The inaugural TCR World Ranking Final, originally scheduled to take place in March, has been postponed, with organiser WSC Group stating the intention is to avoid having two finals in the same year.
The event was originally supposed to take place at the Algarve International Circuit in two months’ time, but that has now been postponed.
One of the key reasons cited by WSC is “the need to avoid holding two finals in the same year in an already packed calendar”.
The event is also set to gain FIA recognition, making it the FIA TCR World Ranking Final. WSC has already been cooperating with the FIA on its TCR World Tour, which begins at Vallelunga in April, which gains FIA recognition for this year.
The postponement has been justified by the need to avoid “an excess of annual touring car competitions in 2024” due in part to the third edition of the FIA Motorsport Games, which features a TCR touring car component, taking place at Valenica in October.
When the FIA TCR World Ranking Final is rescheduled, it will be entirely focussed on customer drivers. This means entry will be restricted only to drivers from regional and national series, prohibiting those who have competed in the FIA TCR World Tour from entering.
All drivers who had already registered for the Portimão event will receive an automatic entry for the new date.
The revised date and venue, in the third quarter of next year, are expected to be confirmed shortly.
“We’ve made the decision to move the date based on a series of logical factors,” said WSC President Marcello Lotti. “When it became clear we would be hosting two ‘world finals’ in the same year, we had to look at what was best to resolve that, both from a sporting perspective and for our competitors, and moving the event for us makes the most sense.
“With the FIA Motorsport Games also taking place this year, having three annual major touring car events doesn’t make sense, and we can now put our full focus on holding our first TCR final, which will now come with an FIA title.
“I wish to thank the Portuguese ASN and the Autódromo do Algarve for their support, and for understanding our decision.”