After narrowly missing out on the 2022 title, Will Brown is back in 2023 with a brand-new car he hopes will take him to the TCR Australia crown.
The 2019 champion has been given an upgrade, trading his first-generation Audi RS 3 LMS for a more refined second-generation model.
Brown fell short of last year’s title, which went the way of Honda Civic Type R driver Tony D’Alberto.
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The pair were split by just nine points after 20 races.
Brown enjoyed a surge late in the season in which he took four podium finishes in the final five races while D’Alberto just hung on to seal his maiden touring car title victory.
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In 2022, Brown’s teammate Jay Hanson showed why the second-generation Audi was the car to have with its superior one-lap pace.
Hanson took four wins, three pole positions, and the fastest lap on nine occasions. His only downfall was inconsistency and mistakes that deprived him of a chance at the series win.
In between seasons, the car has been rebuilt from the ground up by Melbourne Performance Centre, who will once again field Brown in the series.
“To have the new-specification Audi this year and be ready to hit the track with Liqui Moly is just awesome, I’m just ready to get into it,” said Brown.
“Obviously last year was pretty disappointing to come second and nearly win the title in that awesome last race at Bathurst.
“I’m just excited to get back out there in the new car and we’re trying to win the title, which is why I am here.
“It’s great that the series winner from last year, Tony D’Alberto is back in 2023 alongside many of the other contenders, so I’m sure there will be lots of tough racing again.
“It just adds to all the racing that I’m doing, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Scary spin for TCR teenage sensation
With D’Alberto set to continue complaining his FK8-specification Honda Civic Type R for the foreseeable future, Brown looms as a potential favourite for this year’s series win.
A new Honda Civic Type R designated model FL5 is set to be released to customers in April this year.
It’s not yet clear whether D’Alberto will receive one of the new cars this year.
Brown will dovetail his TCR Australia Series campaign with commitments in Supercars with Erebus Motorsport while D’Alberto is likely to continue as a co-driver in Supercars.
The opening SpeedSeries round, Race Tasmania, at Symmons Plains takes place on February 24-26.
Stan Sport will carry live, ad-free, and uninterrupted coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
Nine will carry three hours of free-to-air coverage on Saturday from 2pm to 5pm.
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