On December 6, the FIA World Motorsport Council met in Paris and announced that the FIA World Touring Car Championship would be replaced in 2018 by the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) which will run to the TCR Regulations created by TCR International Series Principal Marcello Lotti.
Following this announcement, there was confirmation by the WTCC series promoter Eurosport Events Ltd of a nine event calendar put in place for the inaugural season of WTCR on December 22, with a tenth venue to be confirmed in due course.
TCR Regulations will replace the TC1 regulations that were used in the FIA WTCC. Credit: WSC/TCR International Series
Here are the events for the 2018 FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) Calendar:
7-8 April: Marrakech (Morocco)
28-29 April: Hungaroring (Hungary)
10-12 May: Nürburgring Nordschleife (Germany)
19-21 May: Zandvoort (Netherlands)
23-24 June: Vila Real (Portugal)
4-5 August: Termas de Río Hondo (Argentina)
29-30 September: Ningbo (China)
27-28 October: Suzuka (Japan)
15-18 November: Macau (Macau)
There has been confirmation by WTCR series principal Francois Ribeiro that an additional event will be added to the calendar for either July 21-22 or October 6-7 subject to approval. Ribeiro has confirmed that this final event will be at a circuit that Eurosport Events Ltd has not worked with before as a promoter.
There will be a maximum grid number of 26 cars allowed at each of the tenWTCR events in 2018. Credit: WSC / TCR International Series
“Publication of the provisional schedule marks another important step ahead of the inaugural FIA WTCR season in 2018,” explained Ribeiro. “The nine selected events will not only offer a great variety of circuits to drivers and teams, but will also mean that WTCR races take place in front of big crowds.”
“We are in discussions with two potential locations, which Eurosport Events has not worked with before, to select one additional event for FIA WTCR schedule, and we hope to conclude these as soon as possible.”
Whilst many events from the 2017 TCR International Series calendar have not made it to the 2018 WTCR, there are still challenging venues ahead for teams and drivers. Credit: WSC / TCR International Series.
Whilst the calendar is mostly the same as the 2017 WTCC Calendar, there are a few changes involved. Both Monza and Losail have been dropped whilst The Suzuka International Circuit has replaced the Motegi circuit that has been in use for the last three seasons, with the iconic Zandvoort circuit added to the Calendar.
The Zandvoort weekend will be a very busy event for TCR competitors involved as the WTCR will be joined by both the 2018 TCR Europe Series and the 2018 TCR BeNeLux Series. This means that there will TCR based racing taking place from Saturday to Monday over the Whitsun weekend at the Netherlands circuit, which has seen the likes of TCR BeNeLux and ADAC TCR Germany regularly compete there in recent seasons.
After 4 years of competition, TC1 Regulation Touring Cars have been outlawed for the new WTCR. Credit: Clement Marin / DPPI
Finally, the 2018 WTCR Calendar also sees TCR regulation machinery as the headline act at two more iconic and challening circuits. WTCR will compete on the same weekend as the Nürburgring 24 hours at the Nordschleife in Germany, where as in previous years TCR cars running in the FIA European Touring Car Cup have competed there. The Guia race at Macau will close the season off in its traditional November slot and sees the return of International TCR machinery after just one year away.
