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TCR Australia privateer Brad Shiels to fight for outright World Time Attack honours
Leading Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series privateer Brad Shiels will swap his regular Royal Purple Racing Hyundai i30 N TCR for the mighty Tilton Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX for this weekend’s World Time Attack Challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park this weekend.
Jumping between different variations of race car is not foreign to Shiels, who has previously raced GT Porsches, Radicals and a wild rotary-powered Fiat 124 Sports Sedan, but the Tilton Racing Evo is a known quantity.
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During the early run of the event, the Tilton Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX was dominant against some of the world’s best time attack machinery in the hands of Garth Walden and Shiels hopes to continue this history.
Shiels has history in the event and is the reigning Open Class victor, although he is placed in the Pro Class in 2022.
“When we left Phillip Island our focus turned to World Time Attack Challenge where I’ll be racing the Tilton Racing Mitsubishi Lancer Evo, which has won three times previous,” he explained.
Adapting to an aero-driven, mass powered beast is no problem for Shiels as he will share the driving duties with Royal Purple Racing’s Team Owner Kosta Pohorukov, who will compete in the Pro-Am Class.
“I’m always in something different so I don’t have a chance to get used to anything in particular,” he said. “It helps driving a lot of different cars because you don’t pick up any bad habits.
“It forces you to adapt all the time.”
Next on his Supercheap Auto TCR Australia schedule is Bathurst where Shiels proved the best Hyundai at both events at the Mountain last year.
This might be due to some local knowledge having come from the area, but Shiels puts it down to the circuit suiting his fully committed driving style.
“I’m looking forward to Bathurst,” Shiels professed.
“For some reason we’ve gone good there the last two times and I’ve good experience there. With that track, it rewards a bit of bravery and a lot of other tracks no matter how hard you try it doesn’t pay off, but at Bathurst it seems to.
“We’ve made the Hyundai a lot better since last year, the shock change has really transformed the car completely so we’ve got a bit more speed now, but everyone else has found the same thing.
It’s crazy, you make a big gain and think you’re going to go well, but everyone else has done the same thing, which is pretty hard.
“I’ve got a good feeling about Bathurst. I think we know what to do with the car now so I’m hopeful we’re on the money there.”
There will be further Supercheap Auto TCR Australia interest at World Time Attack, with HMO Customer Racing’s Nathan Morcom competing in the Open Class driving the Gas/Royal Purple/Insight Motorsport Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII.
More than 70-entries have been received for this year’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour in what is the ultimate production car event, which is joined by the third round of the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia and Turtle Wax Trans Am Series, the MRF Tyres Australian Pulsar Racing Association, NSW Historic Touring Cars and NSW HQ Holdens.
All of the action will be live, ad-break free and on demand exclusively on Stan Sport in Australia.
CLICK HERE to secure your tickets to the Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour.