Six drivers in contention for the crown, along with a host of high-profile guest entries and a bumper grid promises plenty of action as the TCR Europe title race goes down to the wire at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this weekend [20-21 October].
Five different models of car across as many teams occupy the top five positions in the championship, in arguably TCR’s closest title race to date. 55 points remain on offer, with that exact number splitting the six drivers still in the mix.
The advantage currently lies with Mikel Azcona, with the Spaniard arriving at his home event with a 19-point buffer over Lukoil Leopard WRT Team’s Jean-Karl Vernay.
The 2017 TCR International Series Champion has enjoyed a late season resurgence, and a double victory at Monza last time out – coupled with a high profile exclusion for Dušan Borković after an off-track incident – have propelled him forward as Azcona’s closest challenger.
Borković remains firmly in the title race, but it remains to be seen whether the Serbian will be allowed to race the Target Competition-run Hyundai i30 N TCR at the 2.89 mile circuit this weekend.
Consistency has kept Hell Energy with KCMG’s Attila Tassi and M1RA’s Daniel Nagy in the hunt – albeit as an outside shot – whilst Tassi’s team mate Josh Files will need chaos ahead and a perfect score to add to an extensive list of TCR honours.
Nagy’s team mate for the weekend needs little introduction, with Norbert Michelisz set to partner his compatriot for the finale alongside his FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) programme.
2017 British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton has also elected to make the trip following a successful introduction to TCR competition in the UK at Oulton Park in June, and will partner Andreas and Jessica Bäckman at WestCoast Racing in the team’s Volkswagen Golf GTI trio as the Swedish outfit evaluates the category ahead of 2019.
TCR Germany title contender Mike Halder will also join the fray in a third KCMG-run Honda Civic Type R, partnering ex-title rival Files and Tassi.
Having lost out on the UK title to Dan Lloyd at Donington Park last weekend, Pyro Motorsport’s Ollie Taylor will once again join the Europe field as he analyses his options for next season, and aims to build on a points-scoring performance in Italy.
Several other close battles are also set to reach a conclusion in Spain, with Kris Richard, Maxime Potty and Stian Paulsen all fighting to be ‘best of the rest’ outside the title contenders in seventh.
Potty’s brace of fourth placed finishes at Monza, coupled with misfortune for Richard and Paulsen respectively, mean the momentum is on his side heading into the season-concluding double header.
Of more interest to him, however, is the TCR Benelux crown, and the Belgian holds a 4-point lead over Vernay, with Danny Kroes a further two markers back.
Double TCR International Champion Stefano Comini has endured a mixed year amid car swaps and development, but the Swiss is on something of a roll of late and could spring a late charge up the standings.
The on-circuit action could also have a significant bearing on the Teams’ title, with Target and KCMG in effectively a two-horse race for the honours, split by a mere 7 points.
A slip-up from either could allow Azcona’s PCR Sport team in to snatch top spot, and though WRT remain mathematically in contention, their single-car entry versus their rivals’ expanded operations should all but rule out a shock twist.
The two races are scheduled to get underway at 17:30 on Saturday [20th October] and 15:55 the following day.