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55-601: In 1993, with the high popularity of the Super Touring category, the FIA hosted the FIA Touring Car World Cup ;— an annual event for touring car drivers hailing from national championships all over the world. The 1993 race at Monza was won by New Zealand's Paul Radisich , at the wheel of a Ford Mondeo ahead of Nicola Larini 's Alfa Romeo 155 , with no manufacturer title awarded. The race

110-424: A bottom piece that could be unscrewed and moved forward, acting as a splitter, and a rear spoiler with a pair of extensions, giving the car more downforce. When Alfa Romeo won the first five rounds, Ford, supported by Vauxhall, made a complaint to the race stewards. TOCA soon decided the aero devices were illegal and Alfa Romeo were stripped of the points they earned at Snetterton and Silverstone (although this decision

165-729: A common design. Touring car racing is also referred to as saloon car racing . Worldwide Modern World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) started in 2005 , evolving from the reborn European Touring Car Championship . The series merged with the TCR International Series and became the World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) starting from 2018 . In 2023 , the WTCR was replaced by the TCR World Tour . Running at major international racing facilities, this series

220-486: A drag-reduction system (DRS) designed to encourage overtaking. More than 20 works-backed entries of the Opel Astra , Audi TT and Mercedes-Benz CLK contested the revived 2000 DTM series but a serious issue developed for the series when Opel pulled out ahead of the 2006 season. BMW would eventually replace Opel as the series' third manufacturer for 2012, while Mercedes-AMG withdrew at the end of 2018. Mercedes-AMG

275-689: A few in Denmark . The most successful car makes were Volvo, BMW, Audi, and Nissan. In 2010 the championship merged with the Danish Touringcar Championship to form the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship . The 2010 champion was Robert Dahlgren , because he had achieved the best results from selected races in the Danish and Swedish championships. Rickard Rydell and Johan Kristoffersson won

330-472: A minimum of four doors and no smaller than the Euro NCAP ' Small Family Car ' class, although ' Large Family Car ' tends to dominate the category. Until 1995, teams were only permitted to fit aerodynamic device that were available through dealers, but that changed when, in 1994 BTCC season, Alfa Romeo entered a 155 with Gabriele Tarquini and Giampiero Simoni as drivers. The car had a front spoiler with

385-451: A much easier time passing than in open-wheel racing , and the more substantial bodies of the cars makes the subtle bumping and nudging for overtaking much more acceptable as part of racing. As well as short sprint races, many touring car series include one or more endurance races , which last anything from 3 to 24 hours and are a test of reliability and pit crews as much as car, driver speed, and consistency. Touring car racing started in

440-480: A non-championship race at Fuji Speedway along with the full GT500 grid, labelled the 'SUPER GT x DTM Dream Race'. Aston Martin withdrew from the event as they intended to focus on developing the Vantage package for 2020, however this never eventuated as the program was ended. Audi announced in late April 2020 that they would be discontinuing their involvement in the series after the end of the 2020 season, following

495-513: A restricted size. Restrictions varied depending on body type, with Volvo having to revert from the 850 Estate to their four-door saloon model the following season when they found themselves to be disadvantaged by the new rules. In the Italian Supertourismo category, teams entered extended spoilers without complaints. Some series however, would change the rules to suit crowd demands and competition from rival series. One example

550-402: A second seat (although they are rarely fitted any more). While rules vary from country to country and series to series, most series require that the competitors start with a standard car body , but virtually every other component may be allowed to be heavily modified for racing, including engines, suspension, brakes, wheels and tires. Aerodynamic aids are sometimes added to the front and rear of

605-403: A trophy. In Australia, Supercars enjoys a strong support base that is still driven in large part by the tribal Ford versus Holden battle. Over 200,000 total spectators attend the four-day Adelaide 500 and Bathurst 1000 events, and the 2019 Bathurst 1000 drew a maximum of 2.36 million television viewers across the country. This compares favourably with other major sporting events such as

