TCR Europe set to hold a night race on Pau street circuit

TCR Europe is set to hold a night race in its second round of the season on the Pau street circuit in France, marking the first after-dark race in the series’ history.

The provisional schedule for next month’s Pau Grand Prix (being run on 12-14 May) was published this week, and revealed the unexpected placing of TCR’s first race of the weekend at 21:36 local time on the Saturday night.

Free practice takes place on Friday at 12:25 and 19:10, with the second session still running in daylight hours despite being held in the evening and at the end of the day’s track schedule – which leaves it the most vulnerable to delays or cancellation should there be disruption earlier in the day.

Qualifying is scheduled for 11:51 on Saturday, meaning there is a gap of almost ten hours before the race and likely a significant amount of track evolution pending a lack of rain.

TCR Europe only has one track session on Sunday, with its second race starting at 14:22 and sandwiched between exhibition runs by hydrogen-powered cars beforehand and the Pau GP itself which runs afterwards.

TouringCarTimes has reached out to TCR Europe for comment on its surprise night race.