TCR and TCS classes confirmed for new Campionato Italiano Turismo
Touring car racing in Italy is expected to receive a major boost in 2016 as the highly successful local championship is reborn under TCR regulations, as well as adding a new class called TCS which will feature cars closer to their road going counterparts.
The seven races of the 2016 season will be held at Vallelunga, Monza, Misano, Magione, Mugello, Imola and Adria, with the main class featuring the TCR regulations as well as the newly created TCS group, which will be split in four classes according to engine capacity.
Besides allowing all TCR International Series homologated cars, a permanent bureau will also be able to allow cars responding to the general principles of the rules to race, as well as taking care of the Balance of Performance measures and waivers.
The format of the races, which is the same for both TCR and TCS cars, will feature two qualifying sessions and two races per weekend, allowing drivers to share the costs by participating in one race each per weekend.
The Campionato Italiano Turismo cars will feature Hankook tyres and standing starts.
The new TCS cars are of a concept similar to the Campionato Italiano Velocità Turismo, which was a huge success in the ’90s as a support series to the local SuperTouring Championship. Cars will be divided in classes according to engine capacity, with up to 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 forming four different classes. All cars must be turbocharged, while diesel and four-wheel drive will not be allowed. The key difference to TCR is the amount of modifications allowed on the cars, which will be strictly equal to their road-going counterparts except from a few items such as exhaust, ECU and suspension.
The idea behind the TCS class is to provide a cheap entry level to touring car racing, creating a platform to develop talent. Autosport Abruzzo have already developed a Volkswagen Polo GTi for the 1.4 class, which ran in the Italian hillclimb championship and is ready to make its debut on track in 2016.
The TCR class is expected to mainly feature SEAT Leóns and Honda Civic TCRs, but Romeo Ferraris has confirmed its interest to run at least one of their Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCRs, which is currently under development in the hands of Salvatore Tavano and Michela Cerruti.
