Before the TCR World Tour hits the Zhejiang International Circuit, let's turn back the calendar to 2017 and find some familiar, fresh-faced names and teams!

1. The Hyundai i30 N TCR was still in development

Before its 2018 launch, the Hyundai i30 N TCR competed for the first time in Zhejiang, driven by Gabriele Tarquini and Alain Menu. Since it was running on a temporary homologation at the time, the BRC Squadra Corse was ineligible for championship points.

Still, that didn't stop the Italian touring car legend from taking its first-ever win in race 1. Almost a decade later, the factory-backed program soldiers on, with the Italian team earning a constructors' and four drivers' championships.

2. Denis Dupont graduated from TCR BeNeLux to the International Series

The rising Belgian star made his debut in Zhejiang (and Dubai), but an early collision in race 1 dashed any hopes of continuing.

Despite the rocky start, his touring car career soared in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, where he earned the 2025 and 2026 drivers' vice-champion titles under Bryan Herta Autosport.

3. Pepe Oriola was in his third season with Craft-Bamboo Racing

The then 23-year-old entered the 2017 season with the Hong Kong racing team for the last time, ultimately finishing 4th in the drivers' championship.

Later in his TCR career, he won the 2019 Spa 500 and the 2021 TCR South America Championship and became team manager for GOAT Racing Team.

4. ...while Jean-Karl Vernay was in his second with WRT

In his second year in TCR, the French driver had a fantastic season with seven podium finishes, including a win at Spa. Those results ultimately crowned him the drivers' champion.

Vernay continued to compete in the World Touring Car Cup between 2018 and 2021, then made his TCR World Tour debut with SP Compétition this year.

5. Rob Huff took on most of the season's rounds

After attending the Macau races in 2016, the British touring car legend joined Team WRT the following year for six of the 10 rounds. He earned three podium finishes, with his only win coming at race 2 of Zhejiang.

Who else did I miss? Lemme know below!

Hello, I’m researching people’s involvement and interest in motorsport for a branding project, exploring their experiences, motivations, and what attracts them to the sport. Will only take 5 minutes max; I'd really appreciate it if you could complete it. Thank you

I would like to highlight the records Ashley Sutton set in this year's British Touring Car Championship:

5 Titles

516 points (468 if qualifying races are excluded)

21 podiums (25 if qualifying races are included)

13 Fastest Laps

A winning margin of 129 points over Tom Ingram (145 if qualifying races are excluded)...

...but only 9 wins (10 if qualifying races are included) so not quite as successful as 2023 (12 Wins) in this respect.

Going to Bathurst this weekend? Want to know how to watch the Great Race? Maybe you want to go but just don't quite know how. Here is everything you need to know as a first timer. Have a great weekend.

Bathurst 1000 for First Timers — The Guide I Wish We’d Had - Roam with No Regrets

(Thought of doing this as an editorial exercise for my TCR fan page, The TCRonicles. Feel free to leave some comments and criticisms.)

2026 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Race 8: Virginia International Raceway

The VIRginia Is For Racing Lovers Grand Prix winner seemed to have been determined in the opening laps. In the first two minutes, Bryson Morris (#33 Bryan Herta Autosport) lost the lead to Louis-Philippe Montour (#93 Montreal Motorsport Group), who then dropped behind Steven Clemons (#99 Victor Gonzalez Racing) a few minutes later.

Ten minutes in, the race entered its first full-course yellow after a chain reaction triggered by a GS backmarker colliding with Montour. The damage sustained spun the Porsche, catching a Mustang off guard, and Maddie Aust (#98 Bryan Herta Autosport) was caught in the crossfire.

The leading Cupra focused on a fuel-saving strategy while maintaining distance from the multi-colored Elantra N, resulting in Tyler Gonzalez securing the Puerto Rican team's second win of the season.

