Buchan ready for TCR battle

After last year Josh Buchan knows first hand how hard it is to win the TCR Australia title, which is why he believes “nothing is certain” at Bathurst this weekend.

After Zac Soutar’s Sydney misfortunate and Buchan shinning, the HMO Customer Racing driver enjoys a 36-point lead entering this weekend’s finale.

But as last year’s finale Bathurst proved, there is easy way to secure the crown.

Buchan’s teammate Bailey Sweeny entered last year’s final round as the championship favourite, but things spiralled from bad to worse due to turbo charger issues.

But Buchan seized on the opportunity created by the sister HMP Hyundai and snatched the title by 48 points over Tony D’Alberto, while Sweeny and Aaron Cameron dropped out of the top two due to late misfortune.

With all this experience under his belt, Buchan knows how challenging it will be to be the first ever to go back to back in TCR Australia.

“I’ve been very fortunate to be a championship contender going into a last round title decider, so that doesn’t feel foreign to me which is a positive in terms of dealing with the pressure,” he said. 

“The feelings are pretty similar but, in reality, there is nothing more I can do than just go out there and do my best, hit apexes, maximise the speed we have in the Hyundai i30 Sedan N TCR, and the points will take care of themselves. In any case, it’s always exciting to have the championship decided at Bathurst.

“I’m under no illusions that although we have the points lead, nothing’s certain until the last lap of the last race.

“So, I’m going to go out there and do the best I can. If I look at the title picture, I won’t be looking at the road ahead. 

“My full focus is on trying to get the best results possible rather than just points.

“The potential to become the first driver to secure two TCR Australia Championships has been a great motivation for me since the start of the year. 

“At the same time, I’m not looking at defending a title, I’m looking to go out and win one. 

“Whether it’s the first, second or fifth title, it doesn’t really matter: it’s the championship this year, and that’s what I’m focused on.”

The TCR Australia title will go on the line across three races at Bathurst this weekend.

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