TCR World and life

16 AUSTRALIA SANDOWN – GIROLAMI MAKES THE HAT TRICK Brown then headed for the series’ penultimate event at Sandown with a 116-point lead over Dylan O’Keefe, with Tony D’Alberto in third place, a further 29 points adrift. Argentine WTCR star Girolami was entered as a guest driver in a Wall Racing Honda Civic and dominated both Free Practice and Qualifying sessions to start Race 1 from pole. Girolami duly delivered victory in Race 1 but Brown finished in second place, just over two seconds behind. The Honda driver was again victorious in Race 2, but despite only finishing seventh, Brown was able to keep O’Keefe, his closest rival, behind him and so only needed to repeat that performance in the weekend’s final race to clinch the title. The third race, however, began badly for the Hyundai driver, who spun on the opening lap and dropped to the back of the field. That prompted a fight back that ended with Brown finishing eighth, but with O’Keefe only managing to finish eleventh, the result was enough for Brown to win the Drivers’ title with one event in hand. Girolami again took the race win, finishing ahead of Garth Tander’s Audi and the Honda of Tony D’Alberto, who inherited third place after André Heimgartner was penalised for overtaking under a yellow flag. There’s now a gap of around a month and a half before the final event of the year sees The Bend Motorsport Park hosting the series for the second time over the weekend of November 16th and 17th.