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Young gun Bailey Sweeny fastest in opening practice session
HMO Customer Racing’s Bailey Sweeny has set the fastest time in the opening session ahead of the season finale at the Bathurst International.
Sweeny set the early benchmark with a 2m 13.6704s in his Hyundai i30 N TCR at a venue where he broke through for his maiden win earlier in the year as teammate Josh Buchan took to the Mountain for the first time in the Elantra N TCR for its maiden Supercheap Auto TCR Australia outing.
Buchan enjoyed an impressive run straight out of the box to hold second for most of the session on a 2m 14.904s until a late lap from Schaeffler GRM Peugeot’s Dylan O’Keeffe dropped him to third.
Title contender Jordan Cox was well placed in the Swyftx GRM Peugeot to be fourth on a 2m 13.946s as the top nine were split by less than a second.
Nathan Morcom made it three HMO Customer Racing Hyundais in the top five as he led the AWC MPC Racing Audi RS3 LMS TCR of Jay Hanson, privateer Lachlan Mineeff in the Forza Brakes Motorsport entry, Michael Caruso’s Autoglym Ashley Seward Motorsport Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce TCR and series leader Tony D’Alberto in the Honda Wall Racing Civic Type R TCR.
Polesitter at the Bathurst season finale last year, Ben Bargwanna was 10th in the Burson Auto Parts Peugeot from the two Renault Megane RS TCRs of LMCT+ Racing’s James Moffat and Kody Garland in the Valvoline Team GRM example.
Michael Clemente was 13th in his first official session driving the Ryco Audi RS3 LMS TCR to lead fellow privateer Zac Soutar driving the Spicers Australia Honda, Luke King’s Moutai/ZIP PAY Hyundai, Challenge Motorsport’s Ian McDougall and Frenchman Teddy Clairet in Garry Rogers Motorsport’s fifth Peugeot.
Valvoline Racing GRM’s Aaron Cameron and the LIQUI MOLY Team MPC Audi of Will Brown ran limited laps in the opening practice session.
The next session for Supercheap Auto TCR Australia is at 4:05pm AEDT this afternoon.
Tickets are available at https://bathurst.international/
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