Russell Ingall will join the TCR Australia grid at The Bend Motorsport Park this weekend, with the former Supercars race winner driving an Audi RS3 LMS for Melbourne Performance Centre.
Ingall will take over the car which was previously raced by Rik Breukers and Hamish Ribarits in the first two rounds of the season.
The 55-year-old has never previously raced a TCR car and will get his first taste of thecar at Mallala Motorsport Park on Thursday.
Ingall lifted the Supercars title in 2005 and finished as runner-up in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004, continuing racing in Australia’s top series until 2016 before retiring from the category.
The third meeting of the inaugural TCR Australia series takes place at The Bend Motorsport Park this weekend.
“I’ve spoken about TCR a lot, so it’s great to finally get to a chance to see exactly what all the hype is about,” said Ingall.
“Paul Morris and I have been discussing TCR for quite some time on our online show. ‘The Dude’ [Morris] was at the last round at Phillip Island, and he was very complimentary. He believed that it was more exciting live than on TV.
“His recommendation really gave me the drive to get into a car and see what it’s really about.
“I thought my first experience would be on the sidelines, but I’m throwing myself into the deep end a bit. I’ve never sat in one of the cars, and I’ve never raced at The Bend, but I guess its no different to other new categories our tracks that that I’ve been doing all through my career.
“For me, it’s a new track and I need to learn the car – you don’t get much more challenging circumstances, but sometimes having no pre conceived ideas that can be better.”
“I haven’t raced competitively since the end of last year, but it’s funny how quickly you get back into race mode.
“I’ve been watching videos of TCR from here and overseas, and it is really some of the best racing. It’s phenomenal how good the racing looks and how close the competition is, so it’s great to be part of it.”