Melbourne Performance Centre will bring the new Audi RS3 LMS TCR to the TCR Australia series in 2022, after ordering one of the first customer cars available from Audi Sport.
The car, built in Audi Sport’s Martorell factory in Spain, is an evolution of the model which is currently leading the TCR Australia standings at the hands of Chaz Mostert.
Melbourne Performance Centre co-owner Troy Russell has already described the new car as ‘probably the best TCR car’ to have ever been built.
“A new car is always good to have,” said Russell. “From what we have seen in the images and information provided by Audi Sport, the new RS3 is an extremely good car. It’s probably the best TCR car that has ever been built.
“This one is really an evolution of the older model, which still remains competitive as proven by Chaz and Luke [King] this year.
“With the way that the TCR balance of performance works, it’s not going to be allowed to race off into the distance. But what we do know is that the car is going to be very competitive straight out of the box.
“We are excited for it to land here in Australia and really looking forward to getting our hands on it.”
Russell added that they have already received interest from several drivers about getting behind the wheel of the new model, with the possibility of adding a second new-gen car.
“We have quite a few parties interested in driving the new car,” said Russell. “We’ll definitely have one on track, and if some things work our way, we might have two as well.
“It will be a matter of seeing how the next month or so plays out. The great thing is that despite the pause that we’re all facing, interest in TCR remains very strong in the market.”
Head of Audi Sport customer racing, Chris Reinke, says that the manufacturer has reserved cars for different regions around the world to ensure a fair global distribution.
“We have seen great, great interest from all national importers of Audi Sport’s to try to get a car early on, which is also very positive for us that they are all behind it,” said Reinke.
“There’s excitement for TCR, which is happening in Australia, similarly in the US and Canada, in Japan, China, so we have reserved cars for each region.
“We can’t wait to deliver the first cars by the end of the year. We delivered in the first 10 months more than 100 cars when we bought the first RS3 LMS TCR onto the market and I think the Gen II car has the genes to live up to this very success.”