TCR Australia has been confirmed as one of the international series which will feature as part of the new TCR World Tour for the 2023 season.
Following the demise of the FIA World Touring Car Cup, global TCR rights holder has launched the TCR World Tour concept for next season.
This will see a nine-race World Series which is formed from rounds of the most important regional and national TCR series around the globe.
Nine races will be formed from the calendars of existing series, followed by a grand finale, where the top 15 drivers in the World Tour automatically qualify and the next highest ranked drivers go through a series of qualifying rounds, with up to 60 drivers potentially featuring in a big four-day ‘World Final’ event.
Australia will feature on the new World Tour calendar, although whether the country will host one or two rounds has yet to be confirmed along with the potential venues.
“WSC can confirm that the global calendar for TCR World Tour will be released shortly and that Australia will form a key part of that calendar,” said WSC President Marcello Lotti, who will also visit Australia for the final round of this year’s TCR Australia on 11 – 13 November.
“The TCR World Tour will race in Australia which will see the manufacturer customer racing TCR World Tour teams race in Australia with the TCR Australia teams and series.
“Australia has consistently been one of the most exciting and professional TCR series and we are delighted to acknowledge this by bringing the benefit of a global audience and the TCR World Tour to Australia.”
Liam Curkpatrick, Chief Operating Officer of TCR Australia promoter Australian Racing Group, believes the inclusion of Australia will present new opportunities for teams and drivers in the country.
“This is a very major achievement for Australia to feature as part of the new TCR World Tour Series,” said Curkpatrick. “It’s a significant commitment by WSC and the teams to come here and compete at our venue(s) and is a great opportunity for our own drivers to show case their talent to a global audience and potentially create new opportunities as a result.
“This is testament to our teams and drivers who have made the opening few seasons of competition down under one of the most regarded TCR series in the world.
“It is also pleasing to see the increased driver pathways that we are now seeing with the resumption of international travel.
“This has included Aaron Cameron competing in the FIA World games in TCR, Nathan Herne in the USA competing in Trans AM along with international drivers and now the TCR World Tour Series coming to Australia.
“For now, we look forward to our own TCR series finale at the Bathurst International on November 11-13.”
TCR Australia is also set to be one of the first regions to implement WSC’s new hybrid kit into its national series.
The technology, which will introduce push-to-pass, will see ‘local deployment and testing’ in Australia in 2023 ahead of a full rollout for the 2024 season.