TCR World Ranking Final plans revised as inaugural event ‘rescheduled’

WSC has announced that the TCR World Ranking Final is to be revised, with the inaugural event that was set to take place at Portimao in March being ‘rescheduled’.

The decision has been taken after the TCR World Tour was granted FIA status for 2024 in order to ‘avoid an excess of annual touring car competitions in 2024’ and to prevent two titles being handed out in the same calendar year.

Despite the wording of a statement from WSC announcing the news, changes made to the qualification rules for the event mean that the first World Ranking Final has now effectively been cancelled, with the new event only open to customer drivers from the regional and national TCR series of 2024.

It therefore means that those drivers competing in the TCR World Tour will no longer be eligible, with the previous rules having seen the top 15 drivers from the World Tour earn an automatic place.

Drivers who had already registered for the Portimao event will receive an automatic entry for the new date, although it hasn’t been made clear if that will include any drivers who had earned a place via the 2023 World Tour.

The new venue and date will be confirmed in due course, with the winners of the event earning an FIA title.

“We’ve made the decision to move the date based on a series of logical factors,” WSC president Marcello Lotti said.

“When it became clear we would be hosting two ‘world finals’ in the same year, we had to look at what was best to resolve that, both from a sporting perspective and for our competitors, and moving the event for us makes the most sense.

“With the FIA Motorsport Games also taking place this year, having three annual major touring car events doesn’t make sense, and we can now put our full focus on holding our first TCR final, which will now come with an FIA title.

“I wish to thank the Portuguese ASN and the Autódromo do Algarve for their support, and for understanding our decision.”