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CAMS locks in TCR rights for 2019

Touring car series searching for a promoter


The Confederation of Australian Motorsports (CAMS) has announced plans to bring Touring Car Racing (TCR) Down Under.

Starting in 2019, CAMS and WSC Limited (promoter for TCR) will develop the burgeoning series over the course of five years.

The series, founded in 2015, pits racy versions of daily drivers – think VW Golf, Audi A3 and Honda Civic – against each other. The cost of entry is relatively low compared to many categories, and the racing is tight.

Although full factory teams aren't allowed, car companies are allowed to support privateers by developing 2.0-litre, front-wheel drive racers based on production models. Power is capped at around 260kW, torque is limited to 450Nm.

At this point, CAMS is seeking a promoter for the series. The organisation is accepting expressions of interest from bodies keen to manage the commercial side of the category locally.

"This is an exciting development for Australian motor sport. TCR Australia will provide the opportunity for affordable, competitive action in cars that are direct derivatives of popular road going cars," said Eugene Arocca, CEO of CAMS.

"We are looking forward to working with manufacturers and competitors to ensure the success of this category. The worldwide interest in TCR has been very encouraging and we anticipate that the competitive Australian car buying market will see a number of manufacturers support the category."

Local manufacturers aren't exactly jumping for joy at the announcement. Although VW, Kia, Holden, Audi and Honda offer TCR versions of their cars overseas, no-one has confirmed their willingness to support local racers as yet. Stay tuned, we'll update when we hear from everyone.

Thus far, the only company to indicate anything more than a passing interest is Inchcape, the Australian distributor for Peugeot and Citroen. Peugeot currently fields a racing version of the 308 hatch in the TCR series, overseas.

Already active in local motorsport through its Subaru operation, Inchcape has confirmed with CarAdvice - through Peugeot/Citroen communications manager Tyson Bowen, that it will watch the development of the local TCR program closely and consider a decision on getting involved. What form that involvement might take, however, won't be determined for some time yet.

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