Tamás Tenke joins Hungary grid as wild card

Tamás Tenke will join the World Touring Car Cup grid this weekend at the Hungaroring as a wild card entry with the Zengő Motorsport squad.

Tenke is scheduled to compete in TCR Europe series this season with the Hungarian squad but will forego his outing in the opening meeting of the campaign to instead enjoy a one-off run in WTCR.

The two events run alongside each other, with regulations stating that a driver is unable to race in both series at the same circuit on the same weekend.

The 22-year-old will race the Cupra TCR that he is set to race in the European series in what will be his debut on the world stage.

“This is a big honour for me and an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I will have a lot to learn and won’t be making any predictions. I just want to complete as many laps as possible in practice and qualifying and finish all the races. That would make me satisfied.”

Team boss Zoltán Zengő said he was pleased to be able to confirm the Hungaroring outing for the team, which had run a full programme in WTCR last season.

“We are really pleased to be back in WTCR / OSCARO, especially for our home event,” he said. “There is no doubt that Tamás will face a steep learning curve but it’s a great chance to experience a very high level of competition and take on new skills that can only help his progress in the sport.

“The wild card option is a very good one for teams not in the position to commit to a full season. Maybe there will be other opportunities during the year.”

Tenke will carry an additional 20kg of weight as a wildcard entry this weekend and will not be eligible to score points.