WSC Asia Limited will embark on their fourth season of the TCR Asia Series in 2018 with a strong program of events across four regions, in the process, continuing to co-operate with both the TCR Thailand and TCR China national Series’ and the recently launched TCR Korea Series.
As the season has done since it’s inception, it will begin in Malaysia in late March, with the opening event of the season at Sepang International Circuit, ahead of two rounds in Thailand including the popular Bangsaen Grand Prix – all three events contested alongside TCR Thailand as part of one of the new developments in TCR Asia for 2018, the ‘South-East Asia Cup’.
From Thailand the Series returns to South Korea for the first time since opening the 2016 TCR Asia Series season before moving back to China for the final event of the year, which comes immediately ahead of the new SIC888 endurance event set for Shanghai International Circuit, with TCR Asia teams offered additional incentive to be a part of the seven-hour endurance race.
“For 2018 we wanted to focus on consistency and continuing to assist the National Series’ with their emerging markets,” WSC Asia Limited’s David Sonenscher explained.
“The recent news about WTCR shows that the concept is working so well that it’s being adopted at the highest level of touring cars globally, and that success is filtering down to the different regional and national championships who have adopted TCR.
“For Asia, there is now the addition in 2018 of TCR Korea – which will join us for the fourth event of the year to give their teams the opportunity to compete against Asia’s best – whilst there is also news that new cars are being sourced from Hyundai, Audi, Volkswagen and Honda for competition throughout the region this year. We’re also fielding regular requests for information from new and established Asian teams, so interest is strong.
“Some of that enquiry centres around endurance racing for which the TCR cars have become popular in Europe, so in addition to the five-event TCR Asia program, we have an established link with the new SIC888 endurance event in Shanghai that will allow TCR Asia teams to get preferential opportunities to follow on from the season finale immediately ahead of the 888-kilometre race.
“That will allow them the opportunity to compete in an event without affecting their TCR championships, and at the same time, attract budget from one of two other drivers to join them in SIC888 the same weekend.
“Titles in 2018 will be on offer to the overall champions in the Drivers and Teams championships, whilst we will again have the TCR Asia Cup for the leading amateur driver plus the new South-East Asia Cup for the leading driver across the three rounds alongside TCR Thailand. We have also developed the TCR Asia Trophy for the DSG cars, of which there are more emerging in Asia, so that will give those teams something to battle for too across the season.
“On the promotional front, we will again have a strong international media package with TCR Asia programs broadcast around the world to an audience of well over 400-million homes, we will have an increased media package in China complete with Chinese commentary, and we will be stepping up our social media activity with extended coverage with of course – ongoing live-streaming of every event.”
