German outfit Lubner Motorsport are planning to bring the LADA Vesta TCR car into the European racing scene, starting with the ADAC TCR Germany Series in 2018.

The east Germany-based team have bene running a pair of Opel Astra TCR cars in this year’s TCR Germany Series, for Jasmin Preisig and initially Dino Calcum, who was later replaced by Georg Braun.

Team owner Mirko Lubner and his wife have continued the company’s long history of working with the LADA brand, which dates back to 1993.

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Lubner himself was part of a project during the mid-90s to early-2000s to develop and race a LADA Samara. Lubner raced the car in the DMV Touring Car Championship.

Recently, Lubner was invited to Russia by LADA Sport Germany’s Managing Director Andrej Sidorenko, to test one of the LADA Vesta TCR cars which have been successful in this year’s SMP Circuit Racing Championship.

The Vesta TCR cars were developed in time for the 2017 season in Russia, beginning the year under a temporary homologation as they did not take part in official TCR Balance of Performance [BoP] testing earlier in the year.

Lubner and his team are now working on a plan to bring the Vesta into TCR competition in Europe. To-date the car has not been raced outside Russia, where Vladimir Sheshenin finished as the runner-up in this year’s drivers’ championship standings.

“I am very happy that I was able to drive this car as the first German,” said Mirko Lubner. “I have taken many victories and championships with LADA many years ago, and my wife and I are convinced that our team will be successful with the new LADA Vesta TCR.

“We will definitely go into the VLN with our Opel Astra TCR and the LADA Vesta TCR in 2018. If there are drivers who want to start with one of these two vehicles in the ADAC TCR Germany or the TCR Europe, we will surely find a solution.

“We are really looking forward to the opportunities that are coming to us.”