All you need to know about WTCR Race of Netherlands

The WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup presented by OSCARO heads to Zandvoort in The Netherlands this weekend. Here’s a summary of just some of what’s in store in the dunes.

THE CHALLENGE

The most northerly venue on the calendar, Circuit Zandvoort sweeps through the sand dunes of the North Sea coastal town west of Amsterdam and welcomed 110,000 fans to the first WTCR Race of Netherlands last May. Turning 70 in 2018 and once home to the Dutch Grand Prix, Zandvoort’s motorsport roots go back to 1939 when a street race was organised. It was the catalyst for the mayor to invest in a permanent track, with construction beginning following the Second World War. Honda bosses liked what they saw and commissioned its designer, John Hugenholtz, to pen the famous Japanese circuit of Suzuka too.

THE ESSENTIALS

Rounds: 10-12

Venue: Circuit Zandvoort

Date: 17-19 May

Location: Burgemeester van Alphenstraat 108, 2041 KP Zandvoort, Netherlands

Length: 4.307 kilometres

Time zone: GMT +2 hours

Race 1 distance: 12 laps (51.684 kilometres)

Race 2 distance: 12 laps (51.684 kilometres)

Race 3 distance: 15 laps (64.605 kilometres)

WTCR qualifying lap record: Rob Huff (Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR)

1m43.945s (149.1kph), 20/05/18

WTCR race lap record: Yann Ehrlacher (Honda Civic TCR)

1m45.901s (146.4kph), 20/05/18

Provisional key timings:

Friday 17 May:

Free Practice 1: 12h45-13h30

Free Practice 2: 15h20-15h50

Saturday 18 May:

First Qualifying: 08h05-08h35

Race 1 (12 laps): 1435

Sunday 19 May:

Second Qualifying Q1: 08h00

Second Qualifying Q2: 08h25

Second Qualifying Q3: 08h40 (first car starts)

Race 2 (12 laps): 13h15

Race 3 (15 laps): 16h35

Who’s on the #WTCR2019SUPERGRID

1 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Gabriele Tarquini (ITA) Hyundai i30 N TCR

5 BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse Norbert Michelisz (HUN) Hyundai i30 N TCR

8 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Augusto Farfus (BRA) Hyundai i30 N TCR

9 KCMG Attila Tassi (HUN) Honda Civic Type R TCR

10 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Niels Langeveld (NLD) Audi RS 3 LMS

11 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Thed Björk (SWE) Lynk & Co 03 TCR

12 SLR VW Motorsport Rob Huff (GBR) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

14 SLR Volkswagen Johan Kristoffersson (SWE) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

18 KCMG Tiago Monteiro (PRT) Honda Civic Type R TCR

21 Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing Aurélien Panis (FRA) CUPRA TCR

22 Comtoyou Team Audi Sport Frédéric Vervisch (BEL) Audi RS 3 LMS

25 SLR VW Motorsport Mehdi Bennani (MAR) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

29 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Néstor Girolami (ARG) Honda Civic Type R TCR

31 Team Mulsanne Kevin Ceccon (ITA) Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR

33 SLR Volkswagen Benjamin Leuchter (DEU) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

37 PWR Racing Daniel Haglöf (SWE) CUPRA TCR

50 Comtoyou DHL Team CUPRA Racing Tom Coronel (NLD) CUPRA TCR

52 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Gordon Shedden (GBR) Audi RS 3 LMS

55 Team Mulsanne Ma Qinghua (CHN) Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR

68 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Lynk & Co 03 TCR

69 Leopard Racing Team Audi Sport Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Audi RS 3 LMS

86 ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) Honda Civic Type R TCR

88 BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team Nicky Catsburg (NLD) Hyundai i30 N TCR

96 PWR Racing Mikel Azcona (ESP) CUPRA TCR

100 Cyan Racing Lynk & Co Yvan Muller (FRA) Lynk & Co 03 TCR

111 Cyan Performance Lynk & Co Andy Priaulx (GBR) Lynk & Co 03 TCR

RACE RECAP 2018

Weekend in short

*Audi-powered Vernay joins Ehrlacher and Comte as a Zandvoort winner

*Ehrlacher is TAG Heuer Most Valuable Driver and new championship leader

*Home hero Max Verstappen appears on Race 2 grid with WTCR drivers

*Biggest Zandvoort weekend attendance since track hosted Dutch Grand Prix

Weekend report

Jean-Karl Vernay completed a memorable weekend for the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup presented by OSCARO with first in Race 3 at Zandvoort where 110,000 fans – and Dutch Formula One star Max Verstappen – attended. Vernay’s Audi Sport Leopard Lukoil Team made an overnight engine change following the Frenchman’s P5 in Race 1. But the Frenchman, who was penalised by starting Race 2 from the back, repaid his team’s hard work with the DHL pole for Race 3, which he turned into victory. After Yann Ehrlacher took the Race 1 laurels, it was his fellow Frenchman Aurélien Comte’s turn to savour the limelight with his maiden victory in Race 2 to become the eighth different winner of 2018 following a brilliant drive. Comte, in a DG PEUGEOT 308TCR, was second in Race 1 ahead of Rob Huff and Gordon Shedden, but went one better in Race 2 by beating James Thompson off the line in the reverse-grid counter. His victory means five customer racing brands have won in WTCR OSCARO. Huff beat Frédéric Vervisch to P2 in Race 3, while Ehrlacher took over the championship lead from uncle Yvan Muller, one of several Hyundai drivers to struggle following Balance of Performance changes.

Winning quote: “It was a great day, I was really motivated after what happened yesterday,” said Vernay. “Changing engines is not always nice, we knew we would have one race down and I was the only driver until this morning to score points in every race. But I said to my crew ‘don’t worry, we’re going to make pole and we’re going to win’ and we made it and this is pretty cool. The team did a great effort all night to rebuild the car, to have a good car ready for qualifying. After that I just did my job, I was pretty confident, the balance of the car was good and I just tried to push and drive well.”

Results reminder

DHL Pole Position Race 1: Rob Huff (GBR) Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR

Race 1 winner: Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Honda Civic Type R TCR

Race 1 fastest lap: Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Honda Civic Type R TCR

DHL Pole Position Race 2: James Thompson (GBR) Honda Civic Type R TCR

Race 2 winner: Aurélien Comte (FRA) PEUGEOT 308TCR

Race 2 fastest lap: Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Audi RS 3 LMS

DHL Pole Position Race 3: Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Audi RS 3 LMS

Race 3 winner: Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Audi RS 3 LMS

Race 3 fastest lap: Jean-Karl Vernay (FRA) Audi RS 3 LMS

TAG Heuer Best Lap Trophy: Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Honda Civic Type R TCR

TAG Heuer Most Valuable Driver: Yann Ehrlacher (FRA) Honda Civic Type R TCR