The TCR Europe series will award qualifying points to the top ten drivers in Q2 from the 2020 season onwards, as changes to the sporting regulations were confirmed this week.
Previously, qualifying points were awarded to the fastest five drivers in Q2 on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale. Now, the top ten drivers will be given points, resulting in the driver who secures pole position picking up an extra ten points before the first race.
Victory in a race still yields 40 points for the winner, whilst the top 15 drivers in the race will still pick up points as the system has not been changed beyond qualifying.
“The reason for this is to come into line with the new Compensation Weight system that drops the fastest lap in the races to focus on the qualifying times,” explained series promoter Paulo Ferreira.
The other major change to the sporting format is that races will no longer be time limited. In the past two seasons races had been run to 23 minutes plus one lap, but they will now run to 55 km regardless of time.
The number of full-season entries has been restricted to 30 cars, whilst the maximum number of cars on the grid has been set at 32, with the exception of Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, which can run with 34 cars.
The deadline for full season entries is April 12.