TCR International Series

TCR International Series
Category Touring cars
Region International
Inaugural season 2015
Tyre suppliers Michelin
Drivers' champion Switzerland Stefano Comini
Teams' champion Italy Target Competition
Official website tcr-series.com
Current season

The TCR International Series is an international Touring Car championship. The championship – founded by former World Touring Car Championship boss Marcello Lotti[1] – is marketing itself as a cost-effective spin-off of the WTCC, targeted at C-category tin-top racing cars. The title TCR follows the naming convention now used by the FIA to classify the cars that compete in touring car racing, with TC1 referring to the top tier as used by the FIA WTCC and TC2 referring to the legacy cars which principally compete in the FIA ETCC.

Announcements in 2014

On 15 July Lotti revealed further details on the TCR series.[2] On the same day it was announced that the TCR series will award a Drivers' Championship title and a Teams' Championship title. The number of teams will be limited to eight and the number of competitors to twenty-four. It was also announced that the series will run alongside Formula One at selected events.
On 21 July more details about the series became available:[3] the race weekend format will be structured like the WTCC, with two free practice sessions and a two part qualifying session, followed by two races on Sunday. The first event would take place in Italy in March, but when a provisional calendar for the 2015 season was released on 31 October,[4] it became clear that the first event will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 29 March. Lotti confirmed the technical principles of the SEAT León Cup Racer, which is also set to be adopted in the Single-Make Trophy category of the European Touring Car Cup in 2015, will be used by the TCR Series.
On 29 July former WTCC driver Pepe Oriola said in an interview with TouringCarTimes that he hopes to compete in the new series, because he was set to drive for the Onyx Race Engineering team in the 2014 WTCC season with their new Ford Fiesta TC1 car for the last part of the season, before the project was abandoned with no support for homologation from Ford.[5]

On 15 September the TCR organisation announced the first cars, teams, regulations and events of its inaugural season in 2015.[6] Target Competition became the first team to confirm entry in the series and will run SEAT León Eurocup cars in 2015. Onyx Race Engineering has also confirmed they are developing the Ford Focus for the championship.
A week later Paolo Coloni Racing announced plans to enter the championship in 2015.[7] Team principal Paolo Coloni, son of F1-team founder Enzo Coloni, is known for its accomplishments in the GP2 Series in 2005 and in 2009 to 2012. The team will confirm at a later date their planned car and driver line-up.

On 31 October a provisional calendar for its inaugural season was released.[4] It will consist of twelve weekends, four in Asia, five in Europe, two in South America and one to be announced.

On 7 November the fourth team was announced: the Swedish STCC team WestCoast Racing will join the series with three Honda Civics build by JAS Motorsport. On 20 November Liqui Moly Team Engstler announced they will participate with Volkswagen Golfs and Franz Engstler will be driving one of the VWs.

On 5 December the series was approved by the FIA and renamed TCR International Series instead of using the original TC3 International Series name.

Announcements in 2015

On 27 January Marcello Lotti announced three new teams for the inaugural season: Zengő Motorsport, Proteam Racing and Campos Racing.[8] On 13 February Jordi Oriola announced he will be driving a Target Competition SEAT at Valencia and Monza[9] and Mikhail Grachev was confirmed on 17 February at Engstler Motorsport.[10] In the end of February and in March almost half of all the drivers were confirmed, but just one week from the first round in Sepang Onyx Race Engineering, Paolo Coloni Racing and Proteam Racing have not confirmed a single driver. On 20 March the TCR International Series organisation announced the first TV deals for the inaugural season.[11] On 29 May, David Sonenscher announces the TCR Thailand Series, starting from 2016.[12]

Technical regulations

On 15 September 2014, technical regulations for the category were announced.[13] On 22 January 2016, minor changes were applied.[14]

Eligible cars: 4/5-door vehicles
Body shell: Reinforced production body shell; wheel arch modifications allowed to accommodate tyres
Minimum weight: 1250 kg for cars with production gearbox, 1285 kg for cars with racing gearbox (both including the driver)
Minimum overall length: 4.20 metres
Maximum overall width: 1.95 metres
Engine: Turbo-charged petrol or diesel up to 2.0-litre
Torque: circa 410Nm
Power: 330 Bhp
Lubrication: Wet sump
Exhaust: Homologated catalytic converter using production parts
Traction: On two wheels
Gearbox: Production or TCR International Series sequential; production paddle shift accepted
Front Suspension: Production lay-out; parts free design
Rear Suspension: Original design of production car with reinforced components
Brakes:

