drivers said:
Car 1: i30 Sedan N TCR – Josh Buchan
“It’s exciting to be back behind the wheel of the Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR. I obviously have a great affinity for this car, and there’s a sticker on the dash in front of me reminding of the championship victory that I’ll be happy to see again.
I have only raced once before at The Bend in an F3 car in 2019 but know the track very well through activities like the Hyundai N Festival and driver coaching so I don’t think that will be too much of a disadvantage for us. Besides, the team has a great understanding of what’s required to be quick around there and I’m also racing in the GT4 series again, which will give me extra time to iron out any lumps and bumps in terms of getting up to speed with the circuit.
“The penalty does put us behind the eight-ball a little from the start, but The Bend is a good racetrack with plenty of overtaking opportunities so I’m confident we’ll be competitive this weekend.”
Car 15: i30 N TCR – Tom Oliphant
“I have never been to The Bend before, which is exciting. I’ve raced on a lot of circuits around the world, and I think learning new tracks is a strength of mine. Plus, I’ve spent some time on the simulator just getting familiar with it, and it doesn’t seem too complex with plenty of overtaking spots. I think it will be a really good race with plenty of action and opportunities.
“Overall, I think it is a circuit that should suit the characteristics of the Hyundai i30 N TCR hatch. The penalty for swapping cars is a bit stupid in my opinion, but it is what it is, and we just have to knuckle down and recover from that with some good overtaking.”
2024 TCR Australia – Round 4: The Bend Motorsport Park Grand Prix Circuit
| Track Facts | |
| Location | Tailem Bend, South Australia |
| Length | 3.41 km |
| TCR Pole Record | 1:55.62sec, Dylan O’Keefe (Renault Megane RS) – 2019 |
| TCR Lap Record | 1:57.050sec, Nathan Morcom (Hyundai i30 N TCR) – 2019 |
TCR Schedule – Round 4: The Bend Motorsport Park
| Friday May 31 | Saturday June 1 | Sunday June 2 |
| Practice 1: 10:50am | Qualifying: 9:30am | Race 2: 11:20am |
| Practice 2: 2:20pm | Race 2:45pm | Race 3: 3:50pm |
2024 TCR Australia Championship Standings (after round 3)
| Position | Name | Car | Points |
| 1. | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 R | 300 |
| 2. | Zac Soutar | Audi RS3 LMS | 293 |
| 3. | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 278 |
| 4. | Clay Richards | Cupra Leon TCR | 277 |
| 5. | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 265 |
| 6. | Ryan Casha | Peugeot 308 TCR | 257 |
| 7. | Brad Harris | Honda Civic Type R | 256 |
| 8. | Dylan O’Keefe | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 242 |
| 9. | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 220 |
| 10. | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 215 |
| 11. | Tom Oliphant | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 210 |