650 drivers... 200 races: the epic competition to find a world touring car champion

The idea will fill the void left gaping by the demise of the FIA World Touring Car Cup, which ran out of puff last year through a mix of economic hardships triggered by Covid, manufacturer apathy for a class that still relies on fossil fuel and a spiral of trouble caused by embarrassing spec-tyre failures. But out of that demise Lotti has spotted an opportunity for a fresh start that should boost the well-established TCR market to new levels.

In a nutshell, this is what it’s all about. There are more than 200 TCR races held each year in 40 TCR-sanctioned series around the globe. Now all who compete can score points towards a single World Ranking based on a coefficient system for each event, with a target for those with ambition to aim for the World Tour and on to the ultimate culmination: a four-day World Final to crown a TCR World Cup-winning driver and team. It’s bold in scale and there’s work to do to fill in some of the details. But Lotti’s WSC Group is working flat out to complete the vision, with the World Ranking system already active. China’s Ma Qing Hua currently leads the points based on races run last year and the first TCR rounds of 2023, from double WTCR champion Yann Ehrlacher and the final WTCR champion, Mikel Azcona.

“We are talking about more than 650 drivers of about 60 different nationalities that enjoy racing the wheel of TCR cars at the four corners of the earth,” says Lotti, who has spent two years developing the concept, long before the WTCR faced its demise. “Looking at these figures and drawing inspiration from what other popular sports are doing, it was logical to think about a World Ranking that would list all the drivers and award points according to their results.”

Linked directly to the regional and national series, nine events across four continents will form the premier World Tour. Seven dates on the inaugural calendar have been inked in, starting with the Portimão TCR Europe round on April 28/30, before the Tour moves on to Spa, Vallelunga and the Hungaroring. The TCR South America round in El Pinar, Uruguay in August and San Luis, Argentina a week later are next on the list. Two of three November rounds remain to be confirmed, but the one in the middle will undoubtedly draw attention. It’s on the great Mount Panorama circuit at Bathurst, Australia.

A maximum of 16 full-season entries will be accepted, with the application process due to close next week. Among them is expected to be a quartet of cars from Cyan Racing Lynk & Co, the Swedish-run team that contributed to the cancellation of the WTCR after withdrawing in the wake of the Goodyear tyre safety concerns. The World Tour will run on Kumho spec rubber, so there will be no awkward reunion with the American brand!

The TCR World Final promises a memorable climax to decide the ultimate World Cup winners – the closest title to a touring car world championship that will now exist. Details of that event are yet to be confirmed. What we do know is that the Final will be held over four days using a play-off format and will be run by Discovery Sports Events, the promoter that ran the WTCR. Sixty cars and drivers will take part: The top 15 from the World Tour will automatically qualify for the grand finale, while the best 45 classified in the TCR World Ranking by September 30 will battle it out for the other 15 places on that grid. This touring car extravaganza will likely take place in late January/early February 2024 at a venue yet to be fixed. Watch this space on that one.

Britain’s top TCR racer Rob Huff (17th in the World Ranking right now) was full of enthusiasm for the new concept when Motor Sport spoke to him for an interview that will run in the April issue of the magazine (out next week). “It sounds like something I’d love to be involved in,” he said. “When it comes to touring cars there always has to be a main championship, especially with something like TCR. The national drivers need something to aim for and the World Tour is where everyone should want to end up. It should be something you build up to, there needs to be a goal and having something like the World Ranking and grand finale is something that will excite and motivate people to be involved.”

The loss of the WTCR was a serious blow to the world of tin-top racing. But something was always going to fill the void, because something always does. And it was always likely to be Lotti who would come up with the solution. He’s done it before and now he’s doing it again. We wish him luck.