The FIA is set to carry out an in-depth assessment of its World Touring Car category ahead of a future format change for its premier competition for combustion engine touring cars. Motor sport’s global governing body has awarded a world title each year since 2005, initially with the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) until 2017, then with the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup run since 2018 as a multi-event series utilising the TCR category technical regulations.

However, 2022 is set to be the fifth and final season of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup in its current format, with any future evolution of the competition to be evaluated and announced at a later time. FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup is set to continue in unchanged format in 2023.

FIA Touring Car Commission President Alan Gow said: “There is a need to identify and assess what is the best and most sustainable future for top-flight touring car racing as part of the FIA portfolio. Our goal would be to maintain a world title for conventionally powered touring cars and ensure the competition is strong and prestigious.

“Throughout its history, world touring car racing used different formats, with titles decided either through a series or at a single event. Currently we are considering all the possibilities, with the priority of ensuring that any competition has a stable base on which it can thrive for its long term future.

“With TCR we have a proven set of technical regulations, with a variety of automotive brands represented and more than 1000 cars racing worldwide. Therefore, the intention would be to continue with this platform going forward.”

[Note: The story is as per press release]

L'entrada FIA to re-asses WTCR format after 2022 as ETCR to continue in 2023 ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Sulayem won against Stoker (36.62%) after 61.62% of votes went in favour of the UAE native in the presidential election, as he succeeds Jean Todt whose 12-year reign came to an end in 2021 after the Frenchman was first elected to FIA President post in 2009.

Sulayem stood for his first presidential election against Stoker, who has been the Deputy President of Sport in the FIA since 2009. The former had the backing of multiple clubs which included Motorsport UK, where Robert Reid is to replace Stoker in the role.

Carmelo Sanz de Barros from Spain will be the President of the Senate, while Canada’s Tim Shearman takes up the Deputy President for Mobility role. Another big name to feature on the list of Sulayem team is Fabianna Ecclestone – wife of ex-F1 boss Bernie.

She filed as the Candidate for Vice-President from South America region. Others on the list included Abdulla Al Khalifa (Middle East), Rodrigo Ferreira Rocha (Africa), Daniel Coen (North America), Lung-Nien Lee (Asia-Pacific), Anna Nordkvist (Europe) and Manuel Avino (Europe).

Sulayem is 13th FIA President to be elected and is the first to come from the Middle Eastern region and first non-European person as well. The 60-year-old former rally driver has been part of the WMSC as the President for the Middle East region.

“I am very honoured to have been elected FIA President at the conclusion of the Annual General Assembly in Paris today,” said Sulayem. “I thank all the Member Clubs for their esteem and trust. I congratulate Graham for his campaign and his engagement to the Federation.

“I wish to express my infinite gratitude in the name of the FIA and that of its Members to Jean Todt for all that has been achieved over the past 12 years. I am committed to pursuing the important work and make motor sport and mobility take further steps forward.”

At the same time, Todt added: “A chapter has come to an end. We can be collectively satisfied of our achievements in motor sport and safe and sustainable mobility over the past 12 years. I would like to warmly thank my team, our administration and all our Member Clubs for their unwavering commitment, enthusiasm and resilience. I congratulate Mohammed on his election as FIA President and wish him, his team, and the Federation the best of success for the years to come.”

Here’s how the FIA Prize Gala of 2021 panned out

L'entrada Mohammed Ben Sulayem named new FIA President succeeding Todt ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Despite the COVID-19 restrictions in place, the 2021 FIA Gala was held with most present in the ceremony after it was held virtually in 2020. There were many who couldn’t come and send a recording of theirs for winning their respective prize.

Apart from the champions and runners-up getting their trophies, the FIA also had some other special awards, whose recipients were only revealed during the ceremony hosted by Nicki Shields and Julien Fabreau from the headquarters at Geneva.

First up was the award for the FIA Rookie of the Year, which went to Alpine’s Oscar Piastri – as chosen by the Divers’ Commission – for his supreme title-winning season in F2 with Prema. He didn’t get a F1 drive for 2022 but is in a reserve role with the French outfit.

Piastri became the third F2 driver to get the award after Yuki Tsunoda and Charles Leclerc. The Monegasque won it twice, one as a F1 driver too. Other winners include Daniil Kvyat (F1), Max Verstappen (F1), Alex Albon (F1) and Kevin Hansen (European Rallycross).

