Dutch GT racer Rik Breukers will compete in the first round of the TCR Australia series later this month, racing an Audi RS3 LMS for Melbourne Performance Centre at Sydney Motorsport Park.
Breukers, 20, is a regular driver in the Blancpain Endurance GT Championship with Audi customer team WRT, and he will make his first TCR race start in almost two years in Australia.
The Dutch racer previously took part in the TCR Germany round at Zandvoort in 2017, and has since focussed on GT racing, having recently won the Dubai 24 Hours and being a two-time class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona.
He also made a guest appearance in the season finale of the 2017 TCR Benelux series at the TT Circuit Assen.
Breukers’ deal to race in TCR Australia was brokered by Ryan McLeod, the owner of MARC Cars Australia.
“I’m really looking forward to my first race in Australia,” said Breukers. “It will be my first visit to the country and I’m very grateful and happy with the deal to compete with Melbourne Performance Centre in the Audi RS 3 TCR car.
“I want to thank Ryan McLeod and everyone involved who put it together. We will do our best to get a good result and to represent Audi in the best way possible.”
Troy Russell, the Managing Director of Melbourne Performance Centre, says that the deal is only for the first round, but did not rule out an extension for further events.
“He has driven a lot of cars in some big races all around the world so it is a privilege to have Rik for the first round of TCR Australia,” said Russell.
“At this stage, the deal we have is just for the opening round, but we’ll see what happens after that.
“For us, it’s good to have an European driver in there, someone with international TCR experience. He will be a good benchmark for the entire field.
“Naturally, he won’t be at Winton for the pre-season test, however, with the level of international TCR experience, it will not be a problem. The only real thing Rik will need to learn is the Sydney track layout.”