The FIA World Touring Car Cup will again not race in Asia in the current season, after the FIA Touring Car Commission revealed that ongoing restrictions in the region would once again force a revised calendar to be issued.
The WTCR had been set to return to Asia to race at venues in South Korea (Inje Speedium), China (Ningbo) and Macau (Circuito da Guia) this year.
However, the evolving coronavirus situation in the region once again means that a decision has been made to cancel those races.
The FIA statement read: “Due to the ongoing quarantine restrictions and associated logistical challenges in Asia, rounds of WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup and FIA ETCR – eTouring Car World Cup set to take place on the continent will not be held this year.
“Together with Discovery Sports Events, the promoter of the two series, the FIA is working towards securing replacement events.
“Further details on the new calendar additions will be communicated in due course.”
WTCR has already had to revise its calendar in 2022 due to Russia’s war in Ukraine – the Russian round was cancelled, whilst the planned season opener in the Czech Republic at most had to also be cancelled due to the resulting refugee crisis.
Furthermore, the WTCR races on the Nürburgring Nordschleife were cancelled at the last minute on safety grounds due to repeated tyre failures.