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| Category | Touring cars |
|---|---|
| Region | International |
| Inaugural season | 2015 |
| Folded | 2017 |
| Tyre suppliers | Michelin |
| Last Drivers' champion |  Jean-Karl Vernay |
| Last Teams' champion |  M1RA |
TheTCR International Series was an internationaltouring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti.[1] It was marketed as a cost-effective spin-off of the WTCC, targeted atC-segmenthatchbacks production-based touring cars. The title TCR follows the naming convention now used by theFIA to classify the cars that compete in touring car racing, with TC1 referring to the top tier as used by theFIA WTCC and TC2 referring to the legacy cars which principally compete in theFIA ETCC.
On 6th December 2017, FIA's World Motorsport Council announced that the series will merge withWorld Touring Car Championship andEuropean Touring Car Cup starting in2018.
On 15 July 2014, Lotti revealed further details on the TCR series.[2]On the same day it was announced that the TCR series will award a Drivers' Championship title and a Teams' Championship title. The number of teams will be limited to eight and the number of competitors to twenty-four. It was also announced that the series will run alongsideFormula One at selected events.
On 21 July 2014, more details about the series became available:[3] the race weekend format will be structured like the WTCC, with two free practice sessions and a two part qualifying session, followed by two races on Sunday. The first event would take place inItaly in March, but when a provisional calendar for the2015 season was released on 31 October,[4] it became clear that the first event will take place at theSepang International Circuit on 29 March. Lotti confirmed the technical principles of theSEAT León Cup Racer, which is also set to be adopted in the Single-Make Trophy category of the European Touring Car Cup in2015, will be used by the TCR Series.
On 29 July 2014, former WTCC driverPepe Oriola said in an interview with TouringCarTimes that he hopes to compete in the new series, because he was set to drive for theOnyx Race Engineering team in the2014 WTCC season with their newFord Fiesta TC1 car for the last part of the season, before the project was abandoned with no support for homologation fromFord.[5]
On 15 September 2014, the TCR organisation announced the first cars, teams, regulations and events of its inaugural season in2015.[6]Target Competition became the first team to confirm entry in the series and will runSEAT León Eurocup cars in 2015.Onyx Race Engineering has also confirmed they are developing theFord Focus for the championship.
A week laterPaolo Coloni Racing announced plans to enter the championship in 2015.[7] Team principalPaolo Coloni, son ofF1-team founderEnzo Coloni, is known for its accomplishments in theGP2 Series in2005 and in2009 to2012. The team will confirm at a later date their planned car and driver line-up.
On 31 October 2014, a provisional calendar for its inaugural season was released.[4] It will consist of twelve weekends, four inAsia, five inEurope, two inSouth America and one to be announced.
On 7 November 2014, the fourth team was announced: the SwedishSTCC teamWestCoast Racing will join the series with threeHonda Civics build byJAS Motorsport. On 20 NovemberLiqui Moly Team Engstler announced they will participate withVolkswagen Golfs andFranz Engstler will be driving one of theVWs.
On 5 December 2014, the series was approved by theFIA and renamed TCR International Series instead of using the original TC3 International Series name.
On 27 January 2015, Marcello Lotti announced three new teams for the inaugural season:Zengő Motorsport,Proteam Racing andCampos Racing.[8] On 13 FebruaryJordi Oriola announced he will be driving aTarget CompetitionSEAT atValencia andMonza[9] andMikhail Grachev was confirmed on 17 February atEngstler Motorsport.[10] In the end of February and in March almost half of all the drivers were confirmed, but just one week from the first round inSepangOnyx Race Engineering,Paolo Coloni Racing andProteam Racing have not confirmed a single driver. On 20 March the TCR International Series organisation announced the first TV deals for the inaugural season.[11] On 29 May 2015,David Sonenscher announces theTCR Thailand Series, starting from 2016.[12]
On 15 September 2014, technical regulations for the category were announced.[13] On 22 January 2016, minor changes were applied.[14]
Eligible cars: 4/5-door vehicles
Body shell: Reinforced production body shell; wheel arch modifications allowed to accommodate tyres
Minimum weight: 1250 kg for cars with production gearbox, 1285 kg for cars with racing gearbox (both including the driver)
Minimum overall length: 4.20 metres
Maximum overall width: 1.95 metres
Engine: Turbo-charged petrol or diesel up to 2.0-litre
Torque: 420 Nm
Power: 350 PS
Lubrication: Wet sump
Exhaust: Homologated catalytic converter using production parts
Traction: On two wheels
Gearbox: Production or TCR International Series sequential; production paddle shift accepted
Front Suspension: Production lay-out; parts free design
Rear Suspension: Original design of production car with reinforced components
Brakes:
Wheels: Maximum dimensions of rim: 10″ x 18″
Aerodynamics:
These points have been based on the FIA's points system used in the FIA Formula One Championship.[6]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
