Gianni Morbidelli has described the adoption of TCR technical regulations for the new FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) as the ‘perfect mix’ between the former WTCC and TCR.
With 20 years of touring car experience behind him, including years spent in the European (ETCC) and World (WTCC) championship beforehand and latterly the TCR International Series, Morbidelli has seen touring car regulations change several times before.
The Italian is well placed to comment on the creation of WTCR, having previously raced in the WTCC in an independent TC1 Chevrolet and seen first-hand the financial struggles of independent teams to gather the required budget to race.
“After three years, with these kind of cars, this fusion between the WTCC and TCR is a perfect mix,” said Morbidelli to TouringCars.Net. “It’s more important now that it’s an FIA championship, and its bigger.
“When the prize is so big the interest of the manufacturers and the drivers is bigger, and it makes the category more and more difficult, because in terms of performance and the field, it’s incredible.
“If you look at the teams and the drivers, I’m sure that the championship will be extremely competitive and extremely hard. We saw that in TCR we were able to offer a nice show to people. This year will be even better, because I’m sure the performance will be close.”
In 2018 the 50-year-old has signed for the Italian outfit Team Mulsanne to race one of its Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR cars, although he admits that he had been working on a campaign with TCR International regulars WestCoast Racing at the end of 2017 which ultimately failed to materialise.
“To be honest last year when we finished the season, myself and WestCoast Racing were very close to Volkswagen to carry on with them for WTCR, but in the end nothing happened with them.
“I was really sorry because we had a good season, especially the last part, so my intention of course was to carry on with them. But then I had no more chances, and I spent the winter trying to find a solution.
“I received a call to test at Monza for the Alfa Romeo [Romeo Ferraris]. It was a good chance for me to test, and I was extremely happy, even if it was just for a test, as there was nothing at that moment in my hand and they didn’t offer me anything.
“But then we did the test and we started to talk together with the team, Mulsanne, and Michela Cerruti [Team Manager] and we found an agreement. It makes me extremely happy and it’s exciting as it is a new adventure. It’s a completely Italian team, a proper Italian team.
“For them it is a big effort, because they decided to take on two pro drivers at a moment like this where it is difficult and often teams prefer to take drivers who bring budgets.
“They want to be competitive and their ambition is to have some connection directly with Alfa Romeo. The priority is to do this and to work hard, to develop the car and to improve the performance.
“It is difficult to say if we will start from fifth, tenth or 20th on the grid. We just have to concentrate on our job and try to make the car better and better.”