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44-588: The TCR Europe Touring Car Series is an annual touring car racing event that is held at various locations across Europe . The series is run in accordance with the TCR Touring Car regulations with production-based cars that are front-wheel drive and powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged engines. On 15 October 2015, Marcello Lotti revealed plans for a European Series including one round from each TCR European championship (Italy, Spain, Germany, Portugal, Russia and Benelux), starting from 2016. On 26 February 2016,

88-729: 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

132-486: 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

176-689: 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

220-451: 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

264-480: 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

308-402: 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

352-403: 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

396-420: A year of running its Nissan Altimas privately, Supercars reverted to a two-make Ford vs. Holden competition. Different sets of regulations do apply: TCR International Series On 6th December 2017, FIA's World Motorsport Council announced that the series will merge with World Touring Car Championship and European Touring Car Cup starting in 2018 . On 15 July 2014, Lotti revealed further details on

440-682: Is also set to be adopted in the Single-Make Trophy category of the European Touring Car Cup in 2015 , will be used by the TCR Series. On 29 July 2014, former WTCC driver Pepe Oriola said in an interview with TouringCarTimes that he hopes to compete in the new series, because he was set to drive for the Onyx Race Engineering team in the 2014 WTCC season with their new Ford Fiesta TC1 car for

484-468: 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

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528-583: 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

572-605: 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

616-730: 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

660-608: The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters . Touring car racing Touring car racing 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

704-548: The Ford Focus for the championship. A week later Paolo Coloni Racing announced plans to enter the championship in 2015. Team principal Paolo Coloni , son of F1-team founder Enzo Coloni , is known for its accomplishments in the GP2 Series in 2005 and in 2009 to 2012 . The team will confirm at a later date their planned car and driver line-up. On 31 October 2014, a provisional calendar for its inaugural season

748-693: The International GT Open . In 2019, the series continued to have seven events all over Europe with approximately 30 cars and was run in support of the International GT Open. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the start of the 2020 season was postponed to the end of August and the series was run with support from the SRO Organization with a starting grid of 25 cars. In 2022, the series plans to run two events in support of

792-581: 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

836-512: The TCR Thailand Series , starting from 2016. On 15 September 2014, technical regulations for the category were announced. On 22 January 2016, minor changes were applied. Eligible cars: 4/5-door vehicles Body shell: Reinforced production body shell; wheel arch modifications allowed to accommodate tyres Minimum weight: 1250 kg for cars with production gearbox, 1285 kg for cars with racing gearbox (both including

880-548: The VWs . On 5 December 2014, the series was approved by the FIA and renamed TCR International Series instead of using the original TC3 International Series name. On 27 January 2015, Marcello Lotti announced three new teams for the inaugural season: Zengő Motorsport , Proteam Racing and Campos Racing . On 13 February Jordi Oriola announced he will be driving a Target Competition SEAT at Valencia and Monza and Mikhail Grachev

924-566: 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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968-546: The European Trophy was launched, with six rounds (Spanish championship was excluded for not having an own series and Benelux series had two rounds). Subsequent change was made during the course of the season to include additional round from the German series . In 2017, the one-off event format with two races was adopted. For 2018, it was upgraded to TCR Europe Series with seven events, five of which were run in support of

1012-564: 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

1056-602: 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

1100-490: The TCR series. On the same day it was announced that the TCR series will award a Drivers' Championship title and a Teams' Championship title. The number of teams will be limited to eight and the number of competitors to twenty-four. It was also announced that the series will run alongside Formula One at selected events. On 21 July 2014, more details about the series became available: the race weekend format will be structured like

1144-480: 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

1188-733: The WTCC, with two free practice sessions and a two part qualifying session, followed by two races on Sunday. The first event would take place in Italy in March, but when a provisional calendar for the 2015 season was released on 31 October, it became clear that the first event will take place at the Sepang International Circuit on 29 March. Lotti confirmed the technical principles of the SEAT León Cup Racer , which

1232-553: 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

1276-542: 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

1320-658: 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

1364-660: The driver) Minimum overall length: 4.20 metres Maximum overall width: 1.95 metres Engine: Turbo-charged petrol or diesel up to 2.0-litre Torque: 420 Nm Power: 350 PS Lubrication: Wet sump Exhaust: Homologated catalytic converter using production parts Traction: On two wheels Gearbox: Production or TCR International Series sequential; production paddle shift accepted Front Suspension: Production lay-out; parts free design Rear Suspension: Original design of production car with reinforced components Brakes: Wheels: Maximum dimensions of rim: 10″ x 18″ Aerodynamics: These points have been based on

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1408-547: 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

1452-429: The last part of the season, before the project was abandoned with no support for homologation from Ford . On 15 September 2014, the TCR organisation announced the first cars, teams, regulations and events of its inaugural season in 2015 . Target Competition became the first team to confirm entry in the series and will run SEAT León Eurocup cars in 2015. Onyx Race Engineering has also confirmed they are developing

1496-488: 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

1540-403: 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

1584-412: 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

1628-444: 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

1672-401: 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

1716-561: 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

1760-574: 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

1804-607: Was confirmed on 17 February at Engstler Motorsport . In the end of February and in March almost half of all the drivers were confirmed, but just one week from the first round in Sepang Onyx Race Engineering , Paolo Coloni Racing and Proteam Racing have not confirmed a single driver. On 20 March the TCR International Series organisation announced the first TV deals for the inaugural season. On 29 May 2015, David Sonenscher announces

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1848-669: Was released. It will consist of twelve weekends, four in Asia , five in Europe , two in South America and one to be announced. On 7 November 2014, the fourth team was announced: the Swedish STCC team WestCoast Racing will join the series with three Honda Civics build by JAS Motorsport . On 20 November Liqui Moly Team Engstler announced they will participate with Volkswagen Golfs and Franz Engstler will be driving one of

1892-452: 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

1936-553: 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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