MotorSport New Zealand has awarded the commercial and promotional rights of the forthcoming TCR New Zealand series to the ANZ Motorsport Group, a subsidiary of the Australian Racing Group.
ARG has been promoting the new-for-2019 TCR Australia series, which kicked off last month, and has now secured the rights to promote the new TCR New Zealand series, which is set to get underway in 2020.
The announcement, made at Phillip Island as WSC Group President Marcello Lotti was in attendance, will ensure that the two Australasian countries have closely-aligned touring car series.
The ANZ Motorsport Group will oversee the introduction of the new two-litre formula to New Zealand in a multi-year agreement.
One of the key parts of the announcement is that there will be no date clashes between the TCR Australia and TCR New Zealand calendars, allowing competitors to potentially compete in both series with the same machinery.
The ANZ Motorsport Group will work with New Zealand motorsports event promoter Speed Works Events Ltd to formulate the 2020 calendar, avoiding date clashes with other major NZ racing series where possible. A local resource will also be appointed to manage the category locally.
“This is a really exciting announcement for the Australian Racing Group and our new subsidiary company ANZ Motorsport Group,” said Matt Braid, Director of ARG.
“Being awarded another series is a huge vote of confidence from WSC and speaks to the successful launch of the TCR Series in Australia and we look forward to ensuring both series are successful, competitive and highly regarded within this region.
“We’ll be able to take our learnings from TCR Australia to TCR New Zealand for the benefit of all local race teams, competitors, fans and the media and develop additional opportunities that overseeing both series allows us to.
“By aligning both TCR Series with no date clashes between the calendars, all TCR competitors in the region will have the opportunity to compete in both the New Zealand and Australia series.
“The ANZ Motorsport Group is currently working with MotorSport NZ and Speed Works Events Ltd to formulate a racing calendar for the 2020 New Zealand motorsport season and is planning to have New Zealand-based resources to manage the category locally.”
Wayne Christie, President of MotorSport NZ, believes that working with ARG will give the new series the best chance of taking off successfully.
“This experience makes ARG’s ANZ Motorsport Group the logical choice to give the TCR New Zealand series the best chance of success,” said Christie.
“We are finalising all contractual details at present and expect the ANZ Motorsport Group will quickly get to work to prepare for the debut season of TCR New Zealand in 2020.
“The response from competitors and teams to our announcement that the TCR category was coming to New Zealand was overwhelmingly positive.
“TCR New Zealand fits nicely into our structure of premier saloon car race categories and offers competitors the chance to race market-relevant cars under an international formula. We expect that this confirmation of the series promoter will provide competitors with confidence to push ahead with plans to compete in the New Zealand TCR series when it commences next year.”
Marcello Lotti, President of WSC Group, highlighted the importance of a lack of date clashes between the Australian and New Zealand series.
“We are very happy that the Australian Racing Group has been selected to promote the new TCR New Zealand Championship from next year,” said Lotti.
“Australia and New Zealand are so close together, so to have same promotor makes sense. From what we’ve seen how the Australian series has been run, then we have no doubt that New Zealand will be a huge success.
“This is a big win for the competitors, having two TCR Series so close together. There will be more opportunity to use their cars in the two championships.”