TCR World Tour heads for crucial and unforgiving Bathurst
A close TCR World Tour title fight heads for the penultimate round of 2023 at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, Australia, following a spectacular previous round in Sydney.
A single point separates Norbert Michelisz and Rob Huff after the wild Sydney Motorsport Park round one week ago, with former points leader Yann Ehrlacher 21 points behind.
The field is once again facing the TCR Australia race weekend setup of three races for a total of 105 points available.
While Bathurst is completely new to the majority of the TCR World Tour drivers, there have been changes made to the compensation weight which will affect the field.
Mikel Azcona is on a maximum of 40kg while Huff and Ma Qing Hua will carry 10kg. The remaining drivers will have no compensation weight at Bathurst.
The multifaceted Bathurst circuit with a mix of long, power-demanding straights, uphill and downhill sections, fast and slow corners means that it’s difficult to predict a specific favourite for this weekend. Walls close to the circuit also means that mistakes can be truly devastating at this stage of the season.
Further adding to the uncertainty is the competitiveness of the local TCR Australia drivers, with Melbourne Performance Centre driver Will Brown sending a clear message in the previous round at Sydney by winning the first two races.
What is certain is that the title aspiring drivers needs to be be careful in the three races at Bathurst in order to remain with a shot at the title in the Macau season finale just one week after.
Huff charged into the title fight after a solid Sydney weekend while Michelisz had an anonymous weekend and Ehrlacher a difficult one. The shuffle in the standings has put extra pressure on the drivers, seen for example by Ehrlacher’s outburst on Azcona at the end of Race 3 at Sydney.
24 cars will take to the legendary Mount Panorama Circuit in the joint TCR World Tour and TCR Australia grid.
GRM Peugeot driver Kody Garland is out of the Bathurst race due to his massive shunt during practice at Sydney Motorsport Park. But Cupra driver Michael Clemente is back after missing the previous round.
Mount Panorama Circuit Schedule*
Friday – 10/11
11:20 – Free Practice 1
16:00 – Free Practice 2
Saturday – 11/11
12:35 – Qualifying
16:15 – Race 1
Sunday 12/11
12:50 – Race 2
16:10 – Race 3
* = Times in AEDT
