TCR - General topic - Page 25

**FIRE** · 24 Apr 2023, 16:55 (Ref:4152810)

NOTE: I have moved the TCR Italy posts to the TCR Italy topic.

S griffin · 26 Apr 2023, 00:53 (Ref:4153020)

So which TCR series do people think will be best this year?

Speed-King · 27 Apr 2023, 12:32 (Ref:4153170)

Quote:

Originally Posted by S griffin

So which TCR series do people think will be best this year?

Italy and Britain seem to be doing quite well. South America has 20+ cars as well and Eastern Europe is close to that mark. No clue yet about Denmark.

Australia had a very disappointing first round with only 13 cars.

**FIRE** · 27 Apr 2023, 14:52 (Ref:4153196)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speed-King

No clue yet about Denmark.

Maybe I have missed one or two but so far these drivers are confirmed:

Didrik Esbjug
Michelle Halder
Mike Halder
Anton Bergström
Kevin Brandsborg
Marius Solberg Hansen
Jan Magnussen
Christian Skaar
Kevin Engman
Martin Andersen
Nicolai Sylvest
Lars Højris
Silas Rytter
Kasper Jensen
Gustav Birch

For a small country a pretty healthy series.
Not a fan of the Danish tracks.

NaBUru38 · 28 Apr 2023, 13:58 (Ref:4153324)

TCR South America has no stars and few known drivers. Most motorsports fans don't pay the slightest attention.

touring fan01 · 3 May 2023, 15:32 (Ref:4154340)

on autosport today no more audi customer racing programs (like tcr) after this year

According to Autosport’s sister website Motorsport-Total.com, there are plans to close Audi Sport Customer Racing at the end of the current season to allow the marque to prioritise its upcoming entry into Formula 1 in 2026.

This would make customer racing the latest programme to be scuppered by the Audi board in recent years following its factory exits from DTM in 2020 and Formula E in 2021, and its decision to stop its LMDh project in 2022.

According to multiple sources, Audi’s board of directors led by Duesmann decided to put all its weight behind the F1 project already in 2021, long before even its grand prix entry was finalised.

It is understood that the board finally issued instructions towards the end of last year to close its customer racing division following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Audi Sport Customer Racing includes the GT2, GT3 and GT4 variants of the R8 LMS as well as the TCR programme with the RS 3 LMS.

v8supes · 3 May 2023, 16:45 (Ref:4154349)

A Hyundai spec series next year then?

**FIRE** · 3 May 2023, 17:19 (Ref:4154358)

Quote:

Originally Posted by touring fan01

on autosport today no more audi customer racing programs (like tcr) after this year

According to Autosport’s sister website Motorsport-Total.com, there are plans to close Audi Sport Customer Racing at the end of the current season to allow the marque to prioritise its upcoming entry into Formula 1 in 2026.

This would make customer racing the latest programme to be scuppered by the Audi board in recent years following its factory exits from DTM in 2020 and Formula E in 2021, and its decision to stop its LMDh project in 2022.

According to multiple sources, Audi’s board of directors led by Duesmann decided to put all its weight behind the F1 project already in 2021, long before even its grand prix entry was finalised.

It is understood that the board finally issued instructions towards the end of last year to close its customer racing division following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Audi Sport Customer Racing includes the GT2, GT3 and GT4 variants of the R8 LMS as well as the TCR programme with the RS 3 LMS.

There were already rumours so no real surprise but still disappointing.
I am not convinced this is the right move for Audi.

**FIRE** · 3 May 2023, 17:20 (Ref:4154359)

Quote:

Originally Posted by v8supes

A Hyundai spec series next year then?

All Audi teams back to CUPRA.

Cinghio44 · 3 May 2023, 21:11 (Ref:4154393)

Quote:

Originally Posted by touring fan01

on autosport today no more audi customer racing programs (like tcr) after this year

According to Autosport’s sister website Motorsport-Total.com, there are plans to close Audi Sport Customer Racing at the end of the current season to allow the marque to prioritise its upcoming entry into Formula 1 in 2026.

This would make customer racing the latest programme to be scuppered by the Audi board in recent years following its factory exits from DTM in 2020 and Formula E in 2021, and its decision to stop its LMDh project in 2022.

According to multiple sources, Audi’s board of directors led by Duesmann decided to put all its weight behind the F1 project already in 2021, long before even its grand prix entry was finalised.

It is understood that the board finally issued instructions towards the end of last year to close its customer racing division following the conclusion of the 2023 season. Audi Sport Customer Racing includes the GT2, GT3 and GT4 variants of the R8 LMS as well as the TCR programme with the RS 3 LMS.

It was in the air by some time now ...

This is a bad news for TCR as the RS3 is a great car. Probably It will survive in 2024 with Comtoyou or other privater team but then It won't keep It up with the other manufacturers.

A great shame.

Evantra · 3 May 2023, 21:46 (Ref:4154396)

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIRE

There were already rumours so no real surprise but still disappointing.
I am not convinced this is the right move for Audi.

Didn’t this happen before? And then the current RS3 was announced not long after.

**FIRE** · 4 May 2023, 08:41 (Ref:4154432)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evantra

Didn’t this happen before? And then the current RS3 was announced not long after.

