Tom Oliphant has been left hugely frustrated after seeing race-winning pace go cruelly unrewarded in a rollercoaster weekend of Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series action at Queensland Raceway this past weekend (02-04 August).
After missing the Queensland round last year to celebrate his wedding in the UK, Oliphant would be competing at the Ipswich-based circuit for the first time in his Hyundai i30 N TCR prepared by reigning TCR Australia champions HMO Customer Racing.
Oliphant, who made history as the first ever full-time international driver in the championship, was quickly up to speed around the 1.94-mile circuit in Friday’s official free practice sessions, with competitive pace on both short and long runs filling him with confidence heading into the weekend.
The 33-year-old talent converted that potential into a fantastic performance in qualifying the next day, trading times with former champion Tony D’Alberto through the session before emerging with a memorable first-ever pole position of his touring car career.
Unfortunately, Oliphant wouldn’t be able to line up at the front for race one though, as he had received a five-place grid penalty for the race after having a new engine fitted to his Hyundai ahead of the event, with the previous motor having been damaged last time out at The Bend.
In his landmark 150th race in touring car competition across the BTCC and TCR Australia, Oliphant immediately gained a position off the start. Further progress was going to be difficult though, with the circuit being notoriously tough to overtake around.
After consistent pressure on Brad Harris over the first half of the race, Oliphant made a move stick for fourth place and set about chasing down Zac Soutar in third. Lapping as one of the fastest cars on track, he caught onto the tail of the Audi driver but was left to settle for fourth at the finish.
Lining up seventh on the reverse grid for race two, the 33-year-old racer lost some ground through a bruising opening lap. As he looked to make progress back up the order, a mistake under braking for Ben Bargwanna into turn three opened the door for Oliphant to dive down the inside.
Giving clear racing room as three cars ran side-by-side through the corner, there was negligible contact on the exit as Oliphant completed an impressive double move. He went on to gain another place at the end of the lap, despite a tag to the rear almost sending him sideways on the main straight.
Soutar was Oliphant’s next target and after pushing him hard for a number of laps, he forced the championship leader into a mistake at turn two to grab sixth. He quickly caught on to the tail of Brad Harris and was looking to make a move for fifth when his race was tarnished by race control.
Strangely deemed at fault for the early incident, he was awarded an unprecedented in-race drive through penalty. The time lost in the pitlane ended his chances of a strong race result, with the fastest lap of the race being his only reward for a great race performance.
Shaking off the immediate frustration of the penalty and judicial process, Oliphant was determined to end the weekend on a high in the final race. Emerging from a frenetic opening lap in seventh, he quickly picked off race-two winner Ryan Casha into turn three to move into the top six.
Once again lapping as the fastest car on circuit, the two-time TCR Australia race-winner continued his superb march up the order with impressive overtakes on Peugeot duo Jordan Cox and Aaron Cameron to sign off his Queensland weekend with a fourth-place result.
Tom Oliphant: “Starting with the positives, we had the fastest car throughout and it was one of my best weekends in TCR Australia so far. To pick up the pole position and two fastest laps proved our pace and is testament to the continued efforts of HMO Customer Racing to unlock the best of the car.
“In the races, whenever I got into clean air I was immediately catching those ahead and gapping those behind. Heading into the event everyone told me how difficult Queensland was to overtake around, so I’m proud to have shown my skills and made more moves than anyone else over the races.
“Sadly for all that great pace, it’s infuriating to come away from the weekend with no silverware to show for it due to an over-zealous drive-through penalty. Without it, I’d have been starting second on the grid for race three and it’s clear a potential podium or win was there for the taking.
“I’m firm in my belief that it was a fair touring car move in race two, but they made the strange decision to penalise me in-race and then no-one had the respect to give their reasoning for it. The stewards and driving standards advisor refused to see me, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
“We’ve got a break now until the next round, so there’s time to try and get some answers, then let the dust settle and go again at Sydney. This was a breakthrough weekend for me in terms of being the fastest car on track throughout and I want to carry that on into the final two rounds of the season.”
There’s now a lengthy 11-week break until the penultimate round of the 2024 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series season takes place at Sydney Motorsport Park on 18-20 October.
Image from HMO Customer Racing.
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