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660-576: A void left after the end of the 2.5-litre V6 -powered Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) in 1996. In 2000, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (keeping the 'DTM' acronym) resumed with 4.0-litre V8 -powered cars. The Super Touring cars were required to be a minimum of 4.20 metres (13.8 ft) in length, with four doors, effectively requiring a small family saloon car as a minimum. No more than 2 litres engine capacity, maximum of six  cylinders were permitted, and

715-500: Is a motorsport road racing competition that uses race prepared touring cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing , which is popular in the United States . While the cars do not move as fast as those in formula or sports car races, their similarity both to one another and to fans' own vehicles makes for well-supported racing. The lesser use of aerodynamics means following cars have

770-468: Is supported by BMW , SEAT and Chevrolet . The latter fields a works team, whereas the other two only sell racing kits to be installed on their cars, providing technical support to their customers. In 2011, Volvo also entered the championship, fielding a one-car team as an evaluation for a possible heavier commitment to the series. The World Touring Car Championship features 1.6-litre cars built to Super 2000 regulations based on FIA Group N . Following

825-583: The 2016 season manufacturer team entries came from BMW, Subaru , MG , and Honda . Since BTCC budgets have been kept relatively low, there is a strong independent and privateer presence in the championship. Manufacturers represented by privateers include Vauxhall , Ford , Toyota , Volkswagen , Chevrolet, and Audi . Prior to 2001 the BTCC was contested by cars built to 2.0-litre supertouring regulations and had in its heyday up to nine different manufacturers. Joachim Winkelhock stated on several occasions that it

880-605: The 2020 season , while Ford returned for the 2019 season with the Mustang project. The Commodore will be replaced with a Chevrolet Camaro , which will be sold in Australia by General Motors Specialty Vehicles. Other manufacturers have also appeared in the series, including Nissan with Kelly Racing , Volvo with Garry Rogers Motorsport , and Mercedes-Benz in a non-factory-supported program from Erebus Motorsport . With Kelly Racing's switch to Ford Mustangs for 2020 after

935-668: The AFL Grand Final with 2.2 million TV viewers in 2019 . Supercars is also popular in New Zealand , with a regular round formerly held in the country (previously held at Pukekohe ) being the only international event on the series calendar. Attempts at further international expansion were made in China , Malaysia , the Middle East , and the United States during the 2000s and 2010s, none of which have survived. As

990-493: The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) in 1990. The FIA organised a World Cup for the category each year from 1993 to 1995, and adopted the term "Super Tourer" from 1995. Super Touring replaced Group A as the norm in nearly every touring car championship across the world, but escalating costs, and the withdrawal of works teams caused the category to collapse in the late 1990s because of

1045-581: The Next Generation Touring Car specification, from 2011 , started a phased transition from Super 2000 cars in an effort to cut costs and improve the sport. Germany/Europe The DTM series, the initials standing for Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft until 1996, then following a hiatus, revived as Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2000, features advanced purpose built 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-powered space frame machines, covered with largely carbon fibre bodyshapes resembling

1100-517: The "Super Touring" name was retained by the Championnat de France de Supertourisme for their 3.0-litre tube frame cars. The table includes wins from the four most competitive series that used Super Touring regulations: British Touring Car Championship (BTCC), Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC), German Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW), and European Super Touring Championship (Euro STC). Touring car racing Touring car racing

1155-566: The 'fastest touring cars in the world' racing at speeds that can reach nearly 300 km/h. They are also the most expensive touring cars in the world with each car costing in excess of $ 1 million (AUD) which includes bespoke $ 250,000 (AUD) 5.0-litre V8 engines producing approximately 635 hp (473 kW). The current formula was devised in 1993 (based on Group A regulations) and branded as 'V8 Supercars' in 1997 and 'Supercars' in 2016. The series features grids of approximately 25 cars, although selected events feature wildcard entries which add to

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1210-583: The 2022 season, FIA WTCR races were awarded the following points, similar to MotoGP scoring system: In 2022, broadcasters of the FIA WTCR included: Super Touring Super Touring , Class 2 or Class II was a motor racing Touring Cars category defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) for national touring car racing in 1993. It was based on the "2 litre Touring Car Formula" created for

