Full season 2016 TCR International Series entry for nine teams and 22 drivers

Nine teams with 22 drivers announced the full season entry in the 2016 TCR International Series, which will start on April 2nd at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The opening round of the TCR International Series will be held as a part of the Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix. Two 10-lap races are scheduled for Saturday on 19.30 and Sunday on 14.30 local time.

Seat leon will be the most represented car in the 2016 TCR International Series

Seven manufacturers will have cars in the 2016 TCR season

Seven manufacturers will be represented on the grid, with the Seat Leon Cup Racer as the most popular choice among all cars. Two teams are going to compete with three Leons – Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil and the newcomer B3 Racing Team Hungary.

West Coast Racing will run three Honda Civic car, same as in the inaugural TCR season last year. The new Volkswagen Golf GTI is the car chosen by Leopard Racing and Liqui Moly Team Engstler. Both teams will run two cars.

Defending champion Stefano Comini will drive Leopard Racing’s Volkswagen Golf

Mulsanne Racing and Alfa Romeo Giulietta – a new team and a new car

Target Competition switched to Opel Astra TCR and announced three cars on the grid later in the season. Only two cars will be ready for the opening round. Top Run Motorsport will continue to race with two Subaru STI TCR cars.

A new team in the competition is the Mulsanne Racing. The Italian team is under the leadership of Romeo Ferraris and Mario Ferraris, they will run with an Italian car and will have an Italian driver(s). Michela Cerruti was confirmed as a driver of one Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR, whilst the other driver is yet to be confirmed. The seventh team which announced the 2016 TCR entry is FRD Motorsports with two Ford Focus TCR cars, but they will miss a few opening rounds of the championship. There still will be a seventh team in Bahrain, because Bas Koeten Racing will compete with two drivers from Bahrain.

Michela Cerruti is the only female driver on the entry list, she will drive Alfa Romeo Giulietta

Lotti is expecting three more brands

TCR promoter Marcello Lotti commented: “We are satisfied. The start-up phase is not over yet and some cars are still under development. However, it is clear that the championship will deliver a variety of different cars and that the level of teams and drivers is growing. We are pleased to see most of last year’s faces returning and to welcome the newcomers, among them I’d like to point out the participation of Michela Cerruti, the first lady to commit for the full season. And there is more to come. I am not allowed to name them, but we expect three more brands to join the championship during the season.”

Next to Michela Cerruti, some of the new drivers on the grid will be Jean-Karl Vernay, Dušan Borković, Davit Kajaia, Mato Homola, Aku Pellinen, Attila Tassi etc.

Defending champion Stefano Comini is among  the ‘old’ entries, but he switched from Target Competition to Volkswagen Golf GTI of Leopard Racing. Last year’s runner-up Pepe Oriola continues to drive Lukoil’s Seat, alongside Sergey Afanasyev and James Nash. Gianni Morbidelli and Kevin Gleason will continue to drive with West Coast Racing.

West Coast Racing continue to race with Honda Civic TCR

TCR International Series – Bahrain entry list
1 – Leopard Racing – Stefano Comini  – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
2 – Leopard Racing – Jean-Karl Vernay  – Volkswagen Golf GTI TC
7 – Liqui Moly Team Engstler – Davit Kajaia – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
8 – Liqui Moly Team Engstler – Mikhail Grachev – Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
9 – B3 Racing Team Hungary – Attila Tassi – Seat Leon TCR
10 – West Coast Racing – Gianni Morbidelli – Honda Civic TCR
14 – West Coast Racing – Aku Pellinen – Honda Civic TCR
23 – Target Competition – Andrea Belicchi – Opel Astra TCR
24 – West Coast Racing – Kevin Gleason – Honda Civic TCR
32 – Top Run Motorsport – Luigi Ferrara  – Subaru STi TCR
33 –  Target Competition – Jordi Oriola – Opel Astra TCR
34 – Top Run Motorsport – TBA – Subaru STi TCR
35 – Target Competition – TBA – Opel Astra TCR
54 – Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil – James Nash – Seat Leon TCR
62 – B3 Racing Team Hungary  – Dusan Borkovic – Seat Leon TCR
70 – B3 Racing Team Hungary – Mat’o Homola – Seat Leon TCR
74 – Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil – Pepe Oriola – Seat Leon TCR
77 – Team Craft-Bamboo Lukoil – Sergey Afanasyev –  Seat Leon TCR
78 – Bas Koeten Racing – Salman Al Khalifa – Seat Leon Cup Racer
79 –  Bas Koeten Racing – Hussain Karimi – Seat Leon Cup Racer
87 – Mulsanne Racing – TBA – Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR
88 –  Mulsanne Racing – Michela Cerruti – Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR

Photos: tcr-series.com,

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