[WTCC] FIA WTCR 2018: WTCC / TCR Merger?

[S griffin]

So there goes the rumours of Huff going to the BTCC

[Cinghio44]

Originally Posted by S griffin

So there goes the rumours of Huff going to the BTCC

I don't know where that rumors came from...but Huff never made a real statement that he wanted to come back to BTCC.

It's great to see him against other champions in WTCR

[Tarzaan]

Originally Posted by Wheels of Fire

The absence of M1RA would be a pity

It seems Honda chose the better financed Munnich motorsport.

***

1 Thed Björk Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai
3 Gabriele Tarquini BRC Racing Team Hyundai
4 Denis Dupont Comtoyou Racing Audi
5 Michelisz Norbert BRC Racing Team Hyundai
9 Tom Coronel Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda
12 Rob Huff Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen
13 Pastor Maldonado Campos Racing SEAT
16 Davit Kajaija GE-Force Alfa Romeo
18 Tiago Monteiro Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda
25 Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen
27 John Filippi Campos Racing SEAT
28 Aurélien Panis Comtoyou Racing Audi
52 Gordon Shedden Team WRT Lukoil Audi
55 Ficza Ferenc Zengő Motorsport SEAT
62 Dusan Borkovic GE-Force Alfa Romeo
68 Yvan Muller Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai
70 Mat'o Homola DG Sport Competition Peugeot
74 Pepe Oriola Campos Racing SEAT
77 René Münnich Münnich Motorsport Honda
86 Esteban Guerrieri Münnich Motorsport Honda
99 Nagy Dániel Zengő Motorsport SEAT
Tassi Attila Münnich Motorsport Honda
Jean-Karl Vernay Team WRT Lukoil Audi
Aurélien Comte DG Sport Competition Peugeot
Yann Ehrlacher Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai
Stefano Comini Comtoyou Racing Audi


order by team/car:

5 Michelisz Norbert BRC Racing Team Hyundai
3 Gabriele Tarquini BRC Racing Team Hyundai

1 Thed Björk Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai
68 Yvan Muller Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai
Yann Ehrlacher Yvan Muller Racing Hyundai


77 René Münnich Münnich Motorsport Honda
86 Esteban Guerrieri Münnich Motorsport Honda
Tassi Attila Münnich Motorsport Honda

9 Tom Coronel Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda
18 Tiago Monteiro Boutsen Ginion Racing Honda


52 Gordon Shedden Team WRT Lukoil Audi
Jean-Karl Vernay Team WRT Lukoil Audi

4 Denis Dupont Comtoyou Racing Audi
28 Aurélien Panis Comtoyou Racing Audi
Stefano Comini Comtoyou Racing Audi


12 Rob Huff Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen
25 Mehdi Bennani Sebastien Loeb Racing Volkswagen


74 Pepe Oriola Campos Racing SEAT
13 Pastor Maldonado Campos Racing SEAT
27 John Filippi Campos Racing SEAT


99 Nagy Dániel Zengő Motorsport SEAT
55 Ficza Ferenc Zengő Motorsport SEAT

16 Davit Kajaija GE-Force Alfa Romeo
62 Dusan Borkovic GE-Force Alfa Romeo


70 Mat'o Homola DG Sport Competition Peugeot
Aurélien Comte DG Sport Competition Peugeot

source:
https://www.p1race.hu/hir/m1ra_nelku..._wtcr_20180202

[pimmy]

If that's real, then it's a good entry list. But why would Muller come back full-time if he's effectively retired? Or was his "retirement" not all his own choice? And Maldonado, WTF?

[iceman-1987]

Not even an opel Astra??? Shame there are not morbidelli and colciago

[Tarzaan]

Originally Posted by iceman-1987

Not even an opel Astra??? Shame there are not morbidelli and colciago

No Colciago, no Morbidelli, no Chilton, no M1RA, no Bamboo, no Target, no West Coast, no Engstler.

I'm also afraid about team Zengő. Imho they have better drivers, but this too might bring more money + I assume they will run their old ex-Cup Seats.

[Fechna]

If thats the real list, it the best entry list the WTCC(up) had in a decade. We'll still miss some drivers and outfits, but maybe the TCR Europe will benefit? Or national series?

[jakew7498]

I struggle to believe that there would be no Opels on the grid.

[Cinghio44]

Has Zengo the budget to do the WTCR?

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Kampie

Are the Seat's gonna be Seat's or will they brand them as Cupra?

What do you mean by this? Why would they have no SEAT badge?

[Bramzel]

SEAT just announced they're going to run Cupra as a sub brand, like Citroen does with DS for example.

[Tarzaan]

Originally Posted by Cinghio44

Has Zengo the budget to do the WTCR?

