Luke King will return to the TCR Australia series this weekend at Bathurst, racing a Hyundai i30 N TCR which was previously driven by namesake Michael King in Sydney last year.
King was one of the main title contenders in 2021, his début season in TCR, as he put in a consistent run of form, ending the year joint third overall in the drivers’ championship standings.
Despite not claiming a win, King picked up two podium finishes – with a brace of seconds at Phillip Island – and was only outside the top ten on four occasions.
After missing the first two events of 2022, he will return to the series at Mount Panorama this weekend, racing the same DashSport Hyundai i30 N which Michael King campaigned at last year’s Sydney Motorsport Park event.
King, 32, will then contest the remainder of the 2022 season for the team, which acquired the car for the 2020 season but for various reasons has only got it on track in anger once thus far.
“I wish we had done some testing prior to Bathurst being that I’m coming in with a new car, but I’m super excited,” said King.
“To be honest I didn’t expect it. It’s a shame that I missed the first couple of rounds, but we’re back now and we’ve got plenty of work ahead of us for the rest of the season.
“I think Hyundai has always been a very competitive package. Obviously, Will Brown won the inaugural title in a Hyundai back in 2019. Last year, the brand took race wins and even at the start of this year it was quick.
“For us it was about getting the right deal that worked for our sponsors, our budget and everything that’s involved on that side.
“The story with Michael was I spoke to HMO Customer Racing to run its fourth chassis and Nathan Morcom suggested King as his car is almost new.
“I gave Michael a call and he was really open to it, plus really excited because he had been following us for the last few years. He was really pumped to do the deal and have the sponsors coming on that we’ve got.
“Everyone who is involved is excited.
“It’s going to be an exciting year for me. Although it’s disappointing not to be fighting for the series title, it’s a position I’m not used to, but I’m locked in for the five rounds remaining and for every one of those we’re going to be pushing as hard as we possibly can for a win.”
Michael King of DashSport is looking forward to working with his namesake this year.
“We are really excited to be involved with Luke going into Bathurst and beyond for the remainder of the 2022 Supercheap TCR Australia Series,” said Michael King.
“The way it’s all evolved from the initial conversation to today has been really good, and we have worked well together in a short amount of time.
“Luke’s debut season beside Chaz [Mostert] was a standout and I believe we have the team to help him take the next step this season.”