News
Zac Soutar reveals long-term TCR Australia strategy
Supercheap Auto TCR Australia privateer Zac Soutar is confident of ending the season strongly as he reveals his long-term aims in the category.
Soutar and his family-run team were one of the first privateer operations to commit to the new touring car class locally in an ex-Wall Racing Honda Civic Type R TCR.
To keep updated with TCR Australia like us on Facebook and to view the latest images follow our Instagram.
In what has been a learning year for the Australian Formula Ford graduate, Soutar hopes a strong end to his maiden season will provide strong momentum towards his long-term Supercheap Auto TCR Australia plans.
“It might be a bit different for drivers that join an established team already because that way you’re jumping into a known quantity, but when you’re a privateer team like us I think you need to set yourself a two or three year plan to really get the most out of the program,” he explained.
“It takes time to learn and build what is being done on the set-up and with the driving as well.
“We haven’t got a technical alliance with anybody so it’s really us doing off our own backs and that’s why you need to give yourself time to keep learning, keep progressing, keep working hard and then by season two or three we can be right in the mix of where we want to be.”
A set-up realisation at Sydney Motorsport Park provides confidence for Soutar approaching the season’s conclusion.
“We were setting up for a car which had plenty of grip in the rear end and that’s what we were pushing towards, but you only realise that was the wrong direction when you race others,” Soutar said.
“Now that we’ve been racing the other guys, I can see that’s not the direction we need to head towards.
“It’s been a real learning exercise this year, but I think we’re starting to get the hang of it now, which is good.
“I’m hoping from now on we can have a base set-up and start playing with the finer details of the chassis set-up.
“Hopefully going forward we’ll be in the mix and continue learning, so going into next year we can hit the ground running to achieve my goal of finishing in the top 10.”