2016 Nr.05 World and life International Series: the Asian leg Feature: sharing the costs Report: The world in action WORLD AND LIFE TCR 2016 NEWS HOME DRIVERS TEAM 2016 World and life Editor in chief Fabio Ravaioli ([email protected]) Editors Alfredo Filippone ([email protected]) Mark James ([email protected]) Photography > EDITORIAL Photo 4 ([email protected]) We’re very pleased with how the inaugural season of TCR Thailand is progressing. Contributors As soon as we understood the concept, we realised it would Pedro Couto, Edd Ellison, resonate here and tick all the boxes. Touring car racing is Sean Henshelwood, popular in Thailand with full grids, but equality of the cars Pedro Gil de Vasconcelos, has been an issue and as Thai drivers are now looking to Grigory Golyshev, Lee Mun Yee, race internationally our local regulations didn’t offer that Jacques Letihon, Natasha Mark, opportunity. Vadim Nikishev, Salvatore Tarantino, TCR addresses those issues; equality of the cars creates a Koen Wijckmans level playing field where drivers can compete against each other with confidence and crucially they can also make the most of the international opportunities. Published by Having both TCR International and TCR Asia series visiting Published by WSC Buriram this year is an unrivalled chance for our drivers World Sporting Consulting Ltd and teams to measure themselves against top 22 Eastcheap, 2nd Floor, internationals on an equal footing – and within a cost London EC3M 1EU, effective comfort zone. It’s an ideal first step. That our United Kingdom competitors have been able to measure up well against the best in TCR Asia Series has given everyone a confidence Designed by booster. Inpagina s.r.l., via Giambologna 2, Racing Spirit has made a major investment to support TCR 40138 Bologna, Italy Thailand in all key areas, including in parts support, and [email protected] after two events its progressing well, interest is growing fast. We expect the grid to move into double figures by the end of the year and to keep growing. We’re also proud of the fact that we’re the first domestic TCR series in Asia – and that in itself emphasises just where Thai motorsport is going and TCR is a good reflection of that. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without Paritat Bulbon the publisher’s permission Managing Director Racing Spirit 2 STANDINGS GUEST COLUMNIST TCR brought a new excitement to Touring Car racing There's a new excitement about Touring Car tier touring car series in the Deutscher racing across Europe thanks to the TCR Tourenwagen Cup already in existence. Series, which has been missing for TCR Benelux fills the void which was formed quite a few years since the when the Belgian Touring Car Series imploded rather rapid and recent just five years ago, and suddenly out of decline of the national nowhere the world is exposed to a number of touring car fast up-and-coming Belgian and Dutch drivers, championships. ready to move up into the International Series While a few national and beyond with the right support. series, such as the While the WTCC has started looking to single- British Touring Car seaters and to the ultra-competitive Championship survive in Argentinian touring car driver market for its isolation, others have next generation of competitors, TCR is helping staved off death through Europe and Asia get its house in order, and excessive cost-cutting, such soon it won't be long before the best tin-top as the Scandinavian talent can be found without having to look championship, as others have too far after all. devolved into anonymous club-level series, Neil Hudson or just simply disappeared entirely. Managing editor of TouringCarTimes.com In just two short years, the TCR formula has reignited that middle tier between amateur Neil Hudson has established himself as one of and professional racing. the most qualified journalists in Touring Car While the TCR International Series functions as racing. Besides being managing editor of a grand showcase, taking some of the world's TouringCarTimes.com he also writes for best touring car drivers and teams across the Motorsport.com and covers a whole array of world to demonstrate the product, it's the touring car classes, from smaller national series national and regional classes which are to the world's largest, such as the DTM, the actually the most exciting prospect for TCR. BTCC, STCC, WTCC and the V8 Supercars The ADAC TCR Germany series shows just what Championship. can be done to build a competitive and Neil has a passion for touring car racing as one exciting 20-car national championship from of the most entertaining and enthralling classes scratch, and that's in a country that had no of motorsport, and one that best connects the real gap to fill anyway, with the DTM as its top fans and the manufacturers with the cars and tier manufacturer-backed series, and with models that can be both raced and driven on competitive GT championships and a second