Tony D'Alberto was forced to fight back through the pack in another up-and-down weekend of TCR Australia racing at Phillip Island on the weekend.
The Honda Civic Type R TCR driver was the fastest in practice and proved far too good for his rivals in qualifying, outpacing the field by nearly half a second in another blistering performance. His lap time was the fastest-ever TCR lap recorded around the famous Island venue.
D'Alberto's weekend was thrown on its head at the fourth corner of the first race when he was tagged awkwardly by Honda stablemate Brad Harris and Hyundai driver Josh Buchan. The incident sent Toy's Honda FL5 off the track and into last place.
With the bit between his teeth, D'Alberto started a sensational recovery drive in the final two races on Sunday, finishing eighth in Race 2 and a fine fourth in Race 3.
D'Alberto says that the speed of his Honda is on point – he just needs a little luck to bring home more trophies.
"It was a weekend that promised so much – fastest in practice, qualified on pole, won the start in Race 1 but unfortunately got taken at the fourth corner,
Unfortunately, from there, my weekend unravelled. I got hardly any points in the first race, made my way from last up to eight and pushed onto fourth in the final race.
"So not a bad recovery on Sunday, but from where we were earlier in the weekend, it wasn't the results that we wanted. That's the way it goes sometimes.
"We are really happy with the speed of the FL5 Civic Type R. The car obviously has lots of pace, and we broke the lap record here, and that's no mean feat.
"The next round is at The Bend. We know the car will be fast there – it's a circuit that will suit the Honda. We just need a little luck on our side and hopefully the rest takes care of itself."
After the controversial round at Symmons Plains Raceway last month and his Island fightback, D'Alberto has moved into the top 10 in the series standings and sits 85 points from the title leader with four rounds of the turbo-charged touring car series remaining.