The TCR New Zealand championship will get underway next year as a part of a new Super Production series.
The all-new class will host high-performance factory production race cars including Ferrari Challenge and Porsche 911 Cup cars, along with a variety of GT4 machinery.
Headlining the act will be the TCR class which will compete for the New Zealand Touring Car Championship which was announced back in February, taking the moniker from the BNT V8 Championship.
The series was set to run its own class at the start of the 2020 summer season, mirroring the Castrol Toyota Racing Series calendar. A mini endurance championship was also mooted for the winter, but the championship was ultimately postponed.
Since then a handful of TCR cars have entered in the North and South Island Endurance Series, with strong results across both championships.
Newly-appointed manager of the Super Production class and ex-V8 Ute co-ordinator, Lindsay Dodd, says the series will be of good value for car owners and its openness should encourage exciting racing.
“I think the series will offer real value for the owners of TCR and GT4 type cars and give them a great series with good competition to race in. I encourage them and any other competitors to get in touch about joining Super Production,” said Dodd.
“Having the NZTCC on the line in TCR class adds to the series as well. That trophy has many historic names on it such as Robbie Francevic, Craig Braid and the late Jason Richards to name just a few.”
Series organisers also announced a four-round calendar with two rounds in each the North and South Island. Venues and dates for the North Island events are yet to be confirmed, but the final two rounds will be held at Levels Raceway on March 5-6 and Highlands Motorsport Park on April 23-24.
A Balance of Performance (BOP) system will be implemented to try and equalise the performance of the cars across the entire series.
“It’s hugely exciting to get TCR racing underway in New Zealand,” said Elton Goonan, Acting CEO of MotorSport New Zealand.
“We’ve been working hard for a long time now to establish the global formula of touring car racing on our shores.
“Confirming that the TCR class within the Super Production series will compete for the New Zealand Touring Car Championship title is a big piece of the puzzle complete for us. It adds great incentive for teams and drivers to join what is a huge success worldwide.
“Throw into the mix the large number of factory production race cars that are coming into the country and it’s a great opportunity to provide those car owners with a class where they can enjoy those cars at their best.”
Super Production series 2021 Calendar:
- Round 1 – TBC
- Round 2 – TBC
- Round 3 – Timaru, 5-6 March 2021
- Round 4 – Highlands, 23-24 April 2021
Main Image: Euan Cameron
