The all-new electric touring car series, PURE ETCR, will become the FIA eTouring Car World Cup from the 2022 season, following an agreement between the FIA and Eurosport Events following a tender process.
Due to launch in June, PURE ETCR is the world’s first multi-brand all-electric touring car series. After its first season, in 2022 the series will be upgraded to full FIA status.
This year the ETCR season will kick off with four events in Europe and one event in Asia, whilst its evolution into the FIA eTouring Car World Cup in 2022 will see titles awarded for Drivers and Manufacturers.
Eurosport Events has a long history of promoting global touring car racing, having promoted the FIA World Touring Car Championship between 2005 and 2017 and the FIA World Touring Car Cup since 2018, the latter of which had its contract with the organisation renewed until the end of 2025.
Alan Gow, FIA Touring Car Commission President, was delighted to welcome an electric touring car series to the FIA Touring Car portfolio.
“It is with great pleasure to see the FIA family of touring car competitions further broadened with the addition of the FIA eTouring Car World Cup,” said Gow.
“It’s the ideal scenario for FIA-sanctioned touring cars to have the traditional combustion-engined WTCR coexist with an new all-electric competition discipline utilising an innovative format.
“This is an important step for all parties involved and I’m looking ahead with great excitement to see this new competition take shape.”
Peter Bayer, Secretary General for Sport at the FIA, is confident in Eurosport Events, and ETCR concept originator WSC, to deliver the ground-breaking new series under the FIA banner.
“I’m pleased to witness the growth of the FIA’s portfolio of motor sport discipline by the addition of a new and exciting competition that the FIA eTouring Car World Cup will surely turn out to be.
“This new concept is sustainable, relevant to manufacturers and fans, and the innovative format guarantees action-packed events.
“In Eurosport Events we have a proven partner experienced at promoting world-level motor sport and I’m confident the series will thrive.”
François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the PURE ETCR promoter, emphasised the importance of electric given the direction the automobile industry is rapidly heading in.
“We are thrilled to receive confirmation from the FIA that the Series will become the FIA eTouring Car World Cup from 2022,” added Ribeiro.
“The automotive industry is rapidly moving towards electrification and we are working incredibly hard in partnership with WSC to build the world’s first all-electric touring car series with racing and innovation at its heart, and offer car manufacturers a platform to showcase their electric production vehicles in intense authentic on-track battles that touring car fans love.
“The FIA’s recognition emphasises the key role the governing body is performing in the push towards greater levels of electromobility.
“The sporting expertise of the FIA, together with Eurosport Events’ know-how in promoting international motorsport properties, will make this future FIA eTouring Car World Cup a strong platform to allow car makers to promote their technology and products.”
Marcello Lotti, President of the WSC Group, which created the technical underpinnings of the series, was pleased to see further acknowledgement of ETCR, which was first publicly revealed in Barcelona in 2018.
“We are obviously very proud to see that all the work we have done on the ETCR project over the last three years is starting to bear fruit as we’d hoped, arousing the interest of manufacturers together with anticipation of further growth,” added Lotti.
“The FIA’s decision to grant the status of eTouring Car World Cup to PURE ETCR, based on the ETCR technical regulations, is the icing on the cake for us and further consolidates the effective collaboration between the FIA and WSC that began in 2018 with the choice of the TCR technical regulations on which to launch the WTCR – FIA Touring Car World Cup.”