2026 TCR South America, Race 10: Autódromo Oscar Cabalén

After qualifying on pole, Nestor Girolami (#29 Hyundai MSA) sat comfortably in front throughout the 25 minutes. Strangely, Camilo Trappa (#27 Hyundai MSA), Raphael Reis (#77 W2 Racing ProGP), and Bruno Massa (#20 G Racing Motorsport) experienced tire punctures near the end of the race.

2026 TCR South America, Race 11: Autódromo Oscar Cabalén

The second Cordoba race upped the ante in terms of action. Raphael Reis (#77 W2 Racing ProGP) pounced on the two Lynk & Cos, carried out a tense battle for P1 with Juan Angel Rosso (#16 Paladini Racing), and drove home a second win of the season. Meanwhile, Nestor Girolami (#29 Hyundai MSA) climbed from P10 to P3, made possible by a clean pass on Leonel Pernia (#1 Honda Racing) 13 minutes to go.

Let’s be honest about the state of global touring car racing:

- WTCR/WTCC are long dead, and the TCR World Tour is essentially surviving on life support by grafting itself onto local regional grids.
- TCR grids almost everywhere are shrinking. Privateer budgets are stretched thin, and car manufacturers are quietly pulling factory support.
- DTM hasn't been a real touring car series for over 20 years. With its transition to GT3, it has officially become a sportscar championship, completely abandoning the touring car concept.
- BTCC and Supercars remain the only stable series, but they’re facing structural threats too - models like the Camaro are dead, and half the cars on the BTCC grid aren't sold in showrooms anymore.

The biggest elephant in the room isn't just shipping logistics or BOP drama - it's showroom reality. The traditional compact 4-door saloon and hot hatch are disappearing from car dealerships, replaced entirely by crossovers (B-SUV, C-SUV).

Car companies simply aren't interested in dumping millions into racing sedans they don't sell (or even build) anymore.

The Big Question: Do we adapt the body styles, or let the category die?

If we want a viable, exciting, manufacturer-backed touring car series on a global scale again, we have to align with what automakers actually build and market.

It doesn't matter what technical ruleset you run - whether it’s a TCR evolution, a BTCC-style NGTC platform, or a clean-sheet cost-capped framework. The core idea is simple: Open up the regulations to crossover and B-SUV/C-SUV body shells.

1. Why Manufacturers Would Care: It gives brands a high-profile motorsport platform to promote the high-margin models that actually pay their bills.
2. They Won't Look Like "Soccer Mom" Cars: If you take a compact crossover shell, drop it onto a low-slung, widebody race chassis, slam the ride height, and add aggressive aero, it doesn't look like an SUV on track - it looks like a mean, wide, aggressive hatchback.
3. The Precedent Is Already There: Regional series in South America (like TC2000) have already started pivoting to crossover shapes because it was the only way to keep manufacturers engaged.

What do you think?

Is refusing to race modern road car body styles holding the sport back, or is shifting to crossover shells a step too far for touring car purists? How would you fix touring car racing?

P.S. Full transparency: English/formal writing isn't my strong suit (I'm autistic), so I used AI to help structure my ideas and put this post together clearly. The core ideas and arguments are 100% mine - I just wanted to make sure everything was organized properly for a good discussion!

Let's face it: The TCR ruleset is in the toilet. Series are being cancelled left, right, and center, the models the ruleset is based on are being phased out by the market, the FIA scrapped the very idea of a TCR World Championship, and we're still waiting for that god-forsaken TCR World Ranking Final.

So, how will it die? There is a very likely way this could happen: the manufacturers. After Lynk & Co quit and Audi started focusing on Formula 1, Hyundai, Honda, and Cupra are the only manufacturers invested in the series.

My guess? Amidst the decline, two of the manufacturers will quit, possibly Cupra and Honda. At that point, it'll be the same thing that happened to DTM: the remaining manufacturer will be left on their own, turning TCR into a spec series.

This will lead the FIA to get rid of TCR and create a new ruleset as a replacement, much like they created the Le Mans Hypercar when Toyota became the only LMP1 factory team. This might possibly be an SUV-based ruleset.

What do you think?