The World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) will spark into life at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on 28-29 March for its official 2019 season launch event.
The event will serve as the first time that the 2019 competitors will share a track together, minus a few drivers who have racing commitments elsewhere, before the season properly gets underway in Marrakech at the start of April. It will provide teams with the opportunity to test their cars for one final time before things get serious, and will also provide the opportunity for various media obligations to be carried out.
The arrangement mirrors the launch event of the 2018 season, where John Filippi set the fastest lap time around the Spanish circuit in a Campos Racing Cupra.
Francois Ribeiro, WTCR Promoter at Eurosport Events, explained the decision to hold the event at the same venue for the second year running:
“Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is an obvious choice for the two days of official testing. It’s an established testing venue, it offers excellent facilities, a good variation of corners and is ideally located on the route our teams will take for the sea crossings to Morocco and onward to Marrakech for the first event of the new season.”
The circuit’s General Manager, Joan Fontesere, said: “We are very happy to be host to another FIA-sanctioned series, which has chosen us for the second year in a row as their test venue due to the quality of our facilities. This helps us to strengthen our position as a benchmark circuit for teams and manufacturers, and to position Barcelona and Catalonia at a worldwide level.”