I'm really afraid they thy to do the season with their old Seats and they will be backmarkers again.

Norbi suggests they - M1RA - could do a season in low level, but they dont want to be backmarkers, they want to fight for victories.

Shame they don't find strong sponsors after their last years performance.

Also shame that Eurosport Management/Ribiero rise the costs of the series.

It'salso hard to understand why Honda choose All-Inkl instead of M1RA.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Tarzaan

I'm really afraid they thy to do the season with their old Seats and they will be backmarkers again.

Norbi suggests they - M1RA - could do a season in low level, but they dont want to be backmarkers, they want to fight for victories.

Shame they don't find strong sponsors after their last years performance.

Also shame that Eurosport Management/Ribiero rise the costs of the series.

It'salso hard to understand why Honda choose All-Inkl instead of M1RA.

All-Inkl has the financial power and doesn't need external sponsors.

[FIRE]

Originally Posted by Bramzel

SEAT just announced they're going to run Cupra as a sub brand, like Citroen does with DS for example.

Didn't know that.
With so many VAG brands already it doesn't make much sense.

[Bramzel]

Nope, it doesn't. It gives them room again for extra mark ups again though, putting the cars higher in the market.

[helgi]

It's a funny thing. I've read 6 or 7 pages and noticed only one mention of technical details (from aerodynamic point of view Audi sedan better suits for Monza or Salzburg than Golf hatchback). All the talks are surrounding drivers, teams' sign boards, manufacturers' badges. Almost no technical bits at all. I'm really happy that I've got some magazines back from 70's and 80's, when ETCC was all about man and machinery, without any lawyers who begged some advantage via so called "balance" which had already transformed racing into a show of some sort.
"The racing of the cars, eh? Round and around in the circles. Never will I understand the passion for such a pointless pastime." @Monsieur Hercule Poirot

[Fechna]

Originally Posted by helgi

I'm really happy that I've got some magazines back from 70's and 80's, when ETCC was all about man and machinery, without any lawyers who begged some advantage via so called "balance" which had already transformed racing into a show of some sort.

What are you talking about? ETCC in the 80ies was a festival for lawyers with bickering over homologations, disqualifications, green table decisions. Between 1982 and 1987 there was no year without irregularities, Ravaglia won the title twice after the last race because lawyers at the green table (maybe rightfully so) managed to make their case against other brands then BMW...

Group A was maybe the messiest time in touring car history. Some good and great racing and memorable machines, but mostly because the manufacturers constantly cheated to level the playing field for their otherwise uncompetitive cars (for example the Volvo should never been homologised the way it was).

The reason why we arnt talking about the tech of the cars in TCR that much is because cheating is harder then it used to be and the levelling of the cars with BOP, if done properly, makes cheating less important to compete at all.

Nostalgia is the warm sentiment for a past, that never existed the way we like to remember.

[Cinghio44]

Originally Posted by helgi

I'm really happy that I've got some magazines back from 70's and 80's, when ETCC was all about man and machinery, without any lawyers who begged some advantage via so called "balance" which had already transformed racing into a show of some sort.
"The racing of the cars, eh? Round and around in the circles. Never will I understand the passion for such a pointless pastime." @Monsieur Hercule Poirot

Well Motorsport has changed, I'm not saying it's better or at the same level of the golden era but at least we've got something

As for TCR, it reborns the enthusiams for touring car in a lot of countries, providing a good platoform for continental and national series.
BOP surely is not what we were looking for in Motorsport but in WEC or Imsa is now working well i must say. However if you haven't BOP you'll find a lot of spec parts in others championship to try to keep down the costs as for V8 SC or DTM or BTCC...

I think we have to look forward for positive things this year in WTCR

[Bramzel]

Golden eras, also known as historic periods of which we forget the bad and and only remember the good. Often used in combination with the phrase "back in the days everything was better".

Back in the days everything was different. Some for the better, some for the worst...

[FIRE]

Josh Files again in TCR Germany? Would like to see him in WTCC.

[jakew7498]

Originally Posted by FIRE

Josh Files again in TCR Germany? Would like to see him in WTCC.

Files not in WTCR would really be a shame. He's won TCR Germany twice. Another year of that would be a shame.

[Fechna]

That is true for Files AND Target.

[Wheels of Fire]

Oh come on! Where are Morbidelli, Colciago, Files, Nash??

[iceman-1987]

Colciago developped the new civic and i wonder why noone trust of his experience. Anyone knows whats happened to opel?? They stopped their tcr program or they just didnt find any team team in wtcr or they simply focus on national programs?

[iceman-1987]

Campos probably will replace craft bamboo as main team to use seat leon.

https://it.motorsport.com/category/turismo/