Wheels: Maximum dimensions of rim: 10″ x 18″
Aerodynamics:

Eligible cars

Make Model Engine
SEAT León TCR Volkswagen EA888 2.0 R4 TSI I4
Honda[15] Civic TCR[15] Honda R20A i-VTEC SOHC I4
Ford Focus ST Ford EcoBoost 2.0 litre I4
Opel Astra OPC GM Ecotec LDK I4
Astra TCR[16] TBA
Volkswagen[17] Golf TCR[17] Volkswagen EA888 2.0 R4 TSI I4
Subaru[18] Impreza STi TCR[18] Subaru EJ257 H4
Renault Mégane RS Renault F4RT I4
Alfa Romeo[19] Giulietta TCR[19] Alfa Romeo 1750 TBi I4
Peugeot[20] 308 Cup[20] TBA
Škoda[21] Octavia Cup[21] Volkswagen EA888 2.0 R4 TSI I4

Regional or national competitions utilising the TCR regulations

TCR Asia Series

TCR Asia Series was announced on 14 August 2014 by the organisation behind the TCR series under the name TC3 Asia Series - later changed to TCR Asia Series along with the other announced series.[22] David Sonenscher, boss of the company Motorsport Asia, will be maintaining the series. He has previously run the Asian Touring Car Series and the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia. Initially seven races were planned for 2015, but later were reduced to 5 and the final calendar was with 4.[23][24] The Singapore and Thailand rounds will be run together with the TCR International Series, while the rest will support the GT Asia Series.

TCR Benelux Series

In December 2014 the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium (RACB) and Kronos Events annonced the formation of the TCR Benelux Series.[25] The inaugural season is set for 2016 with one-off event planned for 15 October 2015 at the Circuit Jules Tacheny Mettet.[26][27] The schedule consists of seven rounds in the Benelux region, across Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Each round includes five races: a 60 minutes endurance race, with mandatory pit stop, and four 20 minutes sprint races. The starting grid for the endurance race is established by a popular vote via Facebook, through the Making the Grid application; sprint race 1 uses the best lap of after pit during long race to determine the starting grid, race 3 uses the best lap of before pit during long race; races 2 and 4 include a rolling start using the finishing order, respectively, of race 1 and 3.[28]

TCR Chinese Series

On 12 January 2015, Marcello Lotti announced also a Chinese series planned for 2016.[29] As for December 2015, a TCR class is confirmed as a category of the Chinese Touring Car Championship in 2016[30]

TCR Italian Series

On 31 January 2015, Automobile Club d'Italia announced the TCR category as the third division of the Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance, also competing for the general classification of the championship.[31] On 12 September 2015, the TCR Italian Series was relaunched as a stand-alone category for 2016.[32]

TCR Portuguese Series

On 6 September 2014 FullEventos announced the TC3 Portuguese Series, later renamed TCR Portuguese Series along with the rest of the series announced at the time[33] The series will be one of the six categories of the touring class in the Campeonato Nacional de Velocidade.

TCR USA Series

On 20 December 2014 it has been announced there will be a US-based series launched in 2015 as part of the California-based United States Touring Car Championship as a promotional category, with a view to moving to a full season in 2016.[34]

TCR Thailand Series

On 5 July 2015 the Thailand series was presented to the local media. The promoter is Racing Spirit Co. Ltd., organiser of the Thailand Super Series, and the championship is planned to start in 2016.[35]

ADAC TCR German Series

On 16 September 2015, the German Series was launched by ADAC and Engstler Motorsport, who already run in the International Series. The new category will run in the same events as ADAC GT Masters and ADAC Formula 4.[36]

24 Hours Nürburgring

On 23 September 2015 ADAC Nordrhein and TCR Series announced that the 2016 Nürburgring 24h Race will feature a class for TCR vehicles.[37]

TCR European Series

On 15 October 2015, Marcello Lotti revealed plans for a European Series including one round from each TCR European championship (Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Benelux), starting from 2016.[38]

Champions

Season Drivers' champion Car Teams' champion
2015 Switzerland Stefano Comini SEAT León Cup Racer Italy Target Competition

Regional or national champions

Season Asia Italy Portugal Russia
2015 Hong Kong Michael Choi Italy Valentina Albanese Portugal Francisco Mora Russia Aleksey Dudukalo

