Dylan O’Keeffe and Ashley Seward Motorsport have revealed a striking, Italian-inspired livery on the Alfa Romeo Guilietta they will campaign in this weekend’s opening round of the TCR Australia Series at Sydney Motorsport Park.
The Alfa will sport the iconic green, white and red hues, symbolic of the Italian national flag and Alfa Romeo’s racing heritage, with National Make Good Solutions, Local Roadways and Lowbake confirmed as sponsors for Round 1.
O’Keeffe tested the Alfa last Monday at Winton Raceway, and said it demands a unique driving style.
“Compared to the Porsches and Supercar I’ve raced previously, the TCR car has three main differences,” O’Keeffe said.
“Firstly, it’s front-wheel-drive, which is the most obvious factor. It changes the way you balance the car on the throttle.
“Also, there’s no weight over the rear of the car, which means it takes time to get the rear tyres up to temperature – I think this will create some interesting moments in the early laps of races!
“The other big difference is the power delivery – the turbocharged engine isn’t as linear as a naturally aspirated car.
“It took me a couple of sessions to get used to at Winton, but by the end of the day I felt comfortable, and was doing some good times.”
O’Keeffe believes TCR has the potential to become a very successful part of the Australian motorsport landscape.
“The cars are relevant to what people are buying and driving on the road – everyone can relate to them,” he said.
“They’re also relatively affordable to run, they’re fun to drive, and they seem to be fairly easy to set up and work on.
“If the racing is good, I think a lot of people will want to watch.”
This weekend’s inaugural TCR Australia round will consist of three races, with Sunday’s two races to be shown live on SBS.
TCR Round 1 schedule
Friday, 17 May
1:40pm – Practice 1 (30 min)
4:35pm – Practice 2 (30 min)
Saturday, 18 May
10:55am – Qualifying (30 min)
2:10pm – Race 1 (30 min)
Sunday, 19 May
1:10pm – Race 2 (30 min)
2:15pm – Race 3 (30 min)
