The full entry list for the TCR International Series season opener in Bahrain has been revealed, featuring local Bahraini drivers Salman Al Khalifa and Hussain Karimi, who will race SEAT León cars for Bas Koeten Motorsport.
The entry list features 22 cars for the opening event, with the Bahraini drivers taking the total number of SEATs on the grid up to eight.
Al Khalifa is a former champion in the Batelco 2000cc Challenge, and has claimed seven victories out of twelve races so far held in the current campaign in a Honda Civic.
Karimi also has a strong local pedigree, having been runner-up in the series twice in 2014 and 2015, and he has scored several wins at the wheel of a Honda CRX.
Marcello Lotti welcomed the local entries to the championship, as he revealed that a Middle Eastern expansion is the next target for the TCR concept.
“We give a very warm welcome to Salman Al Khalifa and Hussain Karimi, the first Middle East drivers to join TCR,” said Lotti. “The concept we have launched last year is spreading quickly and we are now looking at the Middle East for further expansion.”
There remain three drivers still to be announced on the TCR entry list, with a TBA against one of the drivers in the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta for Mulsanne Racing. Top Run Motorsport have yet to reveal the name of their second Subaru STi driver, whilst Target Competition have a TBA against a third Opel Astra, which is not expected to be filled for the opening event.