1265-693: The FIA's World Motorsport Council in Paris, it was approved the formation of the new World Touring Car Cup starting from 2018. The new series would utilize the TCR rules, which have been in use in numerous national and international touring car racing series, including the TCR International Series . As a result of the formation of the WTCR, both the WTCC in its current format and the TCR International Series would be discontinued immediately. A new format

1320-564: The Japanese sports car series Super GT which runs a near identical set of rules and regulations in its GT500 class. Honda, Toyota – represented via Lexus , and Nissan each entered a wildcard entry for the final race of the 2019 season at the Hockenheimring . The cars entered were a Nissan GT-R (R35), a Lexus LC 500 and a Honda NSX . For the weekend of the 22nd-24 November, DTM sent three BMW M4s and four Audi RS5s to take part in

1375-602: The NLS series of ten typically four-hour-long races. Cars range from old 100 hp (75 kW) road legal compacts to 500 hp (370 kW) Porsche 996 and even modified DTM cars (1,250 kg (2,760 lb)). Most entrants of the 24 Hours Nürburgring collect experience here. Sweden/Denmark Between 1996 and 2010 the Swedish Touring Car Championship contained various races in Sweden and

1430-480: The UK with cars built to Next Generation Touring Car specification, with ballast being used to equalise performance. From 2011 , cars that ran to the BTCC's own Next Generation Touring Car specification were eligible to compete in a phased move away from Super 2000 regulations. Cars are 2.0-litre saloons , station wagons and hatchbacks with over 350 bhp (260 kW) and can be front or rear-wheel drive. During

1485-422: The WTCR format which was based on a season calendar primarily independent from other TCR series. Cars had to be production models, with a minimum production of 5000 samples in a year. The engine was limited to a displacement of up to 2 liters, turbo charged, and with the aid of restrictors, to a maximum yield of 350 Hp. Each car was assigned a minimum racing weight which is used to balance the performances . For

1540-673: The aftermath of the 1999 race. In 2000, in the absence of a rival, the V8 Supercars event took up the Bathurst 1000 name. During the Super Touring's long run, the category suffered two fatal accidents. In 1995, Gregg Hansford at Phillip Island , and Kieth O'dor at Avus , were involved in fatal accidents as a result of a broken neck caused by their cars' being hit side-on . Soon after, rollcages in competition cars with built-in side impact bars, and seats with head restraints on

1595-448: The cars look sportier. Cars under Super 2000 regulations were cheaper than their predecessors, to which serious modifications had to be made to allow for wider tires, lower ride height and different suspension. As the width of Super 2000 cars does not need to be the same as that of the production models, development costs can be kept lower. Various national championships use similar rules. Although it bears no resemblance to its predecessor,

1650-553: The cars. Regulations are usually designed to limit costs by banning some of the more exotic technologies available (for instance, many series insist on a control tire that all competitors must use) and keep the racing close (sometimes by ballast weight where winning a race requires the winner's car to be heavier for subsequent races). Touring cars share some similarity with American stock car racing governed by NASCAR . However, touring cars are, at least notionally, derived from production cars while today's NASCAR vehicles are based on

1705-542: The championship in 2011 and 2012 , in a Chevrolet and a VW , respectively. In 2013 the series merged with the TTA – Racing Elite League to form the 2013 STCC – Racing Elite League season , starring 17 drivers for Volvo, BMW, Saab , Citroën , Dacia , and Honda. Australia and New Zealand Formerly the Australian Touring Car Championship , Supercars are recognised internationally as

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1760-470: The chance to compete at Bathurst after race organisers could not come to terms with V8 Supercars. Bathurst City Council and V8 Supercars came to a separate arrangement to host their own breakaway "Australian 1000 Classic" race. Super Touring did not become a viable option, and the third and final race was transformed into a motorsport carnival, with several categories attending and the Super Touring event halved to 500 kilometres (310 mi), before collapsing in

1815-658: The decline in sales and eventual discontinuation of the Falcon in 2016 and Commodore in 2020 (the two models that exclusively competed in the V8 formula from 1993 to 2012). Ford withdrew all financial support after 2015 , and Holden cut most of its support back to only the Red Bull Holden Racing Team from 2017. Holden was shut down as a brand during 2020, ending its factory involvement in Supercars after

