So many champions on the entry list for the inaugural WTCR season
The inaugural season of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup will kick-off this weekend at Circuit Moulay El Hassan in Marrakech, Morocco. A new premier touring car competition, which has been established with a merger of the WTCC and TCR International Series, will gather together the best drivers from both series.
Eleven teams are representing seven manufacturers and they announced 25 cars as full-time entries in the inaugural WTCR season. Both last year’s champions, the WTCC champion Thed Bjork and TCR International champion Jean-Karl Vernay, will fight for another title.
Thed Bjork and Yvan Muller will be teammates in 2018
Bjork will drive the #11 Hyundai i30 N TCR for Yvan Muller Racing, alongside touring car legend and four-time WTCC champ Yvan Muller in the #48 car.
Vernay will drive the #69 Audi RS3 LMS TCR for Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team, together with three-time British touring car champion Gordon Shedden as a teammate in the #52 Audi.
Jean-Karl Vernay (left) and Gordon Shedden (right) during the WTCR Media Launch
Besides four men we mentioned, there would be so many other former champions on the grid. The oldest among them is the 56-year-old Gabriele Tarquini, who will drive the #30 Hyundai i30 N TCR for BRC Racing Team. His teammate would be last year’s WTCC vice-champion Norbert Michelisz.
Two other Italian veterans Fabrizio Giovanardi (51) and Gianni Morbidelli (50) will form the oldest pair on the grid, in two Alfa Romeo Giuliettas of the Team Mulsanne.
The oldest, or better to say the most experienced pair on the grid – Gianni Morbidelli and Fabrizio Giovanardi
Two British drivers with several championship titles on their accounts will be rivals – Rob Huff in the #12 Sebastien Loeb Racing’s Volkswagen Golf and James Thompson in the #15 Münnich Motorsport’s Honda Civic Type R.
Belgian team Boutsen Ginion Racing will also run two Hondas for two experienced drivers – Tom Coronel and Tiago Monteiro. Unfortunately, Monteiro is still not fit following his last year’s injury so he would be replaced by TCR Benelux champion Benjamin Lessennes in the season-opening race at Marrakech.
Boutsen Ginion Racing’s drivers: Tiago Monteiro, Ben Lessennes and Tom Coronel
2018 WTCR entry list
| Team | Car | Number | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRC Racing Team | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 5 | Norbert Michelisz |
| 30 | Gabriele Tarquini | ||
| DG Sport Competition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 7 | Aurelien Comte |
| 70 | Mato Homola | ||
| Zengő Motorsport | Cupra Leon TCR | 8 | Norbert Nagy |
| 66 | Zsolt Szabo | ||
| Boutsen Ginion Racing | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 9 | Tom Coronel |
| 18 | Tiago Monteiro | ||
| 63 | Benjamin Lessennes | ||
| Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR | 10 | Gianni Morbidelli |
| 88 | Fabrizio Giovanardi | ||
| Yvan Muller Racing | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 11 | Thed Björk |
| 48 | Yvan Muller | ||
| Sebastien Loeb Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR | 12 | Rob Huff |
| 25 | Mehdi Bennani | ||
| ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R TCR | 15 | James Thompson |
| 68 | Yann Ehrlacher | ||
| 86 | Esteban Guerrieri | ||
| Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 20 | Denis Dupont |
| 21 | Aurelien Panis | ||
| 22 | Frederic Vervisch | ||
| 23 | Nathanael Berthon | ||
| Campos Racing | Cupra Leon TCR | 27 | John Filippi |
| 74 | Pepe Oriola | ||
| Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 52 | Gordon Shedden |
| 69 | Jean-Karl Vernay |
Photos: Francois Flamand, Paulo Maria/DPPI,