Moving on to the FIA Action of the Year, it went to Alpine’s Alonso for his superb defence against Hamilton from Hungarian GP, where he battled with his former teammate for multiple laps and kept him behind for as long as possible.

He was voted as best by the fans. Previous winners included Kimi Raikkonen, Verstappen (four times, three in F1 and one in F3), Esapekka Lappi (WRC) and Teemu Suninen (WRC). The FIA Personality of the Year award then went to Hamilton.

It was voted by the permanent accredited media and it was his fourth time winning the award – second year in succession – as other holders included Verstappen (three times in F1), Robert Kubica (WRC) and Niki Lauda (F1).

Apart from these three, outgoing FIA President Jean Todt was presented with multiple gifts for his last day at helm, as the ceremony eventually closed with Verstappen getting his winning trophy. Prior to that Valtteri Bottas collected this third place trophy as James Allison took the constructors’ title with Hamilton and Toto Wolff skipping the event.

Here’s the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjTWjOcWYFA

Here’s what FIA WMSC said regarding Abu Dhabi and 2026 PU

Here’s what Toto Wolff said

L'entrada Alonso, Hamilton, Piastri & others win awards in 2021 FIA Prize Gala ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

The circuit in Portugal, which was built in the Algarve region – specifically in Portimao – 12 years ago, has made some modifications that has granted it the FIA Grade 1 license. It represents the highest safety certification confirmed by the governing body.

It, therefore, has a license now to host, not only F1 races but also tests – that is unless there is anyone to back it up to bring the sessions to the circuit. Back in time, Portugal staged the grand prix races between 1984 and 1996 at the Estoril Circuit.

Portimao, on the other hand, has held F1 tests before and it was close to secure a grand prix around 2009-2010, before it fell through. It hosts other championships like World Toruing Car, World Superbike, European Le Mans Series and more.

Upon receiving the Grade 1 license from the FIA, Paulo Pinheiro, circuit director, stated: “We have been working on this since last year, since we received an inspection and the approval of Late Charlie Whiting and Eduadro Freitas.

“The required modifications have been made and we have received the highest certification from the International Automobile Federation,” he summed up in a report on Lusa Agency. It is not certain that Portiamo will return but closed door testing can still happen.

In fact, reports from MotoGP side suggests that Portimao is being kept as a reserve for future if some of the current grand prix doesn’t happen. It is too early to talk about F1 but with the return of Zandvoort, it could be an option, for testing at least.

Here’s latest on 2020 F1 calendar with Canada postponed

Here’s the latest from FIA on 2020/2021 changes

The article was co-written by Adria Roldan Murillo

L'entrada Portimao circuits gets FIA Grade 1 license, can now hold F1-level races ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Syahrin will make his racing car debut later this year on December 13-15 in the season-finale of WTCR series in Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit as a wildcard entrant. The Malaysian will race for Liqui Moly Team Engstler.

He will drive a Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR with fellow countryman Mitchell Cheah in the a second car, while a third Malaysian Douglas Khoo will drive a CUPRA TCR for Viper Niza Racing, to make it three from the country for the round.

Speaking at the announcement event, SIC’s CEO, Dato’ Razlan Razali, said: “For 20 years, we have strived to bring many world-class events to appease motorsports fans not only from Malaysia but also from the region.

“With the departure of F1 in Malaysia, we were tasked to look into other world-class events to include in our annual calendar. Through fan voting and further feasibility study, FIM EWC and FIA WTCR were the top two selected events.

“For the WTCR and EWC events at Sepang, we are grateful and delighted to join forces with Tourism Malaysia as they kick off their Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign. The support we get from Tourism Malaysia goes a long way in ensuring that Malaysia stands out as the main destination for motorsports tourism in the region.”

At the same time, Francois Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCR and EWC promoter, said: “Hafizh Syahrin is a household name in Malaysia and we’re delighted he won’t just be competing at Races of Malaysia, but truly embracing the double-header concept by taking part in both the 8 Hours of Sepang and the three races that make up WTCR Race of Malaysia.

“We have followed Mitchell Cheah’s progress with interest in TCR Asia last year and ADAC TCR Germany this season and he’s demonstrating a great potential. What Douglas Khoo lacks in experience of international competition he’ll make up for with vast track knowledge.”

Meanwhile, Malaysian Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Datuk Mohamadin Ketapi added: “I strongly believe that sporting events like the Races of Malaysia should remain as one of the main drivers in the Malaysian tourism industry.