Scoring system

These points have been based on the FIA's points system used in the FIA Formula One Championship.[6]

Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th 
Points 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Former WTCC boss Marcello Lotti behind new TC3 series". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 4 July 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "Marcello Lotti reveals further details on TC3 series". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Initial view of new TC3 series race format and calendar". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 21 July 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  4. 1 2 "TC3 International Series releases its provisional calendar for 2015". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 31 October 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pepe Oriola eyeing up opportunities in new TC3 series". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 29 July 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  6. 1 2 "TC3 announces first cars, teams, regulations and events". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  7. ↑ "Paolo Coloni Racing announce plans to enter 2015 TC3 series". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 22 September 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  8. ↑ "TCR boss confirms Zengő, Proteam and Campos will compete this year". TouringCarTimes.com (Casillo, Pietro). 27 January 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Jordi Oriola confirms partial programme in TCR with Target". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 13 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mikhail Grachev joins Engstler Motorsport". TouringCarTimes.com. 17 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "TCR announces TV deals for inaugural season". TouringCarTimes.com. 20 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Thailand to start national TCR championship in 2016". TouringCarTimes.com (Casillo, Pietro). 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "TC3 announces first cars, teams, regulations and events". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 September 2014.
  14. ↑ "2016 TCR International Series' technical regulations" (PDF). tcr-series.com. 22 January 2016.
  15. 1 2 "JAS Motorsport working on more cars for TC3 throughout 2015". TouringCarTimes.com. 2 December 2014.
  16. ↑ "Opel Astra TCR to be delivered in February 2016". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 October 2015.
  17. 1 2 "Engstler Motorsport to run Volkswagen Golfs in TC3 Series in 2015". TouringCarTimes.com. 20 November 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Top Run Motorsport announces plan to build TCR Subaru Impreza". TouringCarTimes.com. 28 April 2015.
  19. 1 2 "Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR announced in Macau entry list". TouringCarTimes.com. 9 October 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Peugeot looking into TCR with 308". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 October 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Škoda Octavia Cup Information 3.2015". Skodaoctaviacup.cz. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
  22. ↑ "TC3 Asia Series organisation announced". TouringCarTimes.com. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  23. ↑ "2015 TCR Asia calendar released". TouringCarTimes.com. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "TCR Asia Series amends 2015 calendar". TouringCarTimes (Mediaempire Stockholm AB). 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  25. ↑ "TCR BeNeLux series announced for 2016 season". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 19 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  26. ↑ "TCR BeNeLux to stage one-off event in 2015 ahead of full 2016 launch". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 4 February 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  27. ↑ "TCR Benelux Series getting ready for 2015 debut". TouringCarTimes.com (Casillo, Pietro). 20 July 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  28. ↑ "TCR Benelux Series 2016 pres video V3" (PDF). tcrbenelux.eu. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  29. ↑ "New national TCR series in Russia, Thailand, China and others to follow". TouringCarTimes.com (Mediaempire Stockholm AB). 12 January 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  30. ↑ "Teamwork targeting international driver for 2016 CTCC campaign". TouringCarTimes.com (Mediaempire Stockholm AB). 14 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  31. ↑ Tarantino, Salvatore (31 January 2015). "2015 Con il TCR il Campionato Italiano Turismo Endurance è nel panorama internazionale" [2015 With the TCR, the Italian Touring Endurance Championship is on the international scene.]. Commissione Sportiva Automobilistica Italiana (in Italian) (ACI Sport S.p.A.). Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  32. ↑ Nugnes, Franco (12 September 2015). "Nasce il campionato TCR anche in Italia" [TCR championship starts in Italy also]. Omnicorse.it (in Italian). Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  33. ↑ "TC3 Portuguese series announced for 2015". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 6 September 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "TCR USA announced, runs as a class within USTCC for 2015". TouringCarTimes.com (Hudson, Neil). 20 December 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  35. ↑ "TCR Thailand is moving towards reality". tcr-series.com. 5 July 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  36. ↑ "German national TCR series announces planned launch for 2016". TouringCarTimes.com. 16 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  37. ↑ "The Nürburgring 24 Hours introduces TCR Class". tcr-series.com. 23 September 2015.
  38. ↑ "TCR Europe plans revealed". TouringCarTimes.com. 15 October 2015.

External links

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