Honda Wall Racing’s Tony D’Alberto won a calm opening TCR Australia race at the Queensland Raceway, scoring a lights-to-flag victory ahead of GRM’s Aaron Cameron.
2022 champion D’Alberto had started from pole after inheriting the position when Tom Oliphant, fastest in the day’s earlier qualifying session, had an engine change grid penalty applied, which dropped him to sixth in the starting order.
When the lights went out, D’Alberto held the lead, as behind him Cameron made a great start in his Peugeot and launched from fourth into second.
Tufflift Racing’s Zac Soutar had started alongside D’Alberto on the front row, but the Audi driver slipped to third at the start, and trailed Cameron at distance throughout.
At the front, Cameron kept D’Alberto honest, consistently within a second of the leading Honda, but was ultimately unable to find a way through and had to settle for second, eight tenths adrift, as D’Alberto scored his second win of the season.
Soutar completed the podium, just under five seconds back, whilst HMO Customer Racing’s Oliphant brought his Hyundai home in fourth having overtaken Brad Harris for the position on lap 11 at Turn 3.
Harris was thus fifth in the second of the newer Honda Civics, ahead of the HMO Hyundai Elantra of reigning champion Josh Buchan in sixth, who had a quiet race after gaining just one place at the start.
That gain for Buchan came about because Ashley Seward Motorsport’s Dylan O’Keeffe failed to get away from the line, his Lynk & Co stalled and out of the race as soon as the lights went out.
Ben Bargwanna brought his Peugeot home in seventh, like Buchan only gaining through O’Keeffe’s misfortune at the start, with the top ten completed by GRM’s Jordan Cox, Wall Racing’s Brad Harris and GRM’s Ryan Casha.
Casha had been running in ninth, but on lap ten had an issue under brakes which saw him go off and lightly clip Cox, his excursion through the gravel allowing Harris to take the position.
Tenth nonetheless gives Casha the reverse-grid pole for Sunday’s second race, with Harris alongside.
Tufflift Racing’s Glenn Nirwan and 99motorsport’s rookie Ben Stewart completed the classified finishers.
Races two and three take place on Sunday at 13:45 local time (03:45 CEST / 04:45 BST) and 16:15 local time (06:15 CEST / 07:15 BST) respectively.
Race result
| POS | NO | CL | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 2 |  |
Tony D’ALBERTO | Honda Wall Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 21 | 29:52.6921 | 1:14.637 | 1 | |
| 2 | 18 | |
Aaron CAMERON | Team Valvoline GRM | Peugeot 308 TCR | 21 | 0.813 | 1:14.625 | 4 | |
| 3 | 110 | |
Zac SOUTAR | Tufflift Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 21 | 4.857 | 1:14.635 | 2 | |
| 4 | 15 |  |
Tom OLIPHANT | HMO Customer Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 21 | 5.293 | 1:14.711 | 6 | |
| 5 | 74 | |
Brad HARRIS | Exclusive Switchboards | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 21 | 9.765 | 1:14.876 | 3 | |
| 6 | 1 | |
Josh BUCHAN | HMO Customer Racing | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 21 | 10.233 | 1:14.879 | 7 | |
| 7 | 71 | |
Ben BARGWANNA | Hangcha Racing | Peugeot 308 TCR | 21 | 11.253 | 1:14.892 | 8 | |
| 8 | 33 | |
Jordan COX | Schaeffler GRM | Peugeot 308 TCR | 21 | 15.458 | 1:15.022 | 13 | |
| 9 | 76 | |
Will HARRIS | Exclusive Switchboards | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 21 | 23.144 | 1:15.329 | 10 | |
| 10 | 79 | |
Ryan CASHA | Team Valvoline GRM | Peugeot 308 TCR | 21 | 23.430 | 1:14.934 | 9 | |
| 11 | 29 |  |
Glenn NIRWAN | Tufflift Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 21 | 33.967 | 1:15.321 | 11 | |
| 12 | 99 |  |
Ben STEWART | 99motorsport / Flamingro | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 21 | 34.225 | 1:15.585 | 12 | |
| R | 11 | |
Dylan O’KEEFFE | Autoglym / Ashley Seward Motorsport | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 1 | DNF | 6:00.545 | 5 |