“Major sporting events like these have a degree of trickle-down effect that will benefit not only the tourism industry but also the general economy in Malaysia.” As mentioned, Syahrin – who lost his Tech 3 KTM seat to Brad Binder – will also compete in the 8 Hours of Malaysia but no further details has been released, regarding the team and the bike.

Binder graduates to MotoGP in 2020 with Tech 3 KTM

L'entrada MotoGP racer Syahrin gets WTCR and EWC outing in Malaysia ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

The decision was taken and approved at the last World Motor Sport Council meet in Russia with the altered list available at the FIA site. The points for top series like Formula 2, IndyCar, new Formula 3, WEC (LMP1), etc remains the the same.

The first addition is the Formula Regional European Certified by FIA in the new list with the winner getting 25 points on his license, followed by 20 for second and then 15, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1 for drivers finishing in the Top 9.

The DTM-backed Formula European Masters series also features on the list despite not having the FIA backing. The points awarded is same as the regional F3 series. The growing Japan’s Super Formula series has seen a growth.

The winner will now get 25 points from the previous 20 with the rest same as the F3 series in the Top 9. Like Super Formula, the DTM series will also get more points along with the Japan’s Super GT championship.

Both of the series winner will be awarded 20 points followed by 16 to second and then 12, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1 in the Top 9. The F3 Regional Asian series winner will still get 18 with the same now awarded to the FIA Regional Americas series winner.

The latter moves from 16 to 18 for the winner while the IMSA Prototype series winner will also get 18 – up by one from the previous list. However, only the top tow drivers of the three series will be awarded 18 and 14 points respectively.

The Asian and Americas series’ will get 12, 10, 6, 4, 3, 2 and 1 in the descending order between third and ninth while the IMSA Prototype series will see drivers between third and eighth get 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1 respectively.

Australia’s Supercars series has been bumped forward as well with the winner now getting 15 points like the winner of America’s NASCAR Cup and Indy Lights series along with FIA’s WTCR. The order will be 12, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2 and 1 for drivers between second and eighth.

The rest of the championships will remain the same with Spain’s Euroformula Open series now tagged along with the National F3 Championships – the winner awarded with 10 points, followed by 7, 5, 3 and 1 for the Top 5 drivers.

L'entrada FIA changes F1 super license points for multiple championships ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

After the controversial weekend of racing at the Vila Real circuit in Portugal, the WTCR moved to the SlovakiaRing in the Czech Republic last weekend as a replacement for the Argentine rounds that was dropped due to a Promoter Issue.

Race 1

The weekend kick-started with some controversy during qualifying for Race 1 as the Hyundai’s of Norbert Michelisz, Muller and Thed Bjork were all excluded for running at illegal boost level.

Tarquini in the other Hyundai took pole for Race 1 and admitted that he was helped from the data from 2017. The Italian hoped to add Slovakia to his his winning tally, however it was Campos Racing’s Pepe Oriola in the CUPRA TCR to take his first win of 2018.

Pole-sitter was taken over the line by Aurelien Comte in the DG Sport Peugeot 308 TCR, with Oriola moving up to second and Jean-Karl Vernay to third in the WRT Audi RS 3 LMS. Tarquini was down to fourth.

But Comete suffered tyre wear issues and lost three places to fourth with Oriola leading from Vernay and Tarquini. Fabrizio Giovanardi in the Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo completed the Top 5.

Race 2

The qualifying for Race 2 and Race 3 saw Michelisz secure pole for the latter while Zengo Motorsport CUPRA Leon TCR’s Norbert Nagy had reverse-grid pole from Tarquini for Race 2 of the Slovakia weekend.

Controversy didn’t leave the weekend as three Hondas were disqualified ahead of Race 2 for a boost violation. However, an appeal from Boutsen Ginion Racing and Munnich Motorsport saw them re-instated for the race.

The second race then started with the three Hondas of Esteban Guerrieri, Tom Coronel and Benjamin Lessennes, but Coronel’s Honda was wheeled off the grid with a damper failure. Tarquini, meanwhile, made a better start from the front row this time.

He led into the first few corners and despite Nagy’s attempts to overtake, the Hungarian could not pass the Hyundai driver. Instead, he faced heat from Muller behind but the Frenchman wasn’t successful in his pass.

Tarquini held on to win Race 2 with Nagy and Muller completing the podium positions as Oriola fought his way up to fourth following up on his Race 1 with as young Lessennes completed the Top 5.

