Mikel Azcona blames “steering issue” for bizarre Race 3 crash

Mikel Azcona crashed out from the final TCR World Tour race of the weekend at Bathurst after hitting the wall at Forrest’s Elbow at low speed during safety car conditions.

The BRC Hyundai driver was placed tenth when the “safety car in this lap” had been announced when he clouted the wall, destroying the front-right suspension of his Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

The onboard replay showed nothing out of the ordinary before the incident, rather that the Spaniard almost seemed turned into the wall.

The incident meant that there was no restart, with team-mate Norbert Michelisz finishing fifth after having Honda driver Néstor Girolami hot on his heels before the safety car period.

“This weekend has been difficult. I’ve been in good positions to earn a lot of points this weekend even with the maximum compensation weight, but luck was not on my side,” said Azcona.

“Getting a puncture in Race 1 and then a steering issue caused me to finish Race 3 in the wall. We saw the potential, and we had the pace with the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, especially in Race 2 starting from the back and recovering well through the field. It’s been a dream come true to race at Mount Panorama though, and the competition has been super tough, but I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Azcona is placed fourth overall while Michelisz is third, just one point from joint championship leaders Yann Ehrlacher and Rob Huff.