Mikel Azcona holds advantage as TCR Europe titles to be decided in Barcelona
Barcelona’ Circuit de Catalunya plays host to the season finale of the inaugural TCR Europe series this weekend, with no fewer than six drivers in mathematical contention to claim the championship title.
Heading the standings is local hero and title favourite Mikel Azcona, who holds a 19-point cushion over Team WRT Audi driver Jean-Karl Vernay, while Target Competition’s Dusan Borkovic remains in contention in third.
Attila Tassi, Dániel Nagy and Josh Files are outside bets for the championship, with the KCMG Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR drivers likely to concentrate on securing the teams’ title over the course of the weekend.
It also remains unclear as to whether Serbian Borkovic will race in Barcelona, after being disqualified from the results of both races at the previous round at Monza, following a post-race altercation with Azcona’s team.
Borkovic had arrived at Monza with a slender two-point lead after a damage limitation weekend at Assen in August. But now his participation is in doubt, which could mean a straight two-way title shoot-out between Azcona and Vernay.
Benefiting from the significant pace advantage and favourable weight compensation of his Audi RS 3 LMS at Monza, Vernay roared to a crucial double victory which placed the Frenchman – and reigning TCR International champion – ominously close to Azcona’s PCR Sport Cupra in the championship race.
In the teams’ title race, things closed up even further at Monza, with Borkovic’s disqualifications hitting Target Competition hard. A strong weekend from Tassi and Files helped KCMG reduce the advantage to just seven points. With every point counting, the team will field TCR Germany front-runner Mike Halder in a third Honda Civic this weekend.
Indeed, Halder is one of a swathe of guest entrants for the final round of the season.
TCR UK championship and STCC team WestCoast Racing return to the international scene for the first time since 2017 with cars for sibling pairing Jessica and Andreas Bäckman, while 2017 BTCC champion Ash Sutton will race the third of the Volkswagen Golf GTI TCRs.
It will be Sutton’s second appearance in a TCR championship this season, having claimed a brace of UK victories in a Honda Civic Type R FK8 at Oulton Park in August.
WTCR driver Nathanaël Berthon and Norbert Michelisz will also drive this weekend, Berthon partnering Maxime Potty in a second Comtoyou Racing entry, while Michelisz will take the second Hyundai i30 N TCR in his own M1RA team.
Spanish driver Hernando Alonso and Czech Petr Fulín make up the guest entries in a Peugeot 308TCR and Cupra respectively.
Heading into the weekend, Audi face an uphill battle to remain at the front of the field, with a compensation weight increase of 50kg, leaving them the heaviest car in Barcelona.
The Hyundai i30 N TCR receives an increase of 40kg, while the Cupra goes up 20kg.
The Honda Civic Type R FK8 TCR is one of the lightest cars this weekend, with 20kg removed from the previous round at Monza, as will the Peugeot 308TCR. The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR’s weight has been increased by 10kg.
The weekend will start on Friday with free practice, with the first session scheduled for 11:55 CEST and the second for 16:05, both lasting 30 minutes. Qualifying will be held on Saturday at 11:45, with the usual Q1-Q2 format.
Race 1 takes place on Saturday afternoon, starting at 17:30 and lasting 25 minutes. The second race will start at 15:55 on Sunday.
TCR Europe – Barcelona timetable
Friday 19th October
11:55 – Free practice 1
16:05 – Free practice 2
Saturday 20th October
11:45 – Qualifying
17:30 – Race 1
Sunday 21st October
15:55 – Race 2
