Cruel dose of bad luck blows title wide open

Bailey Sweeny has lost the lead of the TCR Australia Series with one race to go, gifting the points lead to his teammate Josh Buchan.

The HMO Customer Racing driver suffered a turbo hose pipe failure on lap one at Mount Panorama and plummeted down the pylon as a result.

The Hyundai i30 N driver ground to a half briefly before making his way back to the pit lane.

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The team tried desperately to remedy the issue but lost too much time and were not classified after completing eight of the 11-lap race distance.

Bailey Sweeny crests the top of Mount Panorama in his Hyundai i30 N.

Had Sweeny been classified in 21st, the margin would have been just one point in favour of his teammate. However, he now lags 19 points behind with one race to go.

Aaron Cameron sits 24 points behind after snagging the most points of the TCR Australia Series drivers.

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The class podium almost didn't come to fruition after copping a whack on the opening lap of the race.

"I was a bit of a pinball," Buchan told Stan Sport's Molly Taylor.

"It happened off the start. One of the Audis, me and him had a coming together and I think it's bent something in the rear. 

Hyundai i30 N driver Josh Buchan at Mount Panorama.

"I'm on the back foot and it was kind of like the domino effect. It wasn't so much me giving up any spots, it's just that when you're on the back foot it's so easy to fall down the order.

"I just thought, 'I need to let the dust settle here and recompose, get into a rhythm'. We did that and the car was good enough to get me there and we're here."

Race two of the weekend was a frantic affair from start to finish, led initially by Cameron who held out TCR World Tour rival Norbert Michelisz.

Come lap four, Michelisz made his move for the lead at The Chase. Cameron tried to fight back, but the Hungarian quickly skipped away.

The moment Bailey Sweeny lost TCR Australia Series points lead

There was more drama on lap six when dual Sydney race winner Will Brown slowed into turn one after suffering a driveshaft failure.

He wasn't the only Audi in trouble. RS 3 LMS driver Zac Soutar suffered a puncture at the top of The Mountain.

He ceded position to Tony D'Alberto at Reid Park before Jordan Cox put a pass on him around the outside at McPhillamy Park.

While Michelisz skipped away, Cameron was left to fend off third-placed Belgian Frederic Vervisch. However, the Australian was given a reprieve when some gamesmanship came into play.

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Vervisch fell back into the clutches of Cyan Racing's Thed Bjork and then let his Comtoyou Racing teammate Rob Huff pass to aid his TCR World Tour hopes.

Ultimately, Michelisz held onto the lead by 2.4 seconds over Cameron. Bjork completed the podium in third and 3.9 seconds in arrears.

Tony D'Alberto was ninth overall and second best of the TCR Australia Series while Buchan was 11 overall and third in the local standings.

Buchan said he's not getting ahead of himself ahead of the final race, in which he could clinch the TCR Australia Series title.

"As long as I can finish somewhere around where I finished I think that's okay," said Buchan.

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"There's still a race to go, you can see how quickly it can turn. Not really thinking it's finished yet. There's certainly a lot of racing to come.

"As much as it benefits me, I genuinely do feel really bad for them. No one deserves unfortunate things like that. 

"Unfortunately, this is car racing and this sort of stuff can happen and does happen. Devastated for those guys."

Race three of the combined TCR World Tour and TCR Australia Series gets underway at 4.10pm AEDT with coverage live, ad-free, and exclusively on Stan Sport.

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