the road. THIRD PAGE 3 WORLD AND LIFE TCR 2016 NEWS HOME DRIVERS TEAM The Final Leg begins TCR INTERNATIONAL SERIES HEADS EAST Following the two races at Sochi in ram, the Thai circuit that saw the ho- gapore. Supporting the Formula One Russia, the TCR International Series nours shared between Stefano Comini Singapore Grand Prix once again, one took an eight-week break before the and Pepe Oriola in 2015, with each of two night races in the TCR calen- drivers, teams and TCR staff regroup claiming one race victory. In addi- dar provides one of the highlights of in Thailand for the first of four tion, pole position went to Gianni the season. We are guaranteed to see events in the Far East that will decide Morbidelli, so all three drivers will be a new name added to list of Singa- the various TCR titles. Over a third of eager to return to the Chang Interna- pore race winners as neither of the the season still lies ahead, so those tional Circuit. 2015 victors – Kevin Gleason and final four events will provide a real Mid-September sees arguably the Jordi Gené – is scheduled to take sting in the tail for the competitors. season’s most spectacular setting – part this year. First comes the pair of races at Buri- the Marina Bay street circuit in Sin- The penultimate round of the series 4 STANDINGS INTERNATIONAL SERIES is another Formula One event – at The Swiss driver clinched the 2015 saw former World Champion Rob Huff Sepang in Malaysia – that takes TCR title at the very last race of the join the TCR International Series in place at the beginning of October. year in Macau and the iconic street Macau last year. The heat of Kuala Lumpur may well circuit once again will provide the Heading for Buriram, the top six dri- play an important part in procee- season finale this year. The narrow vers are separated by a total of 37 dings, just as it did when Sepang ho- track and unforgiving concrete bar- points with Comini leading by a sin- sted the opening races in the 2015 riers offer a daunting challenge for gle point from his friend and closest TCR International Series. Stefano Co- newcomers, yet the former Portu- rival Pepe Oriola. Each of the eight mini made history on that occasion guese colony acts as a magnet for remaining races offers 25 points for by becoming the first-ever winner of drivers and so we may well see a re- victory, however, so the battle for the a TCR race. peat of the kind of one-off drive that TCR drivers’ title is far from over… 5 WORLD AND LIFE TCR 2016 NEWS HOME DRIVERS TEAM TCR for two: a solution rather than a choice CAR SHARE IS THE KEY TO CUTTING COSTS FOR TEAMS AND DRIVERS 6 STANDINGS FEATURE Driver change for the RACB National Team SEAT León of Sam Dejonghe and Dénis Dupont during the TCR Benelux Qualifying Race at Zandvoort 7 WORLD AND LIFE TCR 2016 NEWS HOME DRIVERS TEAM As the TCR concept takes roots in numerous countries and series, peculiarities have started to appear. One of the most interesting is that, in some series, cars can be shared by two drivers. Multi-driver line-ups are standard in long-distance races (where TCR cars are becoming more and more popular), but less so in traditional Touring Car racing. The Benelux, Portuguese and Italian series all allow for two drivers to share one car. In the Benelux series, it is a deliberate choice that has crafted the format of the competition itself. Promoter Marc Van Dalen explains: “For us, designing the series around the possibility of having two drivers sharing a car was a must-have. It was the right option to give teams and drivers more possibilities to compete, as the budget for running one car can be shared between two drivers. This was also crucial to attract young drivers, which was one of our stated objectives.” The event format of the Benelux series is unique within the TCR sphere, with a long qualifying race (1 hour) that includes a driver change, and two double sprint races, with one of the drivers at the wheel in the first two and his co-driver replacing him for Races 3 and 4. Drivers score both their own points and those achieved by their teammate. The championship leader Stéphane Lémeret admits: “From a sporting point of view, it is a little bit odd to score the points of a race you haven’t taken part in, but I understand it’s the only way to avoid separating two guys who share the same car and… budget.” Ronnie Latinne and Maxime Potty co-drive the Volkswagen Golf of Team WRT 8 STANDINGS FEATURE TCR Italy: Samuele Piccin and Romy Dall’Antonia share a SEAT León run by BF Motorsport TCR Benelux: the Delahaye Racing SEAT León of Edouard and Guillaume Mondron 9 WORLD AND LIFE TCR 2016 NEWS HOME DRIVERS TEAM TCR Portugal: the Team Novadriver Volkswagen Golf of Manuel Gião and Francisco Abreu; Francisco Carvalho/Nuno Batista, Veloso Motorsport SEAT León (bottom) Car pooling 'not impossible' in the TCR International Series Sharing a car is not currently allowed by the Sporting Regula- tions of the TCR International Series.