Hansford’s Luck Down in Darwin – A Tough Race
Ryan Hansford arrived in Darwin with a spring in his step after unlocking more speed in Perth with a change in the brand of front brake rotors.
Ryan won race 1 and was brilliant under brakes.
He felt confident coming to Hidden Valley with 3 of the passing spots under brakes.
Practice started as it did in Perth when Ryan was the fastest.
Hidden Valley would be tougher to win as it has a 1.1km long straight, like so many of the tracks we visit, it gives the 6-litre TCM cars a slight advantage.
Qualifying was next up and with all the cars putting on new Hoosier tyres, Ryan was confident. It was one of the closest ever TCM qualifying with Steve Johnson, Joel Heinrich and Ryan all recording 1.12.5’s.
Stevie J secured the pole, Joel second, and Ryan third with .049 of a second separating the 3 cars.
Race 1 was a great battle at the front with Ryan finishing 3rd, but was later demoted to 8th with a time penalty for missing the safety boards and flags coming onto the straight. The race was early in the day, with the drivers looking into the sun when they came onto the main straight. Ryan was tucked right up behind Joel Heinrich, so when Joel lifted off the throttle suddenly, Ryan jinked left and went past him. He quickly saw the next yellow flags and got back behind Joel, but passing under yellow flags and safety boards is a big no-no, so Ryan accepted the penalty without a fight.
Starting 8th in race 2, it didn’t take long for Ryan to be passing cars. He was up to 3rd by mid-race and did the fastest lap time of all the cars in race 2. He had Steve Johnson in his sights and after testing how late he could go under brakes at the end of the straight had a dive. Steve slightly closed the door, and it was a fraction later for Ryan so he climbed the inside kerb to try and avoid Steve, but lost the rear end, tapped Steve, and had a spin. He quickly recovered and finished 6th.
“I had been working on how late I could brake at the end of the straight all weekend. The lap before I went to the maximum and closed right up on Steve. I was confident the move was on the next lap, but I may have missed my brake mark by 1 or 2 meters on the following lap.” Said Ryan after the race.
“After the race, I apologised to Steve. I certainly don’t like car contact but TCM is so competitive you have to have a crack sometimes if you want to win races,” added Ryan
Starting race 3 further down in the pack, Ryan also had contact passing a slower car, and had another spin and finished 8th. This meant Ryan finished 7th overall for the weekend.
Enjoy watching Ryan come from 8th in race 2 until he spins after trying to pass Steve Johnson.
Round 4 is at Sydney Motorsport Park on July 19,20 & 21. TCM did not compete at SMP last year but in 2022, Ryan had two 2nd places and a third, whilst in 2021 he had two wins and a 2nd. Whilst SMP has a long straight, the rest of the track is constantly turning and is very hard on tyres, so this is Ryan’s best chance to get some points back in the championship.
All three races will be telecast live on Foxsports and Kayo.
2024 TCM Calendar
| Bathurst 500 ( Feb 23/25 ) Fox TV / Kayo all races plus 1 FTA TV.Perth ( May 17/19 ) Fox TV / Kayo all racesDarwin ( June 14/16 ) Fox TV / Kayo 2 x FTA TV |
Sydney SMSP ( July 19/21 ) Fox TV / Kayo Sandown ( Sept 20/22 ) Fox TV / KayoRd 6 TBA |
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