1870-426: The engine was required to be naturally aspirated. Only two wheels could be driven and steered. For homologation , initially at least 2500 units of the model used must have been produced. In 1995, in a bid to counter the increasing numbers of homologation specials, this number was increased to at least 25,000 units. There was no restriction on body size and doors until 1993, when it was changed to only allow cars with

1925-547: The grid. The cars are currently based on the Ford Mustang GT and Holden Commodore (ZB) The minimum weight for a Supercar including driver is 1,395 kg (3,075 lb). The Commodore will be replaced by a Chevrolet Camaro in 2022. The race cars themselves are derived from production body panels and space frame chassis. Both body styles feature an aerodynamic package incorporating large front and rear wings designed to ensure equal aerodynamic performance between

1980-485: The loosely regulated aerodynamics required the team to invest resources equivalent as a professional Formula 1 team, and the 8,500-rpm speed limit required the team to use extremely unusual construction in engine modifications to allow the engine to break through more than 300 horsepower. An example for this was the German Super Tourenwagen Cup (STW) series, which ran from 1994 to 1999, filling

2035-488: The manufacturers' road machine (although the roof and roof pillars do originate from the production car). In order to lower costs, the engine power is limited to 610 hp (450 kW), and transmissions, brakes and tyres (Hankook) are standard parts for all. Also, dimensions and aerodynamics are equalised. The approx. 985 kg (2,172 lb) (without driver) DTM cars corner incredibly quickly and wear spectacular bodykits incorporating huge wheel arches and diffusers, plus

2090-403: The mid twentieth century as a long-format style of competition that took place on public roads between numerous towns. The cars were crewed by a driver and, because of their unreliability, a mechanic who carried tools and spares. The legacy of these beginnings can still be seen in modern touring and GT cars – the driver sits offset from the centreline of the car and there is space for

2145-412: The same path Mercedes-Benz did after the end of the 2018 season; focusing on electric motorsport, most notably Formula E . This will leave BMW as the sole manufacturer left, putting the series' future in serious jeopardy. Germany Since 1997, and nowadays still on the over 20 kilometres (12 mi) long famous old Nürburgring and other circuits worldwide, in average over 150 touring cars compete in

2200-444: The series has grown, major international motorsport organisations have become involved such as Team Penske , Andretti Autosport , United Autosports and Triple Eight Race Engineering . Both Ford and Holden financially and technically supported their favoured teams and took an active role in promotion of the series from its beginning, but began to wind back and ultimately withdraw their financial commitments approximately in line with

2255-552: The series was abandoned altogether, as by then Japan's big three all had works entries in the then- JGTC . In Australia, the series began in 1993 when the Group A regulations for the Australian Touring Car Championship series was replaced by Supercars Group 3A Formula (known as V8 Supercars from 1997 onwards) and Super Touring. The advent of a new management structure and telecast arrangement for V8 Supercars put them in conflict with Bathurst 1000 organisers. Super Touring were offered

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2310-401: The series' revival in 2000. Engine power was increased from ~500 hp to 610 hp, with an extra 30 hp available as part of a push-to-pass system available to drivers for the first time. Downforce levels were also reduced to encourage overtaking and increase top speeds to 300 km/h (186 mph) in order to improve the racing spectacle. In 2019, DTM formed a partnership with

2365-517: The side would become mandatory. One reason for Super Touring's demise was the cost of preparing a car for competition. In 1990, a Vauxhall Cavalier cost £60,000. By the later part of the 90s a similar car with more sophisticated aerodynamics device and telemetry cost £250,000. The later World Touring Car Championship Super 2000 regulations were inspired by the Super Touring regulations, with production-based four-door saloons powered by 2.0-litre engines. Wider wheel arches are allowed, which makes

2420-442: The system had the best chances of success. Another byproduct of the system was a lack of overtaking, as often drivers weren't allowed to go faster to get past other cars when the weight penalties were also calculated from race lap times. The series was also notorious for the politicking and team orders employed by some teams and their car providers, most notably BRC Racing Team /Hyundai and Cyan Racing /Lynk & Co. The politicking

