Hyundai’s Tom Oliphant scored his breakthrough first overall round victory in the TCR Australia Championship during an action-packed and heated round two of the 2024 series at Symmons Plains in Tasmania.
The expat Brit, who made his debut in the TCR Australia Championship at Symmons Plains in 2023 and has joined the reigning teams’ champions HMO Customer Racing this season, bounced back from a disappointing qualifying position to charge through the field and score a double podium result, finishing second in the reverse-grid race and then clearing out to a dominant victory during a door-banging and dramatic final 30-lap sprint.
It was Oliphant’s second race victory in the TCR Australia Championship after winning the reverse-grid race at Winton Raceway in 2023 and elevated him back into title contention and into the top 10 in the drivers’ standings.
The weekend was marred by controversy both on and off the track, with teammate Buchan losing a significant number of points after finishing second in the opening race when stewards declared it didn’t meet the prescribed time allowance following a lengthy red-flag period to recover a competitor after an opening-lap incident.
The reigning champion gained positions in the reverse-grid second race to finish sixth and was set to start the final race on the front row – and potentially steal the championship lead from rival Ben Bargwanna – but was forced to start in the middle of the pack following the late decision to scrap the points from race one following an appeal by a competitor team.
In the race, Buchan muscled his way into a podium position only to be spun out by Zac Soutar while racing through the fastest section of the circuit, sending his i30 N TCR off the circuit in a dramatic cloud of dust. He managed to rejoin the race and nurse his damaged Hyundai across the line in 11th.
HMO Customer Racing now heads to Phillip Island in Victoria for the third round of the 2024 TCR Australia Championship on April 12-14.
Car 1: i30 N TCR – Josh Buchan
“I don’t really know how to sum up such a weird weekend. We had the second fastest car all weekend, but the events that unraveled in race one led to the confusing decision that was made to start the final race, which was chaotic. In all honesty, it was actually good fun out there – there was a lot going on. At this point, I don’t really want to say anything about the incident, but I think there will be a lot to unpack from this weekend and Phillip Island can’t come soon enough. I’ll just press on and try again another day.”
Car 15: i30 N TCR – Tom Oliphant
“I reckon I’m the happiest guy on the grid after everything that has happened. It’s been an entertaining weekend – let’s put it that way. We were quick in the opening practice but then went into the wrong direction in qualifying. We made great changes for the race set-up and we were rapid. The car I had underneath me was superb and to come away with the most points from the weekend is a surprise. I’m well aware it had a lot to do with a judicial decision, but I’ve been in this game long enough and have had my share of bad luck – so I’ll happily take a dose of good luck for this one. Either way, this is exactly the result I needed to turnaround my championship aspirations. I’m really, really pleased.”
Race Results: Round 2, Symmons Plains Raceway, Tasmania
| Josh Buchan | Tom Oliphant | |
| Practice 1 | P9 (56.5462sec) | P5 (56.4056sec) |
| Practice 2 | P5 (56.5222sec) | P10 (56.8956sec) |
| Qualifying | P2 (56.1652sec) | P10 (56.8568sec) |
| Race 1 | P2 (56.8963sec) | P8 (56.7549sec) |
| Race 2 | P6 (57.0215sec) | P2 (56.9321sec) – FL |
| Race 3 | P1 (56.8927sec) | P1 (56.9118sec) |
2024 TCR Australia Championship Standings – Provisional
| Position | Name | Car | Points |
| 1. | Zac Soutar | Audi RS3 LMS | 187 |
| 2. | Ben Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 R | 186 |
| 3. | Jordan Cox | Peugeot 308 TCR | 186 |
| 4. | Josh Buchan | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 169 |
| 5. | Clay Richards | Cupra Leon TCR | 168 |
| 6. | Ryan Casha | Peugeot 308 TCR | 164 |
| 7. | Dylan O’Keefe | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 161 |
| 8. | Brad Harris | Honda Civic Type R | 133 |
| 9. | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR | 125 |
| 10. | Tony D’Alberto | Honda Civic Type R | 124 |
| 11. | Tom Oliphant | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 121 |