A three-car Audi RS3 assault has been announced for next year's inaugural TCR New Zealand Series.
Cromwell-based team Track Tec Racing signs on with the series with three brand new RS3s (one of which is already in the country) having linked up with the Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC).
“It is very exciting to add to the TCR Series cars to our racing program for 2019 and beyond,” said Track Tec Racing team manager Matt Waters. “We have watched the development of the category around the world, and once the TCR series was announced for New Zealand it was the logical option for our team.
“The Audi TCR cars a proven product worldwide, and the support from MPC is second to none, so we feel that we are in a great place to kick start our TCR journey.”
Waters will run the squad alongside Carmen Doran. The pair have a lengthy history in motorsport.
Born in the UK, Waters' is a former Caterham Formula 1 and Arden International Motorsport technician, and has run cars for A.J Foyt Enterprises in the IndyCar Series. Closer to (his new-found) home, he has been involved in the Castrol Toyota Racing Series as a car builder for the category as well as being a chief mechanic for front-running team M2 Competition.
Doran meanwhile is a mechanical engineer who also carries affiliations with TRS. Formerly based in Europe and Asia, she also has experience behind the wheel of karts and formula cars.
Track Tec Racing are one of two domestic TCR New Zealand teams based at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell; the other being Hayden Paddon's new Paddon Rallysport operation.
Drivers for the trio of Audis (as well as Paddon's Hyundai i30 N) are yet to be confirmed.
The TCR New Zealand Series calendar kicks off at Highlands Motorsport Park next January, where it will mimic the five-week TRS calendar (visiting Invercargill, Hampton Downs, Feilding, and a fifth unconfirmed circuit on sequential weekends).
A four-round endurance series will then follow, expected to kick off in April.