Race 3

The final race was even more frantic affair as Michelisz looked to have it easy off the line. The Hungarian did get a great start, however there was contact between Tarquini’s Hyundai running into Lessennes’ Boutsen Ginion Honda in Turn 3.

Lessennes spun and collected the Honda of Guerrieri along with the Campos Cupre of John Filippi, bringing out the safety car to clear the stricken cars. In separate incidents, the two WRT Audis of Vernay and Gordon Shedden.

They were both hit on the rear by Nagy and the SLR Volkswagen of Mehdi Bennani. Once the race resumed, Michelisz and Comte strolled off into the distance while the third place saw a four-way battle.

It involved Bjork, Giovanardi, Frederic Vervisch, and wildcard Petr Fulin. In the end, Michelisz held off Comte for the win as Vervisch managed to beat Bjork for third by a mere 0.003s with Fulin completing the Top 5.

A retirement for Muller helped Tarquini to take the points lead with the Italian on 202 points from Muller’s 199. Michelisz is third with 176 points followed by Yann Ehrlacher on 171 and Vernay on 166.

The series now takes a break until September when it heads to the first of four flyaway races, starting at the Ningbo circuit in China followed by races in Wuhan, Suzuka and Macau – rounding out the season.

                                                                                                 By Phil Kinch (TCR Talk)

L'entrada WTCR: Tarquini’s Race 2 win hands him points lead after Slovakia ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Saturday

In Qualifying for Race 1 on Saturday, it became evident from practice that Hyundai teams were back on the pace after Compensation Weight moved the model of reference from the Hyundai to Honda. However, the Volkswagen Golf GTi’s were also up for the streetfight.

Whilst Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz once again wrung out the best they could from the i30 N TCR, it was the Yvan Muller Racing duo of Yvan Muller and Thed Bjork who started to set the fastest times while Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani also staked their claim for pole position.

At the end of the 40-minute qualifying session, it was Huff and Bennani who locked out the front row for Sebastien Loeb Racing while Michelisz and Yann Ehrlacherin in the Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic secured the second row. Bjork and Muller locked out Row 3.

“Brilliant,” said a delighted Huff. “Congratulations to the Sebastien Loeb Racing team. What a performance, to lock out the front row by such a tiny margin. We stayed out of trouble and away from the walls. I am so pleased for myself and for Mehdi.”

In the Race 1 though, events took a dramatic turn. As the 27 car field made its way towards Turn 3, both Huff and Bennani were disputing for the lead when they collided as Huff moved ahead. It resulted in a massive pile up bringing out the red-flag.

After lengthy repairs, the race restarted with 17 cars on the grid as Muller made a good start to take an unbeatable lead. He negotiated the mandatory ‘joker’ lap then and saw-through the race comfortably while also taking over the points lead, thanks to the misfortune of his title rivals.

“It was a long race,” he said, referring to the lengthy delay between the accident and the restart. “Okay, it’s a victory and I’ll take the points, but it’s not really a victory. Rob was the fastest driver today.”

Munnich Motorsport’s Esteban Guerrieri finished second while the final podium position saw further drama on the last lap. BRC Racing Team Hyundai’s Gabriele Tarquini suddenly slowed on the approach to the finish line.

That allowed Campos’ Pepe Oriola to claim the final podium position as the top rookie, while Tarquini clung on to finish fourth. Jean-Karl Vernay, who had started from the pitlane finished fifth in his Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team Audi RS 3 LMS. He could have been fourth, only for Oriola to jump him with a strong move while Vernay completed his joker.

Sunday

The three stage Qualifying session on Sunday had no Huff, Bennani and James Thompson despite an all-night effort to repair their cars. And so 24 cars made it through which again saw the Hyundais, Hondas and Audis tussling for pole position.

Gordon Shedden secured Race 2 reverse-grid pole with Muller only managing second. For Race 3, Bjork pulled out a sub two minute lap to take pole with Michelisz, Tarquini, Oriola and Ehrlacher completing the Top 5.

In Race 2, Shedden led the way initially from Muller, however the Peugeot 308 TCR of Mato Homola proved to be the surprise package as he pushed the Frenchman hard in the early stages. Once again the Joker lap played its part.

Shedden cut a chicane in the early laps and was handed a five second penalty, which meant when he took the Joker, he was on the backfoot. Homola took his Joker on Lap 9, forcing Muller to go a lap later.

