TCR Benelux series presented in Zandvoort
The new-for-2016 TCR Benelux series was presented at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands today, ahead of its first round at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend.
The promoter of the championship, Kronos Events, hopes to field a potential 15 car line-up in a series which in the true tradition of Belgian motorsport, follows a slightly different format to traditional touring car formulae, with shared cars, more races and a fan voted grid during the season.
The championship will run for six events, and the format will include a 60-minute qualifying race with the start order decided by a fan vote on the series’ Facebook page, with a compulsory pit stop.
There will then be four sprint races, with the grids for Races 1 and 2 decided by the fastest laps during the qualifying race, before and after the compulsory pit stop, with Races 2 and 4 following immediately on with rolling starts from Races 1 and 3.
Amateur drivers can tackle the whole weekend themselves or share the car with a professional driver during the course of the weekend. Honda’s Tiago Monteiro has already been confirmed at Boutsen-Ginion Racing for the season opener at Spa-Francorchamps, shortly before the Portuguese driver heads to the Nürburgring to continue his championship challenge in the World Touring Car Championship for the Castrol Honda World Touring Car Team.
The launch was followed by a test at the Zandvoort circuit, which was led by Maxime Potty & Ronnie Lantinne in a Team WRT-run Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR ahead of Renaud Kuppens in the Boutsen-Ginion Racing Honda Civic TCR and Amaury Richard & Didier van Dalen in a Delahaye Racing VW Golf.
