Global touring car series TCR has confirmed that its Europe Trophy will be upgraded to a fully-fledged international series from next year.
The 2018 TCR Europe Series will be run over six race meetings across the continent. It will become the third regional series for TCR, adding to similar competitions in Asia and the Middle East.
The TCR Europe Trophy was first held in 2016, using events of the existing TCR national series in the Benelux region, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Russia.
The 2017 edition of the Europe Trophy was held at a one-off event at the Adria International Raceway in Italy.
On the launch of the new series, promoter Paulo Ferreira said: “We thought the time had come to launch a proper European series. It is a logical evolution for those teams that are already racing in the TCR national championships and aim for stepping up into international competition.”
The new series will feature two qualifying sessions at each event, along with two 25-minute races. Titles will be awarded for drivers and teams. Entry fees have been set at €17,500 ($20,800) for the full season and €4,000 on a race-by-race basis.
The series will launch on May 6 with an event at Le Castellet (pictured) in France, before races in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) on June 10, Hungaroring (Hungary) on July 8, TT Assen (Netherlands) on August 19, Monza (Italy) on September 23 and Barcelona (Spain) on October 21.