There were some rumours.

Alessio · 4 May 2023, 11:14 (Ref:4154448)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evantra

Didn’t this happen before? And then the current RS3 was announced not long after.

They were evaluating their motorsport programmes when they left DTM and Formula E. According to the Motorsport-Total.com article that touring fan 01 references, it was probably a done deal that they would eventually leave by the time the board honed in on F1 and killed the WEC program.

Maybe there was too much development behind the TCR car by then to cancel the whole thing, or they just wanted to make a quick buck and split? Either way, I think this sums up the tragedy that was Dr Wolfgang Ullrich retiring from Audi Sport. Money and marketing above passion...

NaBUru38 · 21 Jul 2023, 19:58 (Ref:4169341)

This weekend, the TCR South America will race at Rivera, Uruguay. Unfortunately I won't attend.

The two most notable Brazilian drivers are Gabriel Casagrande (2021 Stock Car Brasil champion) and Diego Nunes.

The most notable Argentine drivers are Fabián Yannantuoni, Bernardo Llaver and Ignacio Montenegro.

The top drivers last season were Fabricio Pezzini, Juan Ángel Rosso, Raphael Reis, and José Manuel Sapag.

There are three Uruguayan drivers: Enrique Maglione, Frederick Balbi, and Juan Manuel Casella.

Juntos · 25 Jul 2023, 21:46 (Ref:4169944)

It's disheartening to observe the lack of new manufacturers entering the TCR scene. Both the TCR World Tour and TCR Europe have not lived up to their full potential, seemingly heading towards stagnation. Manufacturers appear to be showing limited interest in these series. As enthusiasts, we yearn for the excitement of fresh, innovative cars and new competitors invigorating the racing circuits. The injection of new blood would undoubtedly breathe life into the sport, rekindling our passion for thrilling racing experiences.

pimmy · 25 Jul 2023, 22:11 (Ref:4169948)

Hard to disagree. I'd like to see some Toyotas appear somewhere other than South America.

NaBUru38 · 26 Jul 2023, 15:44 (Ref:4170023)

A manufacturer will probably think: there's already Audi, Honda, Hyundai and Lynk. What's the potential market in a spec class? Probably not too big.

GT3 is different, because rich guys like to pick brands. TCR drivers surely don't give a damn.

S griffin · 27 Jul 2023, 07:52 (Ref:4170098)

Plus there are plenty of other manufacturer projects out there. Those that do the TCR, do the bare minimum. However it depends on the series and how big it is

It's easier for amateurs in GT3 yes, but the TCR guys are always on the lookout for extra support too.

gravin · 29 Jul 2023, 15:49 (Ref:4170424)

I think it is time to allow the manuafactures to build their own cars - cap limit on price per unit should limit development dollars to a point.

Seeing the limited development on the Megane, Kia, Subaru, Opel etc by independent teams entrusted with the builds has been frustrating. Especially when Lynk and co or Hyundai have been more directly involved in the builds.

redshoes · 29 Jul 2023, 20:24 (Ref:4170463)

Quote:

Originally Posted by gravin

I think it is time to allow the manuafactures to build their own cars - cap limit on price per unit should limit development dollars to a point.

Manufacturers already can develop their own car, and there is already a price cap on new car sales.

There reason cars like the Megane is no because Renault aren't allowed to do the development in-house, it's because they don't want to.

NaBUru38 · 30 Aug 2023, 14:56 (Ref:4174608)

TCR South America - standings after La Pedrera:

ARG Ignacio Montenegro (Honda), 346
ARG Bernardo Llaver (Toyota), 317
URU Juan Manuel Casella (Honda), 289
BRA Raphael Reis (Cupra), 261
BRA Galid Osman (Cupra), 229
ARG Juan Ángel Rosso (Toyota), 188
BRA Rafael Suzuki (Lynk), 187
BRA Pedro Cardoso (Cupra), 149
ARG José Manuel Sapag (Toyota), 126
ARG Fabián Yannantuoni (Toyota), 119

Next round is on September 23-24 at Velopark.

pimmy · 9 Sep 2023, 12:15 (Ref:4175802)

Just a heads up for anyone who wants to watch stuff on TCR TV. It isn't working on Chrome at the moment, so you'll have to use a different browser. Firefox works fine.

Evantra · 21 Oct 2023, 13:24 (Ref:4182272)

https://x.com/marcello_lotti/status/...T11pmdgnSSDQzA

Cupra EVO coming next year.

**FIRE** · 21 Oct 2023, 13:48 (Ref:4182274)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evantra

https://x.com/marcello_lotti/status/...T11pmdgnSSDQzA

Cupra EVO coming next year.

Cupra is somewhat disappeared from the grid.
Will be interesting to see if they become more popular again.

pimmy · 21 Oct 2023, 14:37 (Ref:4182279)

Good to see. We need some representation from VAG since we no longer have VW and Audi are pulling out of everything.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Last topic, next topic	Les	Announcements and Feedback	7	30 Apr 2001 05:46
'Post New Topic' or 'Reply To This Topic'	Sparky	Announcements and Feedback	6	5 Mar 2001 21:02