The TCR Benelux series has announced that it will have feature length 60-minute races when it launches in 2016, with grids decided by social media votes, in addition to four 20-minute sprint races at its race meetings.

The series, which will have races at Spa-Francorchamps, Zolder and Mettet in Belgium, Assen and Zandvoort in the Netherlands and Colmarberg in Luxembourg, has revealed plans for its very track-time heavy race weekend format ahead of an official launch event in October this year at Mettet.

The first race of the weekend will be a 60-minute feature race, with an optional driver change to enable teams to field two competitors per car.

The series will then feature four 20-minute sprint races, though the split within each pair of races will effectively be broken up only by the use of a leading car to bunch the pack back up for the restart, with repair time only possible between races two and three.

Where a team has fielded two drivers for the car, the fastest driver during the feature race will compete in sprint races one and two, with the slower driver in races three and four.

The qualifying format for the feature race is unique in motorsport, as it will be entirely decided by social media votes.

“Anyone will have the possibility to vote”, said TCR Benelux coordinator Koen Wijckmans. “Through the use of a powerful modern social media such as Facebook we want to foster the involvement of all parties concerned; drivers, teams, brands, sponsors, and create as much interaction as possible with the public at large.”