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TOM TWEEDIE in action at the Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix. Photo: carreracup.com.au
IT IS SAFE TO SAY that Tom Tweedie’s debut in the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia Championship hasn’t gone quite to plan.
The Sydneysider – making the switch to the one-make Porsche series after a challenging, learning year in the V8 Supercar’s development series – sits 10th in the championship standings after a challenging pair of rounds to kick off the season.
But he’s not worried.
A solid Porsche debut on the streets of Adelaide at the Clipsal 500 were an early-season confidence boost – despite backing up two weeks later with a challenging round at the Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Tweedie took his matt-black Team BRM Porsche 997 GT3 Cup Car to ninth in qualifying in Adelaide, but worked his way forward in the competitive pack to register finishes of fifth, fifth and sixth in the three races, respectively – and sit fourth in the championship.
At the Grand Prix Tweedie was hit by another competitor on the opening lap of the first race, causing damage to the front of the car that – three corners later – resulted in hefty contact with an unforgiving concrete barrier.
A late-night effort from the Team BRM crew saw the car repaired for the second race, however a clutch failure on the opening lap gave no reward to their efforts – forcing Tom out of the race.
A recovery drive in Sunday’s third and final race saw Tweedie finish 10th after starting from the back of the 20-car field, showing some of the potential on offer despite the early dramas seen in Melbourne.
“After Clipsal we felt like we were on the right track,” Tweedie said.
“We still needed to find some speed in qualifying but our consistency was pretty good and we were able to get a few really solid top five results to kick off the season, which was good.
“It all came a bit unstuck at the Grand Prix when we were hit in the first race and the damage caused put me in the wall a few corners later. That put us on the back foot all weekend and cost us the potential of some more really solid finishes.
“We showed in the final race that the car has good pace and we could have been fighting somewhere up towards the pointy end of the top ten.”
Tweedie says the positives, however, outweigh the negatives – the Porsche ‘experience’ proving to be an enjoyable one so far.
“The cars are great to drive and Team BRM have been fantastic to work with, we can’t say enough about their efforts in getting this all moving along,” he said.
“Now I have a couple of races under my belt I have a better understanding of how to drive the cars and what we can do throughout the remaining six rounds to be competitive and knock over some good finishes.
“It’s a very competitive championship and the top eight drivers are as good as any other series in Australia, so it’s a great challenge for me and because of that I can’t wait to get to Perth and get stuck in once again.”
The next round of the Porsche City Index Carrera Cup Australia Championship will be held as part of the V8 Supercars’ annual trip to the ‘wild west’ – Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway, on May 4-6.
Tom Tweedie would like to thank the ongoing support of Elf Fuels, Team Tom Supporters Club members and all the partners who continue to support Tom’s racing career.
For more information about Tom head to www.tomtweedie.com or search for 'Team Tom - Tom Tweedie Motorsport' on Facebook.
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