WTCR releases revamped calendar

The WTCR, the FIA World Touring Car Cup has released its the revamped 2020 calendar that has been restructured in order to delivert he maximum number of races.

The 2020 WTCR season had been originally scheduled to kick off in Hungary in April, but the coronavirus crisis has put the second season of the revamped championship on hold. Due to the diversity of the calendar and the fact that the events in Asia made up 40 per cent of the original WTCR calendar.

The Asia leg of the championship will be completely skipped due to the difficulties with the transportation of cars and equipements. The freight would have been shipped from Europe at the end of July what made it impossible for the championship to keep the Asian races ont he schedule.

The all-new calendar features six venues with Austria set to launch the season in Salzburg on September 12-13. The field then will head to Nüburgring, Germany for another two-race weekend.

In order to bolster the race action, the remaining four rounds will all feature three races per weekend. The Slovakia Ring will play host to the third round of the season on October 10 and 11 with the Hungarian round scheduled just a week after that. The Motorland Aragón of Spain will welcome the WTCR field on November 1 while the curtain will fall ont he 2020 season at the Adria International Raceway in Italy.

François Ribeiro, Head of Eurosport Events, the WTCR promoter said that the main aim was to maximise the numer of races in order to protect the long-term future of the sport and the job of the employees.

“The priority has always been to run as many races as possible to protect the WTCR, protect jobs and protect the sport at a time when there is no clear visibility in terms of how the pandemic will evolve and what decisions governments will take. To commit to races outside Europe required certainties that were very uncertain to obtain.”

Ribeiro has revealed that the series would respect every restriction to promote the well-being of drivers, teams and travelling staff. “We will follow all official guidelines in conjunction with the FIA, local promoters and governments before each event is given the green light as we will never compromise safety.

„While it will not be straightforward, holding races in Europe will negate the need to fly to events and measures will be taken to maximise vehicle-sharing and train travel, while respecting any social distancing requirements that might still be in place,” he concluded.