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New Peugeots for GRM Valvoline Duo at Bathurst
Garry Rogers Motorsport will head to Bathurst with all four of its Supercheap Auto TCR Australia drivers aboard new-specification Peugeot 308 P51s.
The upgraded model made its competition debut last month at Sydney Motorsport Park, with Ben Bargwanna and Jordan Cox entrusted with the honours.
Cox repaid the faith by winning the reverse-grid Race 2 on a weekend that was otherwise dominated by Josh Buchan (Hyundai) and Dylan O’Keeffe (Lynk & Co).
Now, Valvoline-backed duo Aaron Cameron and Ryan Casha will also be moved into brand-new machines for the season-ending Supercheap Auto Bathurst International (November 8-10).
“We’re giving them a quick run at Winton on the way up to Bathurst tomorrow,” said GRM Director Barry Rogers.
“Just as we’re going past, we’ll give them a quick shakedown to make sure everything is right – we don’t expect to have any problems – and we’ll go to Bathurst with four of the new model Peugeots.
“I’m really proud of our guys for what they have done. The important part now will be to show that they’re reliable and they can perform and hopefully see them racing around the world in the coming years.”
As the appointed global builder and distributor of the 308 P51, GRM is understood to have fielded interest from various parts of the world including Peugeot-aligned TCR South America team PMO Racing.
An upside to running two of each spec Pug at Sydney was the chance to overlay and compare the pair, which Rogers noted were differently impacted by Balance of Performance.
“We were just able to see where the strengths and weaknesses are,” he said.
“Obviously with the new car we’re carrying a fair bit of weight, it’s quite a bit heavier than the old car at the moment and ride height I think we’re 25 or 30mm higher than the old car at the moment.
“As BoP plays out, hopefully it brings it back into a bit better of a window than where it begins at.
“Really what you aim to do is build a car that’s competitive when it hasn’t got everything going in its favour with regards to ride height, weight and power.
“You don’t want a car that’s only good when everything is in its favour and that’s a bit like the previous-gen car.
“It’s a great little car, but it really needed everything going in its favour to be competitive, whereas you look at the Hondas and the Hyundais, they’re still very competitive when they have been penalised with the BoP.”
Buchan, the 2023 TCR Australia champion, enters the Mount Panorama decider with a 36-point advantage over Zac Soutar.