The FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) will hit the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife for three races this week, with a full grid of 27 drivers tackling the 170-turn ‘Green Hell’.
The WTCR will carry its regular three-race, two-qualifying format over to the Nürburgring 24-Hour event with only minor changes. Gone is the three-segment second qualifying, instead replaced with a straightforward 40-minute session, just as with first qualifying.
On the grid, there will be an extra big-name champion, as defending DTM title holder René Rast joins the fray in an Audi RS3 LMS, run by crack Belgian team WRT.
How Rast will fare will be of particular interest, as it is the first time in the history of World Touring Cars that the defending DTM champion has taken to the grid.
Furthermore, many are tipping the RS3 LMS to be one of the form cars at the high-speed Nordschleife, giving the wildcard a strong chance. The German will be combining his racing in WTCR with an entry in the main event in an Audi R8 LMS GT3, also run by Team WRT.
Also getting the nod for a wildcard entry is young Swiss racer Kris Richard, who will be racing a Honda Civic Type-R for the same KCMG team which ran Attila Tassi in the Race of Hungary two weeks’ ago.
Richard previously raced in the WTCC last year in two events when he got a drive with Campos Racing as a reward for his success in the 2016 ETCC. He also has experience of the Nordschleife, having taken victory in the supporting ETCC race in 2016 on his way to the title.
In terms of the form book for the circuit, the only drivers to have previously won at the track of the current crop of drivers are YMR’s Yvan Muller (2015) and Thed Björk (2017). And there is certain to be a new brand on the top step of the podium, with previous races having been dominated by Citroën and Volvo in the WTCC era.
The compensation weights for the event will also likely come into force for the first time this season. At the time of writing these have yet to be published, but with Hyundai cars having taken 11 out of 18 possible podium finishes in the first six races, expect the i30 N TCR to be gaining some weight this weekend.
The Honda Civic Type R FK7 has been one of the stronger cars, with two podium finishes to-date this year, and the Honda drivers are expecting the car to do well at the top-end speed required by the Nordschleife.
Not expecting to be as strong is series leader Gabriele Tarquini, who enjoys a comfortable 36-point lead at the head of the standings but admits that the strength of his car lies in the cornering abilities.
“At the moment the top speed is not our best area,” said Tarquini to TouringCars.Net when quizzed about his prospects at the ‘Ring. “We will see what happens. OK you have a long straight, but you also have to deal with the corners.
“I’m very happy about the performance of the chassis. Braking, cornering and the [mid-corner] speeds – the car seems very good.
“For sure I am not a specialist of the Nordschleife – you can find some expert drivers there. My experience is probably in the middle.”
Will we see a new series leader after the weekend is done? Quite possibly – for Tarquini has hardly had the most glittering results on his two touring car outings on the Nordschleife in 2015 and 2016, where he finished in the top ten each time but was always second-best to his team-mates in either Honda or LADA machinery.
The Italian has a 36-point lead over Yann Ehrlacher, with 87 available from a perfect score during the weekend, and the French youngster believes that age could be a factor on the demanding 170-turn circuit.
The race weekend gets underway with free practice, first qualifying and race one on Thursday, with the race taking place at 19:45 CEST (18:45 BST) in the evening.
The action then continues with a light timetable on Friday, which will see only second qualifying take place.
Races two and three then follow on Saturday morning at 11:00 CEST (10:00 BST) and 12:20 CEST (11:20 BST) respectively in the run-up to the main 24-Hour event.