The Slovakian still stayed ahead of Muller to take his first WTCR win and the second for DG Competition, with the Frenchman in second as Oriola completed the podium. Vernay was fourth ahead of Michelisz.

Meanwhile, Race 3 saw Bjork putting up a dominant performance as he disappeared into the distance while Oriola took the fight to both Michelisz and Tarquini. Race 2 winner Homola once again showed supreme pace in the Peugeot, joining in the podium fight.

Bjork survived several safety car periods and used a strategic early joker lap to keep his nose in front of the field. Behind the podium fight, it was Panis and Muller locked in a battle with Audi’s Vernay and Shedden for a place in the Top 10.

In the end, Bjork secured the win, leading a Hyundai 1-2 ahead of Tarquini as Michelisz completed the podium from Oriola and Homola. The drivers’ standings changed course as Muller now holds the position with 182 points.

Munnich Motorsport’s Yann Ehrlacher, who came into the weekend as the leader, sits third with Tarquini taking second even though both are tied on 160 points. Bjork climbed up to fourth with 148 points while Vernay rounds the Top 5 with 146 to his name.

                                                                                                 By Phil Kinch (TCR Talk)

L'entrada WTCR: Muller takes points lead in Portugal amid Race 1 carnage ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

This weekend we are treated to the return of World Touring Car Cup after the massive four day UBER TCR Festival that took place at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. The many crowds at the national holiday event also witnessed the TCR Europe Series and TCR Benelux Seriesin action.

Zandvoort also saw the WTCR Drivers’ Championship turned upside down, thanks to some Balance of Performance changes that took place after Nurburgring Nordschleife round which saw Audi join Honda, Hyundai and Volkswagen at the front of the field

The Drivers’ Championship:

The historic street circuit of Vila Real plays host to Rounds 13, 14 and 15 of the WTCR season and also marks the halfway point for this highly competitive series. Yann Ehrlacher in the #68 Munnich Motorsport Honda Civic TCR leads the standings with 146 points.

Ehrlacher took the first race victory of the weekend as the Hyundai had a retirement with Yvan Muller and Norbert Michelisz colliding (again!!). Elsewhere, the Audi’s and Peugeot’s proved to be absolute weapons in race trim.

Aurelien Comte gave the Peugeot 308 TCR its first win, whilst Jean Karl Vernay took his secomd of the year. So what does this mean?? Well, the championship looks a little like this:

Yann Ehrlacher: 146 points
Yvan Muller: 137 points
Rob Huff: 130 points
Jean-Karl Vernay: 121 points
Gabriele Tarquini: 118 points
Thed Bjork: 112 points
Esteban Guerrieri: 107 points
Norbert Michelisz: 102 points
Frederic Vervisch: 65 points
Mehdi Bennani: 65 points

Who will be on top after WTCR’s Race 3 on Sunday? We’ll know after Race 3 on Sunday!!

The Balance of Performance returns:

Ah yes, this one never gets old or boring. The mere mention of these three words this year always sparks lively debate and it will do once again this weekend.

Last time out at Zandvoort, the Hyundai’s were lucky to qualify inside Top 20 after the BoP adjustment with the ride height increased and the engine power reduced from 100% to 97.5%. This led to cries from both Yvan Muller Racing and BRC Racing as they felt this wasn’t being applied properly.

However, when you take into consideration that the Hyundai i30 N TCR has taken five wins out of twelve so far against three for Honda, two for Audi and one each both for Peugeot and Volkswagen, its clear to see why this happened.

For the recent TCR Europe Series weekend at Spa-Francorchamps, BoP saw a reduction in ride height for the Hyundai’s but leaving them at the same maximum power setting. The Portuguese venue will be another intriguing weekend if you’re a Hyundai driver. Expect more lively debate about this subject.

The Magnificent Eleven:

Amazingly, 11 drivers out of the twenty seven entries have not raced on this circuit before so this weekend will be a steep learning curve for them.

When you look at the list of debutantes for the Vila Real event though, some of these drivers have a lot of experience in car setup which will come in handy on the tight, fast and dusty Portuguese layout:

Nathanael Berthon, Aurelien Comte, Denis Dupont, Fabrizio Giovanardi, Mato Homola, Benjamin Lessennes, Gianni Morbidelli, Pepe Oriola, Gordon Shedden, Jean-Karl Vernay and Frederic Vervisch will all be looking to tame the circuit whilst also getting their collective heads around the new concept of the Joker Lap.

