FIA TCR World Tour field breaks new ground in China
The FIA TCR World Tour field will visit the Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit for the first time this weekend in the first of two back-to-back race weekends in China.
The previous race weekend in South Korea saw home favorites Hyundai winning two of the three races courtesy Mikel Azcona who grabbed the drivers’ championship points lead.
Former points leader Santiago Urrutia meanwhile had a tough weekend and dropped down to third in the standings and is hoping for revenge on Geely’s home circuit this weekend.
Azcona heads BRC Hyundai team-mate Norbert Michelisz by 41 points while Urrutia is 49 points adrift.
Urrutia’s team-mate Thed Björk had a strong weekend in South Korea with two second-place finishes which has brought him up to fourth place overall, 21 points behind Urrutia.
Championship leader Azcona will carry the maximum 40kg of compensation weight for this weekend while Michelisz and Björk will carry 30kg.
Urrutia will carry no compensation weight, as will his team-mate Yann Ehrlacher who is placed fifth, 83 points from Azcona.
“The Chengdu circuit belongs to Geely, so it’s going to be an important event, and I am honoured to represent Geely on their home soil for the first time in an FIA competition,” said Ehrlacher.
“We’re in a bit of a tricky position in the championship, but the base is there and we also will drop the 40kg of ballast, which was bad for us in Inje.”
Cupra team SP Competition is back down to two cars for regular drivers Aurélien Comte and Jean-Karl Vernay as Viktor Andersson, who claimed his maiden win for the team in South Korea, is back racing in TCR Spain and TCR Europe.
The field will include ten TCR Asia/local entries for a total of 18 cars.
Notable entries include Team TRC with two Hondas for William Cheung Wang Chi and Euan Chan Ho Ting, as well as a pair of Z.Speed-prepared Hyundais for Andy Liang Wenyao and Marcus Cheong Man Hei.
The Chengdu Tianfu International Circuit was opened in 2023 and measures 3265 meters. The circuit has previously hosted F4 China race weekends, while this weekend will mark the first time it hosts an international touring car event.
The race weekend starts with two free practice sessions on Friday, followed by qualifying and the first race on Saturday and the final two races on Sunday.
Chengdu schedule
Times in CST (CEST +6H)
Friday 16/10
11:20 – Free Practice 1
15:40 – Free Practice 2
Saturday 17/10
09:50 – Qualifying
15:15 – Race 1
Sunday 18/10
09:30 – Race 2
14:10 – Race 3
FIA TCR World Tour entry list Chengdu
3 – Zhang Bo Fei – Z.Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
19 – William Cheung Wang Chi – Team TRC – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
21 – Bayern Yip Way Hei – Evolve Racing – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
23 – Diego Moran – ATE Racing by D23 – Honda Civic Type R
28 – Lo Sze Ho – Evolve Racing – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
29 – Euan Chan Ho Ting – Team TRC – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
33 – Tang Shu Yan – Chengdu 34 Car Park – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
69 – Zhang Bo Fei – Z.Speed – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
105 – Norbert Michelisz – BRC Racing – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
107 – Aurelien Comte – SP Competition – Cupra Leon VZ TCR
111 – Thed Björk – Geely Cyan Racing – Geely Preface TCR
155 – Ma Qing Hua – Geely Cyan Racing – Geely Preface TCR
168 – Yann Ehrlacher – Geely Cyan Racing – Geely Preface TCR
169 – Jean-Karl Vernay – SP Competition – Cupra Leon VZ TCR
181 – Santiago Urrutia – Geely Cyan Racing – Geely Preface TCR
196 – Mikel Azcona – BRC Racing – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
620 – Zhuang Zhe Ming – Psica Blue Racing – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
802 – Marcus Cheong Man Hei – MacPro Racing Team – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR
