Last year’s TCR Australia ‘rookie of the year’ Bailey Sweeny has confirmed that he will remain with HMO Customer Racing for this year’s competition.
Sweeny, 19, was one of the standout drivers in the 2022 season, finishing on the podium in his début weekend and picking up two outright race victories on his way to fifth overall in the drivers’ standings.
Both of Sweeny’s victories last year came at Mount Panorama in Bathurst, where he also took a brace of second-place finishes at the challenging circuit, marking four podium visits out of a possible five at the venue.
He will once again race in a Hyundai i30 N TCR run by the HMO team.
“It’s good to be committed to the TCR Australia after a successful first year, I definitely wanted to be back in 2023,” said Sweeny.
“To be back in the category and at HMO Customer Racing is pretty cool. The title is the goal, last year was about learning everything from tracks to the car, I hadn’t been to most venues on the TCR calendar, but I think at each round I was getting more familiar with the Hyundai and my results progressed as the season continued.
“The i30 TCR is still a quick package as proven last year when set-up and driven well, it is a consistent frontrunner.
“My ultimate goal is to be racing TCR overseas, so to have the TCR World Tour come to Australia putting us on the big stage against the best teams and drivers is the best platform for me to do that.”