2475-561: The trend of recent FIA rules, cost control is a major theme in the technical regulation. In 2011 the rules concerning the engine capacity have changed, switching from 2000 cc to 1600 cc turbo engines. Cars equipped with the old 2000 cc engines are still eligible in the championship. Many technologies that have featured in production cars are not allowed, for example: variable valve timing, variable intake geometry, ABS braking and traction control . United Kingdom The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) currently competes at nine circuits in

2530-574: The two vehicle types. The series incorporates the world famous Bathurst 1000 race as a championship round. Because of the longer distance, regulations require two drivers per car for this race. This also applies to The Bend 500 & the Gold Coast 600 . These events make up the Pirtek Enduro Cup , which is a championship-within-a-championship where the driver combination with most points collected over these three endurance races wins

2585-612: Was generally focused on the Balance of Performance, which culminated in Hyundai instructing their customer teams to not participate at the 2020 Race of Germany and Cyan Racing leaving the series halfway through the 2022 season after unsatisfactory BoP. Following various difficulties concerning the WTCR format, WTCR was revised into the world tour format starting from 2023 season. TCR World Tour calendar will consist of races picked from various regional and national TCR series world wide unlike

2640-538: Was introduced, with one qualifying session and one race on the first day and a three-phase qualifying session on the second day and two races, with the first one having the top 10 of the grid reversed. In October 2022 it was reported that the series would be folding in its current format following the 2022 season, with any future change to the series being evaluated and announced at a later date. The compensation weight system in WTCR – which assigns weight penalties to certain cars for their performance in certain situations –

2695-522: Was later reversed by appeal) and in return, walked out from the Oulton Park race. After this, Alfa were forced to run their spoilers in the retracted position (the position in which the spoilers were fitted on the road going version, the Alfa 155 Silverstone – of which only 2,500 cars were homologated to allow the use of the aerodynamic devices and higher rev limits for a 1.8-litre car – though the road car

2750-410: Was often criticised, being deemed unnecessary given the series also utilised a Balance of Performance (BoP) system to equalise the performance of the participating cars. As a result of the system, several teams deliberately ordered their drivers to drive slower than possible in qualifying and/or race sessions in order to minimise the compensation weight penalty; often the teams who were best able to game

2805-452: Was replaced by a privately funded Aston Martin Vantage program that did not last beyond the 2019 season. For the 2019 season, major technical changes occurred. Turbochargers were reintroduced in accordance with new regulations impacting engines and power outputs, as all cars are now required to have 2.0-litre 4-cylinder single turbo engines, replacing the 4.0L V8s that had been used since

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2860-500: Was run for two more years, (won by Paul Radisich again in 1994 at Donington Park in a Ford Mondeo, manufacturer title went to BMW, and Frank Biela in 1995 at Paul Ricard in an Audi A4 Quattro, and manufacturer title went to Audi). A similar event was planned for 1996 at the A1 Ring , Austria , but was cancelled due to a low number of provisional entries (10 cars). It was never brought back thereafter. On 6 December 2017, during

2915-525: Was sold with two unfitted spoiler extension brackets). In the meantime, Renault and BMW responded by introducing their own limited edition road cars (Laguna Airflow and 318is, respectively) to enable them to run with oversized aerodynamic aids; Renault would win the Oulton Park race that Alfa Romeo had walked out. Soon after that, the FIA changed the regulation in all series to increase minimum number of produced road cars for homologation to 25,000, and allowing cars to only use non-production aerodynamic devices with

2970-511: Was the Japanese Touring Car Championship (JTCC), which made increases to body width and exhaust noise while restricting front aerodynamic devices in 1997 (which allowed Toyota to use the larger Toyota Chaser ); it ultimately backfired when Nissan and Honda left the series at the end of the season, leaving Toyota as the only manufacturer that competed. In 1999, a new formula using spaceframe cars came to nothing, and

3025-553: Was the best touring car championship in the world, and many champions of that era now race in the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). Between 2002 and 2006 the BTCC ran its own Touring class with Super Production/Super 2000 cars making up the numbers; the Touring class was phased out (only privateers are eligible to run old Touring cars) with the intention of a pure Super 2000 series. The introduction of

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