Iain McDougall will return to TCR Australia from the second round onwards this year, partnering with Melbourne Performance Centre once again to race an Audi RS3 LMS TCR.
McDougall made his début in TCR Australia at the 2019 season finale, impressively qualifying in tenth for his first race at the wheel of an Audi RS3 run by Melbourne Performance.
The Victorian driver finished in the points in all three races, his best result being tenth in race one.
Now, McDougall will return to the series after having had to put his plans to return in 2020 on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, racing the Audi which Christopher Mies drove in the 2021 season finale at Bathurst.
McDougall has perhaps more experience in front-wheel drive racing than some of his rivals, having won multiple Victorian under-two-litre sports sedan titles in a former MINI Challenge R56 racer.
“The opportunity now has come up,” said McDougall. “With everything sort of settled, we’ve got a good picture of what 2022 and onwards is going to look like, so there was a chance to step up and have a crack at it.
“Going from a 1.6-litre to a 2-Litre isn’t a massive jump, but the Audi TCR is a little bit faster, a little bit more grip, a little bit more power and a bit better at everything.”
McDougall explained that next month’s season opener at Symmons Plains is too soon for him to be ready, so he will return to the series at Phillip Island a month later in March instead.
“I really love the track and it’s a great place to be, anytime you get to run around there is a great day.
“Unfortunately, Tasmania was a little bit too early in the season to get everything organised with work and other things in place, so we’ll sit back and hit the ground running at Phillip Island.”
“There are a great mix of drivers of varying experience and a lot to learn from a lot of good people, but there are a lot of young guys finding their way.
“Our approach is that this is effectively a two-year plan, so the first season we’ll learn and take as much success as we can gather along the way. Year two we’ll have a good crack at it.
“In terms of the first season, we just want to build on where we got to at The Bend so if we can run inside the top ten that would be fantastic.”