Lee Holdsworth confirmed in Alfa Romeo for 2021 TCR Australia Series

Lee Holdsworth will contest the 2021 TCR Australia Series, driving a Ashley Seward Motorsport-prepared Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce in a two-car attack.

Holdsworth, 37, will join young 17-year-old rising star Jay Hanson in the Italian-built turbo-charged machines ahead of the opening round of the TCR Australia Series at Symmons Plains Raceway on 24-26 January, part of the Boost Mobile Race Tasmania events.

Holdsworth will racing the Alfa that James Allen debuted at The Bend Motorsport Park last year, while Hanson will steer the car that Dylan O’Keeffe took to fourth in the 2019 TCR Australia Series.

Holdsworth has competed full-time in the Supercars Championship for the last 15 seasons, amassing an impressive array of achievements highlighted by three race victories and 19 podium finishes.

While Holdsworth has spent the bulk of his career in Supercars, he has raced a variety of other vehicles, including production cars and GT3 cars in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

In this year’s TCR Australia Series, Holdsworth will race head-to-head with several of his previous Supercars rivals such as Jason Bargwanna (Peugeot), James Moffat (Renault), Tony D’Alberto (Honda), and and Michael Caruso (Alfa Romeo), who he shared a Bathurst 1000 podium finish in 2009.

Holdsworth and his young team-mate Jay Hanson will both make their TCR debut at the opening round at Symmons Plains Raceway, with a blockbuster race card in store that will also see the VHT S5000 Australian Drivers’ Championship, Gulf Western Oil Touring Car Masters and the National Trans Am Series take to the Launceston venue.

CLICK HERE for tickets to the Boost Mobile Race Tasmania.

All TCR Australia and Australian Racing Group categories will be broadcast live and free on the screens of Seven in 2021, including coverage on 7mate and 7Plus.

QUOTES

Lee Holdsworth
#10 ASM Alfa Romeo 

“It’s brilliant to have my future tied up in TCR Australia with Ashley Seward Motorsport – it’s a really professional team running the Alfa Romeos,” said Holdsworth.

“TCR Australia is a great opportunity for me to continue motorsport in a professional manner. It’s great for sponsors having the Seven Network coverage all year, the cars look brilliant and you’ve got manufacturers involved.

“I’ve been following TCR Australia since it started and it has really close racing with some high-profile names. It’s becoming a well-recognised category and it’s a category that races all around the world.

“Expectations for the year are pretty high. Just coming out of Supercars, I’m at the top of my game and I expect to be running up the front, bringing home some trophies. From what I’ve seen from Ash Seward and his team, they’ve got all the goods for me to do the job.

“It’s cool to be teamed up with Jay Hanson – he’s a young gun who’s been through other categories like Formula Ford and done some really good things. He’s spent a lot of time in these cars, so I’m hoping I can learn from him but also teach him a bit as well.

“It’s great to start the series at Symmons Plains, it’s a cool track and the Tasmanians are very passionate about motorsport."

Ashley Seward
ASM team owner 

“It’s really exciting to have Lee on board for 2021. The combination of Lee and Jay is going to give our TCR program a strong mixture of youth and experience,” said Seward.

“We had some strong results in the Alfa Romeo during the 2019 TCR Australia Series and we’re confident it will be a competitive package for both Lee and Jay this season.

“Like many other teams, 2020 was a challenging year for us but we’re starting 2021 on a positive note and we’re looking forward to a good season.”