Will Brown will join HMO Racing to drive a Hyundai i30 N TCR alongside former Super2 Series team-mate Nathan Morcom in the inaugural TCR Australia series in 2019.
Brown, 21, is a well-decorated young racer, having won two national circuit racing titles in Australia in the same season, after clinching the Australian Formula 4 Championship and the Australian Toyota 86 Series in 2016.
He will dovetail his campaign in TCR Australia by continuing in the Super2 Series, as well as competing in the Supercars Championship Endurance Cup alongside Anton De Pasquale.
The recipient of the 2017 Peter Brock Medal will get his first taste of the Hyundai at a test at Winton Motor Speedway on May 6.
“Personally, I’m stoked to be on board with the HMO Customer Racing Team for 2019,” said Brown. “I’ve been in discussion with Barry Morcom [Team Owner] for a little while now, so it’s great to finally get the deal over the line.
“It’s a great opportunity for me, the cars look really cool and the HMO Customer Team are all great people, so it was a bit of no brainer in the end.
“It’s exciting to see a lot of cars on the grid for the inaugural series. There seems to be a lot of people interested in the category at the moment, which adds good hype rolling into Round 1.
“I’m definitely looking forward to driving the Hyundai in this year’s series, the car looks pretty competitive overseas so it should be pretty capable of fighting up the front.”
Brown is aiming to challenge for the overall title in his first year, joining a grid where most of the drivers also have little to no experience of front-wheel drive TCR machinery.
“The ultimate goal would be to win the series. I’ve done a lot of production car racing like TCR so I’m confident I’ve got what it takes to run up the top end of the field.
“I’m pretty pumped for the first Round at Sydney Motorsport Park. I’ve done a lot of racing there, plus it’s a great track so I’m looking forward to rolling out there in a few weeks’ time.
“I think it will be a great first event. There’ll be plenty of opportunities for passing around the track and with the subtle size of the cars, it’ll make for super competitive racing down the straight.
“We’ll be looking for a top three finish at Sydney, but obviously there’s work to be done between now and then to get us in that position.”