Photo: TCR Spain

Monlau Motorsport could bring Cupra to FIA TCR World Tour in 2025

Cupra customer team Monlau Motorsport is eying a potential FIA TCR World Tour entry in 2025 which could see the Spanish manufacturer represented on a touring car world level for the first time since 2022.

“We are prepared, as a structure, to do a World Tour, but it’s not our priority,” David Simon, manager of Monlau Motorsport, told TouringCarTimes.

“It would be great, we have a plan about how it would be but for that to work, other things have to happen.”

Monlau Motorsport has raced in TCR Spain and TCR Europe this season and their main focus for 2025 is TCR Spain, while keeping an eye on both the TCR World Tour and TCR Europe.

“What we are going to certainly do and is our main target is the TCR Spain, without a doubt, and with two, three or four cars,” said Simon.

“Why? We have a karting team, we have Formula 4 teams, we also have a TCR team, working with Cupra and with the organisation of the TCR Spain. From there, we have the resources to do any project, but what we are not going to do is to enter a project to do it badly, or without all the resources we consider necessary, and that is very clear.

“So TCR Spain is sure for us, TCR Europe if there is an improvement on certain aspects we’ve seen this year. TCR World Tour? It’s on the table, but the budget and resources have to be there, and we are very serious about that.”

There has been occasional Cupra entries in the TCR World Tour for the last two seasons, coming from national entries during the series’ visits to South America, Australia and Marrakech.

“TCR continues to be a customer racing programme for us,” said Xavi Serra, Cupra’s sporting director to TouringCarTimes.

“The highest our customers compete, the greater satisfaction we get, as the car gets more exposure and shows itself as more competitive.

“If there is a team, a structure, a budget and drivers willing to take it to the World Tour, we will support them in the same way we are doing it in the TCR Europe. A full works programme would however not be on the cards.”

Asked about what Cupra needs to return to the touring car world stage, Serra explained that their long term vision comes hand-by-hand with an improvement on sustainability.

“One of our natural areas is the touring car, because of tradition and also because it’s road relevant, as you can see our Leon competing and be the car you can drive daily, because it has the same base,” said Serra.

“We started the ETCR road, where we had great successes and also great battles, but it didn’t continue, and that hampered our path, as we believe in electrification, either as full electric or hybrid.

“So our vision goes through that the ICE engines are something that will pass, and we want to see moves in this direction in the competition, in the same way we are seeing them in road cars.”

The introduction of synthetic fuels in the FIA TCR World Tour for 2025 is something that Cupra has been part of.

“This is it, and this is a first step and also part of our involvement has come because of that,” said Serra.

“In the FIA Motorsport Games the TCRs are using a 50% synthetic fuel for the first time and we did some tests to check that the cars work, and this a step on this direction.

“But I would also add another step with 100% synthetic fuels and, why not, hybrid cars, with a push-to-pass or a energy management system, but also looking towards electrification. I think this is the path that TCR has to take now.”