The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge will feature a TCR class from 2018 onwards, with the promoter also gaining exclusive rights to establish TCR USA and TCR Canada as standalone series, it has been announced.
WSC Ltd, who are behind the TCR concept, and International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) have been known to be in talks for some time.
Now the organisation has agreed a deal with WSC to bring the TCR brand to North America, with the TCR class to run in addition to the two existing touring car categories of the Grand Sport (GS) class and the Street Tuner (ST) class.
“We began our due diligence process on the potential introduction of the TCR platform more than a year ago, and formally announced that we were exploring the concept last year,” explained IMSA CEO Ed Bennett.
“We engaged our automotive partners and teams throughout the discovery process and determined that TCR would be an attractive addition to the Continental Tire Challenge.
“We are pleased to work together with WSC CEO Marcello Lotti and Sporting and Series Director Nunzia Corvino to introduce what we believe will be a popular class to IMSA fans and participants.”
IMSA now holds the rights to sub-licence the “proper use of TCR specifications to other sanctioning bodies” in the North American territory as well.
TCR promoter Marcello Lotti praised the professionalism of IMSA in securing the lucrative TCR deal.
“TCR has quickly become the standard global touring car platform,” said Lotti. “Our goal was to once again create a base for touring car racing. The crucial part about it was to keep the costs for the cars low to ensure equality of opportunity.
“In North America, we believed IMSA was the most professional partner available in the market and we could not be more pleased to establish this partnership together.”
TCR brands with a presence in North America include Audi, Ford, Honda, Alfa Romeo, KIA, Subaru and Volkswagen.