Promoters of the various series set to adopt TCR regulations met in Barcelona this week to discuss plans for a global Touring Car platform. The meeting, chaired by Marcello Lotti, CEO of WSC Ltd (the promoter company of the TCR International Series) and David Sonenscher, promoter of the TCR Asia Series, was also attended by twelve representatives of regional series and members of National Sporting Authorities; BeNeLux, China, The Dominican Republic, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, USA and Venezuela.
Among the Working Group’s first priorities was to approve a TCR Central America Series, starting in 2016, which has targeted Colombia, Costa Rica, The Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, USA and Venezuela for inclusion on its preliminary calendar. A common set of technical regulations, based around the existing SEAT León Racer, was also agreed upon, with the aim of attracting manufacturers to homologate their cars and customer teams to run them at an affordable cost. SEAT, Ford, Opel, Honda and VW have been confirmed so far, with others expected to join with the start of the European leg of the championship in May.
Each national championship will be allowed to decide on its own race format, tailored on the local tradition and the drivers’ needs.
“I am very pleased to see that the concept we launched a few months ago is already meeting with such a large and enthusiastic consensus,” Lotti said. “After the meetings we had in Barcelona I am even more convinced that a bright future is expected for TCR.”
The first TCR International event gets underway at Sepang, Malaysia, on March 29th.