WTCC boss François Ribeiro says touring cars has a need for TCR

WTCC promoter François Ribeiro has moved to rubbish speculation that he fears the TCR category is damaging to the WTCC, saying that instead he believes that Marcello Lotti’s TCR concept is “needed desperately” in order to build a platform for drivers to work their way up to the WTCC.

TCR was launched last year, influenced by the successful SEAT León Cup Racer, and has spawned cars from eight different manufacturers in one year. The category was launched by Marcello Lotti, who ran the WTCC from its inception up until the end of the 2013 season, before he left and was replaced by Ribeiro.

After its announced launch in early 2014, the championship began in 2015 in Sepang, and grew ahead of expectations. Although there was a season low of 12 cars entered at the Sochi round of the TCR International Series, come the end of the season, 30 cars were entered at the finale in Macau, and a number of spin off national and regional championships have already been announced for 2016 using TCR, the first of which takes place this weekend in Germany with its own field of 22 cars.

On whether he was surprised at the growth of the formula, Ribeiro remarked:

“Frankly speaking, it’s absolutely no surprise to me…the concept and the buy-in from the customer divisions of the manufacturers is no surprise. As the market expands, then the volume of cars which will be sold will expand also, which will attract other manufacturers,” he added.

“I don’t see it as a threat. We need this desperately. You cannot be completely isolated at the top of your pyramid without any base, without any local championships, without any grassroots or entry level touring cars.”

Ribeiro remarked that he doesn’t see a clash between TCR and the WTCC, with the former a manufacturer-to-customer formula, while the WTCC has a totally different selling point, as well as full factory manufacturer participation with four marques competing this year.

“It is not a World Championship,” said Ribeiro of TCR. “It’s not a technical regulation which is strict and controlled like the WTCC is. There is no comparison of media coverage, it’s two different products with two different philosophies. I keep saying and I keep believing, I see no conflict.

“I would dream to have 15 to 20 very strong national championships based on that category…the good thing of TCR is the opportunity it provides to grow national championships. It’s already a reality in Germany and Benelux. It’s very difficult for young drivers; they say they want to reach the WTCC but how am I going to get there? How do they learn the touring car category, (and for this) you need an entry level.”