The inaugural TCR New Zealand champion will be crowned after a single winner-takes-all round at Highlands Motorsport Park in April.
Initially, the championship was set to be held over four meetings, starting at Manfeild in January. The calendar was then revised late last year down to three rounds, all within the South Island and the first to be held at Timaru Raceway next month.
However, series organisers have today announced that due to shipping delays from Europe, many cars would not be able to make it to the grid in time for a full three-round season.
Thus, the winner of the April 23-24 round at Highlands Motorsport Park will receive the TCR NZ title.
The same goes for the new Super Production Championship, which will have its grid incorporated with TCR NZ for the first season.
“We have a lot of driver interest in both TCR New Zealand and the Super Production,” said category manager Lindsay Dodd.
“However, several of our TCR competitors are still waiting for parts to arrive from Europe, and some of these were ordered well before Christmas.
“The original proposal was to run a three-round series starting in March, but as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, logistics from Europe have meant that several cars would not make the grid in time.
“The timing is too tight to run the first two events, so to be fair on all competitors, the Highlands round at the end of April gives everyone more time.”
The recently announced prize of free entry into any of the remaining 2021 TCR Australia rounds, including the Bathurst International event, is still on offer for the winner of the TCR New Zealand Championship.
“This prize, worth around $5,000AUD, will remove one of the cost barriers to competing in what could be one of the biggest TCR events globally should they chose the Bathurst International event in November,” added Dodd.
Gene Rollinson remains the only driver currently confirmed for the TCR NZ championship. The Aucklander will be behind the wheel of the Racer Products Hyundai i30 N.