The TCR Academy, as its name suggests, addresses drivers of any age who either aspire to begin Touring Car racing or improve their skills. It will be based at the Adria International Raceway in Italy and will operate under the supervision of the ACI (Automobile Club d’Italia) and with the full support of WSC – promoter of the TCR concept – for all technical, coaching, operational and communications aspects. It will offer a range of learning modules differing in length, nature and degree, and instructors will be drivers of proven experience, mostly coming from the TCR family of series.

The TCR Academy Endurance is a racing series, to be held yearly from 2018 and based on six 6-hour events open to all drivers who are looking to enjoy the Touring Car experience in an affordable, practical and friendly manner. The format of the events will include two one-hour races on Saturday and a 4-hour race on Sunday. The TCR Academy Endurance series will award a total prize money of 600,000 euros.

Both the TCR Academy and the TCR Academy Endurance have a fleet of 50 TCR racing cars including Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR, SEAT León TCR and Audi RS3 LMS TCR.

Giuliano Altoè, the man behind the TCR Academy and the TCR Academy Endurance: “I am really enthusiastic about this cooperation with TCR. Our goal is to establish ourselves as the best entry level opportunity for drivers who are looking at Touring Car racing. And, on top of this, it will be a further boost for the international reputation of Adria International Raceway.”

TCR promoter Marcello Lotti commented: “We are very pleased that somebody with a vast motorsport experience like Giuliano Altoè has shown such an absolute trust in the TCR concept to launch two projects that will become the perfect tools for attracting new drivers closer to the TCR world and Touring Car competition.”

The provisional calendar for the 2018 TCR Academy Endurance is as follows:

31 March/01 April – 6 Hours of the Slovakiaring (Slovakia)

TBA May – 6 Hours of the Hungaroring (Hungary)

02/03 June – 6 Hours of Adria (Italy)

04/05 August – 6 Hours of the Salzburgring (Austria)

03/04 September – 6 Hours of Most (Czech Republic)

06/07 October – 6 Hours of Brno (Czech Republic)

Further details on both projects will be communicated shortly.