Photo: WTCR

TCR champion Jean-Karl Vernay joins Queensland Raceway field

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TCR Australia has gained another star international driver ahead of this weekend’s round at Queensland Raceway with Melbourne Performance Centre today announcing that Jean-Karl Vernay will pilot their Audi RS 3 LMS at Ipswich.

A champion in TCR International Series two years ago, the Frenchman, who is currently driving for WRT in the World Touring Car Cup, brings an impressive CV out to Australia with a championship in the Indy Lights series as well as a class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the recent past.

Vernay is a headline signing to the team even as a one-off appearance driving the #4 MPC Audi RS 3 LMS which Garth Tander piloted to a race and round victory at The Bend.

Speaking ahead of his expedition down to Australia, Vernay says he’s excited to make his debut racing Down Under.

“I’m really looking forward to coming to Australia and racing in the new TCR Series down under,” said Jean-Karl Vernay.

“I’ve seen some of the racing and the amount of cars that they have and it looks very competitive. For a TCR series that has only just started, it is a very good series so far.

“I have raced lots of Audi TCR cars around the world, so it should be no problem for me to get accustomed to the car. The circuit looks interesting – only six corners, but the guys at MPC have said that it is quite technical too, so I’m really excited to get to Australia and experience the racing.”

Saturday will consist of qualifying and the weekend’s first race, while Sunday will feature two back-to-back sprints in the afternoon.