Richards to make TCR debut at Winton

Richards, the son of Steve and grandson of Jim, will line up in a 14-car field for the third round of the 2023 TCR Australia season.

The Toyota 86 regular will drive a Shannons-backed Audi run by Melbourne Performance Centre for his TCR debut.

“This is a great opportunity for me to taste TCR racing for the first time,” said Richards.

“It’s a whole new experience for me with front-wheel-drive race cars, racing against lots of drivers with plenty of experience in the category and with these cars.

“My aims for the weekend are simple – to be consistent, continue learning every time I go on the track and clock up plenty of laps across the event.

“Naturally, I’m hoping this weekend is something we can build upon for the future.”

Garry Rogers Motorsport Peugeot driver Jordan Cox, meanwhile, is hoping to use the Winton weekend to run down series leader, Hyundai's Bailey Sweeny.

Cox currently sits second in the standings, just ahead of GRM teammate Aaron Cameron.

“I have got full trust in the GRM crew with what they do – there are four drivers in GRM and we have all got our own unique driving styles but we work very well together to go down a path then put our own personal touches on things,” Cox said.

“I’m pretty confident moving forward, the boys have had some good tests and we have seemed to have made a great gain.

“I am here to win the series, I’m not here just to make up the numbers. I haven’t had the race wins I’ve wanted but I’ve been up there a lot of the time.”

Will Brown is a notable absentee from the entry list, the Audi driver currently on a trip to the United States with his Erebus Supercars squad.

Entry list – TCR Australia Winton

#	SPONSOR	DRIVER	STATE	VEHICLE	MODEL	CC	COLOUR
1	Honda Wall Racing	Tony D'Alberto	VIC	Honda	Civic FK7 TCR	1998	Red/White
4	Shannons Insurance MPC	Clay Richards	VIC	Audi	RS3 LMS SEQ	1984	Green/White
14	Purple Sector	Lachlan Mineeff	NSW	Audi	RS3 LMS SEQ	1998	Orange
15	Carl Cox Motorspport	Michael Clemente	VIC	Cupra	Leon Competicion TCR	1998	Black/Red
18	Team Valvoline GRM	Aaron Cameron	VIC	Peugeot	308 TCR	1600	Red
22	Challenge Motorsport	Iain McDougall	VIC	Auid	RS3 LMS SEQ	1984	Red/Silver/Black
30	HMO Customer Racing	Josh Buchan	NSW	Hyundai	i30N Sedan	1999	Blue/Orange
33	Schaeffler GRM	Jordan Cox	NSW	Peugeot	308 TCR	1600	Green/White
41	Valvoline Racing GRM	Kody Garland	NSW	Peugeot	308 TCR	1800	Red
71	Burson Auto Parts Racing	Ben Bargwanna	VIC	Peugeot	308 TCR	1600	Blue/Red/White
74	Exclusive Switchboards / Wall Racing	Brad Harris	NSW	Honda	Civic FK7 TCR	1998	Aquamarine
110	Team Soutar Motorsport	Zac Soutar	VIC	Audi	RS3 LMS TCR	1998	Black/Yellow
115	Autoglym / Ashley Seward Motorsport	Tom Oliphant	NSW	Lynk & Co	CO 03 TCR	1750	White/Red/Green
130	HMO Customer Racing	Bailey Sweeny	NSW	Hyundai	i30N TCR	1999	Blue/Orange