TCR AUSTRALIA FINALLY ON THE EDGE OF SUCCESS?

There has been a thaw in the cold winds of rivalry.

Long considered to be fundamentally opposed, necessity may well see a truce between TCR Australia and Supercars, with a new allegiance.

With the imminent demise of the Shannons Speed Series, it’s no news that the category has been on the lookout for a new home in 2025.

Whilst the replacement SRO series was thought to be a foregone conclusion for TCR Australia, there has been increasing speculation that the category moving over to the Repco Supercars Championship for a portion of their 2025 schedule.

Such a move would have obvious benefits for TCR Australia, whilst it certainly doesn’t do Supercars any harm from both an entertainment and commercial perspective.

Well, that speculation has finally been corroborated. Or has it?

In a joint statement between Supercars, Shell V-Power Motorsport Park and World Sporting Consulting (WSC), round of the 205 Khumo FIA TCR World Tour is set to headline the headline support category for The Bend 500 in 2025l.

“We are delighted to bring the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour back to Australia next year, especially now that the World Tour has been granted the FIA status,” said WSC President Marcello Lotti.

“Our previous visit in 2023, with the two joint events with TCR Australia at Sydney Motorsport Park and Bathurst, was incredibly successful.”

“We are all very much looking forward to race together with TCR Australia at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park at The Bend in September 2025!”

Whilst the return of the World Tour is definitely a step in the right direction for the reinvigoration of TCR Racing in Australia, one event isn’t necessarily indicative of what lies ahead in 2025.

Not that many really know what the 2025 TCR Australia calendar will look like. As at October 26, neither a confirmed nor even a draft calendar has been sent to teams.

At the recent ColorSpec Race Sydney the most positive way to describe TCR teams take on season 2025 was ‘fluid.”

Having heard a week earlier that three of the six-round schedule for 2025 would be run on the Supercars support bill, the more recent scuttle bug centred upon five rounds with the Repco Supercars Championship and a finale in conjunction with the World Tour at the Macau Grand Prix.

Or not, depending upon who you listened to.

Velocity Motorsport Magazine has had ongoing conversations with teams, drivers and those on the periphery, including former TCR Australia competitors.

Whilst it was agreed that some program with Supercars was definitely on the cards, to what extent is the calendar linked to Australia’s premier motorsport arm was one of the many discrepancies.

Speculation of the full championship with Supercars was equally mixed with assertions of the partial Supercars program complemented by stand alone events in Tasmania and the Bathurst 6 Hour.

All were unanimous in their frustrations at the lack of a firm 2025 TCR Australia calendar or in receiving updates on a program which was promised some six weeks ago.

And that is a very real reason for concern.

It was rumoured in early October that the Supercheap Auto TCR Australia series would support the 2025 Repco Supercars Championship for between two and four rounds. That has been more widely reported in recent weeks, with the venues subject to change on an almost hourly basis.

The Supercars –  Khumo FIA TCR World Tour announcement was officially announced on Friday 18th October. Velocity Motorsport Magazine was told that teams only received an embargoed press release earlier same morning.

On Saturday morning of the ColorSpec Race Sydney an expanded six round TCR calendar with Supercars was the hit topic of discussion. The Gold Coast was to be the sixth and final round, unless the Macau Grand Prix gossip proved to be true.

TCR would supposedly appear at Supercar flyaway and regional rounds. Perth, Townsville, Symmons Plains, Taupo and the Gold Coast were the circuits most commonly bandied about.

Earlier suggestions of a stand alone Race Tasmania round and a support role at the Bathurst Six-Hour had been reportedly brushed aside.

There would be no Bathurst drawcard, nor races in either Sydney or Melbourne, the country’s most populous cities.

Taupo is reportedly locked in as the opening round of the 2025 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia.

That, in itself, finally fills an undertaking made by the previous ARG management in 2019 to run the Australian series in the ‘Land Of The Long White Cloud’.

Velocity Motorsport Magazine has been told the freighting of the TCR field to and from New Zealand would make it nigh on impossible for the category to compete at a rumoured Race Tasmania in late March, the Bathurst Six Hour, nor the Tasmanian Supercars round in early May.

Perth and Townsville in June and July respectively present as more workable opportunities, should the rumoured the freight concessions prove to be accurate.

A proposed stand alone ARG event at Winton for the Trans Am field might also provide another TCR round at a regional location.

The Gold Coast and Macau are both appetising teasers for TCR teams, though only time will tell if there are genuine prospects or simply window dressings.

This leaves Shell V-Power Motorsport Park and the World Tour as the single certainty thus far.

