Josh Buchan scored Hyundai’s best results at Queensland Raceway with a double podium finish in Round 5 of the 2024 TCR Australia Championship on the weekend.
The defending series champion clawed back from a difficult start to the weekend in qualifying, his Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR hampered by carrying the maximum weight penalty, to finish fourth in the opening race and then third in both the reverse-grid second race and final sprint to claim his third podium result of the season.
Buchan’s two third places are the best results – and the first ever podium finishes – for HMO Customer Racing at the 3.16km circuit, located near Ipswich on the south-western outskirts of Brisbane.
It also cemented his second place on the championship ladder heading into the final two rounds of the season at Sydney Motorsport Park and Mount Panorama at Bathurst, which have been two of the team’s strongest tracks in the past.
Teammate Tom Oliphant looked set for his best individual results since joining the TCR Australia Championship last year. Despite never having raced at Queensland Raceway before, the former British Touring Car Championship race winner scored his first-ever pole position in the series but was forced to start the opening race from sixth following a grid penalty for an engine change in the lead-up to the event.
The 33-year-old took full advantage of the pace in his Hyundai i30 N TCR during the opening race, charging his way to fourth position as the only driver to overtake in a processional opening race. He was moving through the field again in the reverse-grid second race until he was handed a contentious drive-through penalty that dropped him to 11th when the chequered flag fell.
Oliphant was the fastest driver in the final race, consistently re-setting his own fastest laps, to come home fourth in the race and the same position for the overall round.
HMO Customer Racing will next head to Sydney Motorsport Park for the sixth round of 2024 TCR Australia Championship on October 18-20.
Car 1: i30 Sedan N TCR – Josh Buchan
“It is great to finally break our hoodoo at Queensland Raceway and score the team’s first podium results at this track. It didn’t look like it was going to happen on my side of the garage at the start of the weekend; it was pretty dismal on Saturday morning after qualifying but my guru engineer Rob Benson tuned up the car and (team boss) Barry Morcom slapped me around the head and here we are with a double podium that limited the damage at what is historically our worst track.
“Now, we’re heading to two of our better circuits and let’s hope the racing gods are on our side, and we can make a good push for back-to-back titles over the last two rounds.”
Car 15: i30 N TCR – Tom Oliphant
“We had the fastest car, and I was the quickest driver all weekend, and we came away with nothing to show for it which is hugely disappointing. I put it on pole and took my five-place grid penalty, but the potential for podiums and wins got taken away from me for a pointless penalty that wasn’t even my fault.
“I overtook more cars this weekend than anyone else and I’m really pleased with the pace, but I leave Queensland with a sour note in my mouth.”
Race Results: Round 5, Queensland Raceway, Queensland
| Josh Buchan | Tom Oliphant | |
| Practice 1 | P3 (1:14.1560sec) | P4 (1:14.1599sec) |
| Practice 2 | P2 (1:14.1490sec) | P7 (1:143649sec) |
| Qualifying | P7 (1:14.1115sec) | P1 (1:13.4314sec) |
| Race 1 | P6 (1:14.8794sec) | P4 (1:14.7109sec) |
| Race 2 | P3 (1:15.1695sec) | P11 (1:149923sec) – FL |
| Race 3 | P3 (1:9789sec) | P4 (1:148355) – FL |
2024 TCR Australia Championship Standings – After Round 5
| Position | Name | Car | Points |
| 1. | Zac Soutar | Audi RS3 LMS | 531 |
| 2. | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 504 |
| 3. | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 479 |
| 4. | Brad Harris | Honda Civic Type R | 465 |
| 5. | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 R | 464 |
| 6. | Ryan Casha | Peugeot 308 TCR | 461 |
| 7. | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 447 |
| 8. | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 405 |
| 9. | Dylan O’Keefe | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 403 |
| 10. | Clay Richards | Cupra Leon TCR | 347 |
| 11. | Tom Oliphant | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 341 |
