Buchan storms to Phillip Island TCR pole

Hyundai driver Josh Buchan has seized pole position for Round 2 of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series at Phillip Island by three tenths of a second.

Buchan is set to share the front row with Zac Soutar (Audi RS 3 LMS), with Row 2 comprised of 2022 series winner Tony D’Alberto (Honda Civic Type R) and current series leader Bailey Sweeny (Hyundai i30 N).

Tom Oliphant was quickest after the first flyers of Qualifying 2 with a 1:38.2193s in his new Lynk & Co 03, before Buchan moved to marker to a 1:37.0484s in the #30 i30 N Sedan.

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The HMO Customer Racing driver backed that up with a 1:36.7976s on his third flyer, after which he opted to pit with just over a minute remaining in the 10-minute stanza.

Soutar clocked a 1:37.1273s moments later before D’Alberto improved his time but not his position in setting a 1:37.1585s.

Sweeny ended up fourth-fastest, from Ben Bargwanna (Peugeot 308), Oliphant, and Will Brown in seventh.

The latter was pushing for a faster lap when he ran off into the infield at Miller Corner (Turn 4), then stopped in the run-off area and ultimately drove directly to the paddock with his Audi’s steering wheel reportedly 90 degrees off-centre.

Rounding out the top 10 were Aaron Cameron (Peugeot), Lachlan Mineeff (Audi RS 3 LMS), and Michael Clemente (Cupra Leon Competicion).

Earlier, in Qualifying 1, Jordan Cox (Peugeot) was the very slowest driver and hence failed to make the top 10 cut-off.

He sat 13th in the 13-car field when the chequered flag came out on the shortened, 10-minute hit-out before running wide at Doohan Corner and hitting gravel left on the track at Southern Loop which caused him to spray completely off and into the outfield.

Just ahead of him on the grid, Kody Garland (Peugeot) and Bradley Harris (Civic) will share Row 6 for the start of the 16-lap opening race this afternoon from 16:15 local time/AEST.

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Results: Qualifying 2

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	30	HMO Customer Racing	Josh Buchan	Hyundai i30N Sedan	1:36.7976
2	110	Team Soutar Motorsport	Zac Soutar	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	1:37.1273	0:00.3297
3	1	Honda Wall Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Honda Civic FK7 TCR	1:37.1585	0:00.3609
4	130	HMO Customer Racing	Bailey Sweeny	Hyundai i30N TCR	1:37.2383	0:00.4407
5	71	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Ben Bargwanna	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:37.2692	0:00.4716
6	115	Ashley Seward Motorsport	Tom Oliphant	LYNK & CO	1:37.3886	0:00.5910
7	9	MPC Team LIQUI MOLY	William Brown	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	1:37.5191	0:00.7215
8	18	Team Valvoline GRM	Aaron Cameron	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:37.6805	0:00.8829
9	14	Forza Brakes Motorsport	Lachlan Mineeff	Audi RS3 LMS SEQ	1:37.7776	0:00.9800
10	15	Michael Clemente Motorsport	Michael Clemente	Cupra Leon TCR	1:37.8252	0:01.0276

Results: Qualifying 1

Pos	Num	Team/Sponsor	Driver	Car	Fastest lap	Split
1	30	HMO Customer Racing	Josh Buchan	Hyundai i30N Sedan	1:37.2121
2	115	Ashley Seward Motorsport	Tom Oliphant	LYNK & CO	1:37.2368	0:00.0247
3	1	Honda Wall Racing	Tony D’Alberto	Honda Civic FK7 TCR	1:37.2651	0:00.0530
4	130	HMO Customer Racing	Bailey Sweeny	Hyundai i30N TCR	1:37.3930	0:00.1809
5	110	Team Soutar Motorsport	Zac Soutar	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	1:37.4427	0:00.2306
6	9	MPC Team LIQUI MOLY	William Brown	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	1:37.5251	0:00.3130
7	14	Forza Brakes Motorsport	Lachlan Mineeff	Audi RS3 LMS SEQ	1:37.7455	0:00.5334
8	18	Team Valvoline GRM	Aaron Cameron	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:37.8013	0:00.5892
9	71	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Ben Bargwanna	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:37.8998	0:00.6877
10	15	Michael Clemente Motorsport	Michael Clemente	Cupra Leon TCR	1:38.0594	0:00.8473
11	41	Valvoline Racing GRM	Kody Garland	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:38.3157	0:01.1036
12	74	Exclusive Switchboards	Brad Harris	Honda Civic FK7 TCR	1:38.3487	0:01.1366
13	33	Schaeffler GRM	Jordan Cox	Peugeot 308 TCR	1:38.8023	0:01.5902