Given the high demand and limited accommodation in the region, teams have at least some window of opportunity to lock that in.

A hotchpotch of possibilities presents further obstacles for TCR Australia in terms of event coverage. It seems highly unlikely that TCR will receive consistent free-to-air coverage from a single provider which teams have pushed to ARG as a crucial point in driving the category in a positive trajectory once more.

At first glance one might consider such an arrangement to be of little advantage to TCR Australia. It should also be pointed out that these details are ostensibly speculative at this point time.

That in itself is the most concerning.

On paper, these rounds involve substantial costs in transporting teams and equipment. We have heard that any such deal includes substantial transport subsidies to each team.

The regional nature of the rumoured schedule is viewed with minimul concern. Prospective television coverage and significant crowd numbers more than compensate for the inconvenience.

Look a little deeper and some rounds even present opportunities for expanded grids.

New Zealand has a number of TCR cars competing in different guises across both islands, with M-Developments promoted as the country’s TCR experts. A round of the TCR Australia series at Taupo could well see a Trans-Tasman challenge. It could also stimulate interest in the New Zealand involvement in other rounds, or the entire series, as well.

Perth is the nation’s closest port to South-East Asia, opening the door for competitors from our northern neighbours to head south in what could be billed as an Asia Pacific round. As with Taupo, there lies the prospect for an Asian presence in the entire series.

So, what’s the benefit of a TCR Australia to Supercars?

The Supercheap Auto TCR Australia series strengthens the support bill, especially at those rounds which have relied upon locally based categories.

It also creates a point of dialogue between Supercars and TCR marques, most notably Hyundai, Honda and Audi. Peugeot, Kia, MG, Cupra and Lynk and Co are amongst a long list of companies that have also produced TCR cars, with the final two seeking to establish themselves in the Australian automotive market. 

The cars themselves also lend themselves to a youth orientated market, with the greater percentage of car sales in the hot hatch division purchased by younger drivers. A TCR link potentially opens the door for a wider, younger Supercars audience.

It also provides a Supercars link to another development category in the pathway from karting to supercars.

Win win….for Supercars.

What about TCR Australia, what do they and teams have to gain?

The benefits to TCR Australia, to race teams, drivers and the series itself is potentially huge.

It provides a place in Australia’s premier motorsport championship. That exposes the category to the country’s largest motorsport market. Races occur under the collective noses of Supercars teams and in front of some of the best attended and highest rating motorsport audiences in the land.

This exponential growth in exposure provides the basis for more attractive marketing proposals to prospective sponsors and future competitors, a point long argued as essential by TCR teams.

Marcello Lotti’s vision for TCR was underpinned by car dealerships sponsoring their brand relevant marques for young drivers.

Such relationships are mutually beneficial. 

Dealerships effectively advertise their brand to both in-person and televised audiences. Young drivers, especially those with limited funding, are able to showcase their skills at a level beyond their personal budget.

The best of the Hot hatches and small sedan sector face off on the racetrack,  with the reverse grid format providing ample opportunities for all marques to share the spotlight, exuding success, triggering brand interest and generating sales.

On paper it seems another win-win for TCR Australia.

That all depends on the composition of the final calendar and the timeliness of its delivery.

And time is exactly where the problem lies.

The one resounding concern amongst the optimism for a Supercars link is that of timing.

As one team manager explained, “Companies lock in their sponsorships by December the previous year. So if we hope to attract new sponsors, or even continue with our current supporters, we need to have detailed proposals to them by December 1.”

Sponsorships provide the dollars, but there are also logistical matters to lock in; from crew members to team accommodation, the logistics in moving transporters and infrastructure for each round, to team personnel getting to and from each round.

One might presume that the 2025 calendar would be eventually announced during or around the Bathurst International from November 8. That would cap off the current season and a look forward to what lies ahead.

Whilst it may be argued that three months between the end of season 2024 and the commencement of the next, is sufficient to do so, the regional nature of the rumoured schedule presents further obstacles.

Booking flights, accommodation and transportation for the proposed season-opener in Taupo is dwindling by the day, whilst costs for those options that still remain are increasing at a similar rate.

They say that time is money and that rings true in this case. For each day that the calendar remains under wraps there is a corresponding increase in costs. Not only does it add up to more expenses, it also brings adjustments to potential marketing proposals.

Teams simply can’t wait indefinitely, nor can they market a product on the basis of rumour.

It may well reach a point where the erosion of all potential benefits from a Supercars link from proportional cost increases makes it all a rather pointless exercise.

And that would be a tragedy for TCR Australia.