PARIS — Kumho Tire Co. Inc.'s backing of the TCR World Tour concept kicked up a notch recently as the championship — a collective of 20 national/regional touring-car racing series — gained recognition as an international championship, to be known henceforth as the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the Paris-based motorsports sanctioning body, disclosed recently that it had elevated the TCR World Tour to an FIA-designated international competition ahead of its second season.
As such, the TCR World Tour — which uses Touring Car Championship (TCR) regulations to determine vehicle eligibility — becomes the recognized international touring-car championship, replacing the World Touring Car Cup (which used Goodyear tires) that suspended operations in early 2022.
Kumho Tire Co. Inc.'s involvement dates to January 2022, when it struck a race-tire supply deal with TCR series' organizer World Sporting Consulting (WSC) Ltd. That led to the South Korean tire maker securing the designated tire supply contracts with nine TCR championship series operating around the world: Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Eastern Europe, Europe, Finland, Middle East, South America and Spain.
The inaugural Kumho FIA TCR World Tour will feature nine events, with the geographical reach of the series increasing to six continents from four with the addition of qualifying races in Africa and North America. The North American race — part of the Michelin Pilot Challenge — will be held June 7-8 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course near Lexington, Ohio.
The nine-round schedule will be followed by an FIA TCR World Ranking Final, at a venue and date yet to be announced.
"Being present on six different continents is a great start as we are set for the return of world-level FIA touring car racing," Marek Nawarecki, FIA senior circuit sport director, said.
"The format that Kumho FIA TCR World Tour will rely on … is something that will help to build bridges between national- and regional-level touring car series and the pinnacle of touring car racing, creating a healthy ecosystem for this form of racing."
The FIA will bring its regulatory framework to TCR World Tour, overseeing sporting and technical regulations and their application, a process deemed essential given that events of different local series on the calendar have their respective differences.
The elevation of the TCR series to international championship status resulted from negotiations involving FIA and WSC Group, the global rights holder for the TCR trademark.
"Over the years, world touring car racing has been undergoing constant evolution, with different technical regulations and formats utilized, and with FIA titles decided either through a series or at a single event," FIA Touring Car Commission President Alan Gow added.
"Given that TCR is a proven set of technical regulations with a strong customer racing platform, the concept behind the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour is something that made a lot of sense for the FIA to support it, and we look forward to its success."
WSC President Marcello Lott said his company is "immensely proud" that the concept of the Kumho TCR World Tour has already met with general approval from the motor sport community after only one racing season.
"To now be able to award an FIA title is the icing on the cake and provides us with powerful motivation to do our utmost to make this platform even stronger and more popular."
The TCR class comprises front-wheel-drive sedans powered by 2-liter turbocharged engines. Cars eligible include Alfa Romeo Giulia, Audi RS3, Cupra TCR, Honda Civic, Hyundai i30N, Lada Vestra, MG 5/6, Peugeot 308 GTi, Toyota Corolla.
