Photo: FIA Motorsport Games

Synthetic fuel set for TCR introduction in 2025 while hybrids are pushed to 2026

By

The TCR cars competing in the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games used synthetic fuels for the first time during a race weekend, a first step for a broader introduction in 2025 across the global TCR category.

“We are working on taking steps to make the TCR more attractive and give the manufacturers what they need to continue with us in terms of sustainability, like the use of synthetic fuels and the introduction of a hybrid system,” said WSC president Marcello Lotti to TouringCarTimes.

“We are already working to have a 100% sustainable fuel in 2025 to be available for all the teams. We think this is a first step in the right direction to offer the manufacturers what they need for a more sustainable series.”

The FIA partnered with ETS Racing Fuels for the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games and apart from the TCR cars, the GT Sprint and three karting categories were using sustainable fuel as well.

ETS supplied a 50% synthetic fuel for the TCR cars and Cupra has been involved in testing ahead of the event.

“This is a first step in the correct direction towards sustainability, which is what we need for a series with combustion engines to remain interesting for us,” said Cupra sporting director Xavi Serra to TouringCarTimes.

While synthetic fuels are locked in for 2025, the already severely delayed hybrid system will most likely not be introduced until 2026.

“It could be 2026. This is our plan. We had a different plan, when we decided to go with the World Tour (for hybrids) and keep the local championships, but it was impossible to start with hybridization,” said Lotti.

“As you can imagine, it was impossible for one country to start with HTCR, then we would have to do a BoP (Balance of Peformance), and I have enough problems with BoP to have to do another BoP for hybrid. And so we decided to give it time, one to two years.”

Testing of a first hybrid system was started by WSC in 2022 but has since then been postponed several times. WSC will test a new version of the hybrid system later this year.

“We’ve decided to have a second version with the experience of the first hybrid kit. We will have a test this November, and now we have to start to consider,” said Lotti.

“We will have a standard hybrid system as a kit that we will give to the manufacturers for testing, because we spent 1.5 years developing it. So, they have to test again the new one and they have 2025 to test it. Then we will have a manufacturers meeting and, when we do this, we will decide when it’s a good time to start.”