The safety car is on standby!

So, you have one of the fastest, tightest street circuits in Europe, a hot and dusty track that attracts motorsport fans by the thousands and a massive field of TCR Regulation cars ready to go hell for leather to get those vital points…

But its a street circuit…with a lot of cars being steered by some hot-headed drivers with scores to settle or points to make. I expect three safety car appearances myself…

Also take into consideration that last year there were sixteen WTCC TC1 entries competing, which is a lot less than this year might I add. This year sees 27 cars on track at the same time for three races, so don’t be surprised if the safety car makes an appearance or two which could potentially wreck a vital Joker Lap strategy.

Joker Lap returns:

Last year the WTCC made the move to improve its racing spectacle by introducing a Joker Lap at some of its events in the same fashion as the FIA World Rallycross Championship puts it to good use.

The Joker Lap has been confirmed to return for the three WTCR races and will surely shake up the field of twenty seven cars entered on the tight and fast street circuit. Whilst overtaking is possible, this option to make up places or lose places in each race offers a new aspect for the majority of the field.

The wildcards:

Continuing the tradition that started out in Hungary earlier this year, WTCR has announced its two local wildcard drivers in the shape of Edgar Florindo and Jose Rodrigues.

Florindo is also experienced with TCR as he has driven in the TCR Portugal Series, having claimed eight consecutive podiums and two victories last season. The local driver will be out in a Veloso Motorsportrun CUPRA TCR as he tackles the event on the World Stage for the first time.

Rodrigues is already familiar with TCR machinery having raced a 2017 Honda Civic TCR in both Germany and Portugal. This year he is a full time entry in the TCR Italy Series with Target Competition who will be running his entry this weekend.

Meanwhile Rodrigues is taking this opportunity with both hands as he is already a part of Tiago Monteiro’s Skywalker Management company and is excited to race with the best in the business.

Weekend schedule [UK Time]:

Saturday, June 23:

Free Practice 1: 09:00-09:30
Free Practice 2: 11:00-11:30
Qualifying 1: 12:30-13:10
Race 1: 16:30

Sunday, June 24:

Qualifying 2: 09:30-10:30
Race 2: 15:45
Race 3: 17:10

                                                                                                 By Phil Kinch (TCR Talk)

L'entrada Ehrlacher out to extend WTCR points leads from Muller in Portugal ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Gordon Shedden has officially become Audi’s new driver for the World Touring Car Cup. The Scottish driver joins the WRT team and will share team with Jean-Karl Vernay. Shedden, 38, has been  three-time BTCC champion, the last one in 2016. The Scottish announced last month that he was not going to continue in the competition and rumours pointed towards this signing by Audi.

Gordon will drive the Audi RS3 LMS in his first year in the WTCR: “The change to the WTCR was quite unexpected, but it comes at a perfect time for my career. The WRT is a very successful team with a long and flourishing partnership with Audi Sport and its competition client division. They have won the 24 Hours of Spa and the 12 Hours of Bathurst in the GT3 category and for me it was a logical decision to join the team”, said the Shedden.

As a partner, he will have an experienced in the category, third consecutive year that runs for the team, Jean-Karl Vernay. The Frenchman was champion of the Indy Lights in 2010 and also won the Porsche Cup in 2012 in France and the TCR International Series last year.

Audi Sport has also announced the driver lineup of its other team, Comtoyou Racing. Frédéric Vervisch joins Aurélien Panis, Denis Dupont and Nathanaël Berton, in the fourth drivers of the Belgian team.

Chris Reinke, director of customer careers at Audi Sport, said: “We look forward to the strong competition in the new racing series which is an attractive stage for many manufacturers in touring car racing. Our teams and drivers bring valuable experiences from touring car racing and other disciplines to the grid, so we intend to battle for the titles in the drivers and teams classifications”, said ambitious, Reinke.

The series is reserved only for TCR cars and covers rounds in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. The provisional calendar has nine events on four continents, each with three races per weekend.

Provisional calendar:

Apr 7, 08 Marrakesh

April 28-29 Hungaroring

May 10-12 at the Nürburgring

May 19-21 Zandvoort

23-24 June Vila Real

August 04-05 Río Hondo

September 29 and 30 Ningbo

October 27-28 Suzuka

November 15 to 18 Macau

L'entrada Gordon Shedden, triple champion of the BTCC, joins Audi in the WTCR ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Muller was the WTCC champion with more victories, concretely 48. French driver retired the last season in 2016, at the same time that Citroën (his team). Then, he was Volvo development driver and advisory of the Polestar team. The four-time tourism world champion has decided to participate all the season of WTCR. He will compete with a Hyundai i30 N TCR for his team, Yvan Muller Racing, and his teammate will be Bjork.

