The grid for the first TCR Asia Pacific cup has been confirmed, with 22 cars set to line up for the Formula 1-supporting race on the Melbourne Street Circuit this weekend.
The field will see seven different car brands on track, with a combination of both local and international talent duelling to take the cup over the three-race weekend.
Late additions to the grid include former Supercars star Garth Tander, who was a race winner in last year’s TCR Australia series, Hamish Ribarits, who also raced in TCR Australia last year, and Takuya Shirasaka, who replaces Paul Ip at Wall Racing.
Tander will line up in a brand-new Audi RS3 LMS run by the Melbourne Performance Centre. Tander won one race in TCR Australia in 2019 and stood on the podium five times in Audi machinery.
Ribarits returns to MPC in an Audi, having raced to a podium with the team last year at Phillip Island, before he made another one-off appearance in a Holden Astra with Kelly Racing at Winton later in the year.
Hong Kong racer Paul Ip was originally to race with Wall Racing, but work commitments mean that he has been kept out of the country and will now be replaced by 35-year-old Japanese racer Shirasaka.
Despite his absence from this event, Ip is still set to compete in the TCR Australia season opener at Sydney Motorsport Park later in the month, ahead of a full season in the series.
Other international entrants include Jack Milligan from New Zealand (Audi), René Münnich from Germany (Honda), Stan van Oord from The Netherlands (Audi) and Julien Briché from France (Peugeot).
Front-runners from last year’s TCR Australia series include reigning champion Will Brown in a Hyundai, Dylan O’Keeffe in a Renault, Aaron Cameron in a Peugeot, James Moffat in a Renault and Nathan Morcom in a Hyundai.
Supercars racer Michael Caruso will line up in an Alfa Romeo, whilst former Supercars ace Jason Bargwanna takes to the grid in a Peugeot 308.
The grid will also feature strong female representation, with Alexandra Whitley and Chelsea Angelo racing in Volkswagen Golf GTi machinery.
Two practice sessions and qualifying will be held on Thursday, followed by one race each day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
TCR Asia Pacific Cup entry list
| # | Entrant | Driver | Car |
| 1 | HMO Customer Racing | Will Brown | Hyundai i30 N |
| 2 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Chelsea Angelo | Volkswagen Golf GTI |
| 7 | Valvoline Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce |
| 9 | Ashley Seward Motorsport / AWC | Jay Hanson | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce |
| 10 | Ashley Seward Motorsport | James Allen | Alfa Romeo Giulietta Veloce |
| 11 | HMO Customer Racing | Nathan Morcom | Hyundai i30 N |
| 15 | Wurth | Michael Clemente | Honda Civic Type R |
| 17 | Burson Auto Parts Racing | Jason Bargwanna | Peugeot 308 TCR |
| 18 | Team Valvoline GRM | Aaron Cameron | Peugeot 308 TCR |
| 22 | Track Tec Racing | Jack Milligan | Audi RS3 LMS |
| 33 | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Dylan O’Keeffe | Renault Mégane RS |
| 34 | Renault Sport GRM | James Moffat | Renault Mégane RS |
| 35 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Alexandra Whitley | Volkswagen Golf GTI |
| 49 | Wall Racing/ALL-INKL.COM | René Münnich | Honda Civic Type R |
| 51 | KCMG Motorsport | Takuya Shirasaka | Honda Civic Type R |
| 75 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Garth Tander | Audi RS3 LMS |
| 77 | Track Tec Racing | Stan Van Oord | Audi RS3 LMS |
| 97 | Varta Batteries | Liam McAdam | Audi RS3 LMS |
| 100 | Melbourne Performance Centre | Hamish Ribarits | Audi RS3 LMS |
| 110 | Team Soutar Motorsport | Zac Soutar | Honda Civic Type R |