TCR World and life

6 AUSTRALIA The class was brought down under by the Australian Racing Group – a new, ambitious promoter keen to bring together a strong, cost-effective collection of racing categories. ARG invested in marketing initiatives, robust commercial acumen and a great desire to see affordable Touring Car racing return to Australian shores. According to ARG’s CEO Matt Braid, the calculated risks that the company took to bring TCR Australia to life have been rewarded. "There was such a great buzz as we launched into the first round, and we have been riding a terrific wave of momentum ever since,” said Braid. “The racing last year was absolutely fantastic. We saw so many close battles, fought between a raft of different cars and teams. This action was what we felt easily won over the fans. We had a few established drivers in the field, but we saw the emergence of some new talents. Drivers like Dylan O’Keeffe and Aaron Cameron hadn’t been heard of before, and all of a sudden they were in the sport’s spotlight. That was one of the most pleasing aspects.” The most significant ‘new’ element in 2020 will be the free-to-air television broadcast. Last year, SBS Australia broadcast every race live and free, and in 2020, TCR Australia will move to the screens of the Seven Network, Australia’s number one television broadcaster. Along with that includes a new production house – Supercars Media – that will ensure the fans at home get unquestionably the best content to consume. The rise of the class has also seen car brands up the commercial ante too. Renault Australia and Honda Australia have both financially invested in the teams that are racing their products, showing that the old saying ‘race on Sunday, sell on Monday’ might still be true. So what should we expect in 2020? Motorsport.com’s Andrew van Leeuwen says that the beauty of the class is that it is hard to predict. "At the start of every season, we all like to have a guess as to who may win or be a contender in any racing series. I’ve been following the list of new drivers and teams closely, and it is basically impossible to know who is going to be the champion come the end of the year. The field is too wide open. For sure, it would be easy to say that last year’s champion Will Brown will win, and I’d say he is probably the favourite, but now that these leading teams have a year’s experience under their belt, I don’t think he is going to have it his own way.”