“My goal is a bit different than in the past,” said Muller. I have done my career and my focus now is on the team and our development rather than outright results. I am pleased to have Thed involved, he trusts me and I trust him. There is no doubt that he is a great driver, I know because I spent the season with him last year.”

Bjork commented: “I am excited to be back for the 2018 season, especially with Yvan. We had a great cooperation last year. To race together with him in the new regulations is truly motivating and inspiring We have a lot of new things to learn and the competition is hard, but my goal is always to win.”

Muller is competing with tourism for 20 years. His return is because of the new rules, which promote driving.

L'entrada Muller and Bjork will fight for WTCR ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

Honda’s first incorporations for the brand-new WTCR Cup will be Tiago Monteiro and Esteban Guerrieri, both of whom were Honda WTCC drivers last years and have long careers behind their backs. Each driver will join one of the two teams the Japanese manufacturer will have.

Monteiro made his single-seater debut in 1998 and reached Formula 1 in 2005, a year on which he was the rookie of the year and achieved a podium finish for Jordan at the controversial US GP. His career on the top class ended one year later and he joined WTCC in 2007. He drove for seat until 2012 and for Honda since then. He has won eleven races on the championship and finished the 2016 season in third place. He also owned a GP2 team between 2009 and 2012 and is the manager of his fellow countryman Antonio Félix Da Costa. Last year, he was forced to miss almost half of the season due to an accident in Montmeló.

As for Guerrieri, his career is almost as long as Monteiro‘s, despite he never had a chance in Formula 1. He was successful in several championships, such as Formula Renault 3.5 or Indylights, and made his touring car debut in 2009, in Argentina. He finally moved to the world championship in 2016 and made his full-time debut last year, on which he finished fourth with three wins.

“I’m delighted to remain part of the Honda Racing family for another year.” Said Monteiro. “Since I first worked with Honda in 2012, I feel we’ve been getting stronger and stronger by the season and by last year we were in a very good place to win the championship before my accident. The past six months have been incredibly tough, but thanks to some amazing support I’m now well on my way to getting back in a racing car. Boutsen Ginion Racing are a strong team, who I’ve won races with in TCR before, so I can’t wait to drive the car and for the season to start.”

“I felt like last year was a real breakthrough year for me in world touring cars, so I’m extremely pleased to be racing a Honda Civic in 2018.” Guerrieri said. “TCR is the fastest-growing touring car category in the world and I’m incredibly excited to be a part of this programme. I had some great races against the ALL-INKL.COM Münnich cars in the WTCC last year and it’s clear they can run a very fast machine, so I’m optimistic of putting together a title challenge.”

The first WTCR season will start the 8th of April in Marrakech.

L'entrada Honda confirms Esteban Guerrieri and Tiago Monteiro for WTCR ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.

It would have been expected to see Sébastien Loeb Racing continuing their association with PSA for the first season of the new WTCR, with Peugeot as the main candidate after having been associated with Citröenin recent years at the WTCC. After all, Loeb has been the ace of the group for almost two decades and his association with them is taking him back to the WRC with a limited program… but the final choice for the WTCR has been Volkswagen.

Indeed, Sébastien Loeb Racing will take part in the new WTCR with two Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR instead of racing with Peugeot, as it would have been expected. Common sense and logic have been defeated this time and sporting reasons have taken over. The Golf is one of the most competitive TCR machines, which means the squad will have great chances of getting good results.

That means that the team which belongs to the nine-times world rally champion will feature a competitive machine that took Stefano Comini and Jean-Karl Vernay to the TCR International Series titles in 2016 and 2017. Moreover, the drivers that have been chosen for the task are Rob Huff and Mehdi Bennani.

Huff was the WTCC champion in 2012 and he already knows the TCR machines after having taken part in the TCR International Series last year with WRT, taking a race win in China. On the other hand, Bennani will have to learn the secrets of his new steed, although his performance of late is encouraging.

L'entrada Sébastien Loeb Racing switches to Volkswagen for the opening WTCR season ha aparegut primer a FormulaRapida.net.