Gabriele Tarquini explains why drivers can still be at the front at 54

Beginning his 12th season in the WTCC, Lada’s new driver Gabriele Tarquini will be the oldest driver to ever take part in a race at the age of 54 when the lights go out on Sunday when he starts his 245th race in the championship, and touring car’s elder statesman explains why longevity and experience are more important in touring cars.

In most sports, “retiring” is something that happens for most professionals in the 30s, before taking on coaching or management roles. In the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1, the same is often true, with the 36-year-old Jenson Button the most experienced in the championship, but also continuing to race well above the average F1 driver’s retirement age, but in touring car racing, drivers keep going and keep achieving results for a lot longer.

On the grid this weekend, the average age on the grid is the near-Button age of 33, with an incredible span of 37 years from the youngest to the oldest, with Zengő Motorsport’s Daniel Nagy 17-years-old, just a week away from his 18th birthday at the season start, with Tarquini on the other end of the scale.

Although it’s easier to quickly dismiss touring cars as an older drivers sport, the number of young drivers in all touring car championships is on the rise in recent years. In the British championship, Aiden Moffat starts his fourth year on the grid at the age of 19 this weekend, having taken the record for the youngest start away from Tom Chilton, who began his BTCC career in 2002 at the age of 17.

Also taking place this weekend is the TCR International Series in Bahrain, in which B3 Racing will field a 16-year-old Hungarian driver, Attila Tassi, in one of their SEAT León TCRs.

In this year’s WTCC grid, there are two drivers who will start the season under the age of 20. There are just four in their 20s, while drivers in their 30s that are the most prevailant on the grid, a total of eight, the youngest of which is Tom Chilton, while Honda’s Tiago Monteiro will celebrate turning 40 this summer.

Tarquini is quick to note the young age of his two new team-mates at Lada, with Nicky Catsburg having turned 28 last month, and with Hugo Valente starting his fourth year in the WTCC at the age of 23.

“I will fight with two people whose sum of their years don’t reach my age,” said Tarquini to TouringCarTimes. “It’s a big challenge, but I will also be very happy if these two guys to use my experience to reach some victories.”

Explaining why touring car drivers can carry on for so long and still be so competitive, the most famous instance of this occurring five years ago when Gabriele Tarquini, Alain Menu and Franz Engstler all shared the podium with a combined age of 146 between them, Tarquini said:

“I think firstly our cars are physically not as hard as a Formula car, but the second reason is experience,” he said. “Even though it comes from a road car, you have a lot of parameters which can be changed by the driver to set-up, and experience helps you a lot in these kinds of cars. Especially with front-wheel driven cars. These are not normal racing cars, you can’t use your experience in karting or in Formula immediately in touring cars at least with a front-wheel driven car.

“You can transform your experience, if you learned something in Formula, it can help you to set-up a WTCC car but you need some years.”

Tarquini will be 54 this weekend in France, while four-time champion Yvan Muller is the closest to him in years albeit eight behind on 46. Sweden’s Fredrik Ekblom makes his return to the WTCC at the age of 45 with Volvo, while Tom Coronel, one of the top three most experienced drivers on the grid is 43.