The 2022 WTCR season is drawn as a transition year, especially if in 2023 the TCR technical regulations are modified to include a small hybrid system in the cars of the category. Be that as it may, the World Touring Car Cup seems headed to have a ‘down’ grid. Hyundai has reduced its project from four to two cars, something that is partly offset by the inclusion of a fifth TCR by Lynk & Co. Audi and Honda maintain their proposals, but a big question mark arises with CUPRA.
Lynk & Co will be the brand with the greatest representation at the event by putting a total of five units of its Lynk & Co 03 TCR into contention with Cyan Racing. The project maintains the block led him to ‘champion’ in the WTCR 2021, so Yann Ehrlacher, Yvan Muller, Thed Björk and Santiago Urrutia They will stay with the team. He joins them Ma Qing Hua. Conversely, Hyundai limits its presence to two carsboth under the management of BRC Racing Team. Norbert Michelisz and the Spanish Mikel Azcona are its pilots.
Honda will have four units of its Civic Type R on the grid, although there are some aspects to specify. The Japanese manufacturer was the first to confirm its drivers by keeping Esteban Guerrieri, Nestor Girolami, Tiago Monteiro and Attila Tassi, the latter two being the riders of Team Engstler, the brand’s new partner. However, the team that will manage the TCR of the Argentines Guerrieri and Girolami has yet to be confirmed. The four Audi RS 3 LMS TCR will be under control of Comtoyouwith an alignment in which Mehdi Bennani replaces Frédéric Vervisch as the only change.
The fifth actor of the WTCR should be CUPRAsince the brand was present with up to four units of its TCR in 2021. However, the Spanish firm has not confirmed any type of project and he has even seen how Mikel Azcona has abandoned the ‘ship’ to sign for Hyundai. Besides, the link with Zengö Motorsport seems broken after four seasons and the Hungarian team is in negotiations with two manufacturers that are not present in the WTCR to use their cars in the contest and maintain its legacy in the World Touring Car Cup.
The presence of CUPRA and a possible project of Zengö Motorsport with another manufacturer depends on the WTCR being able to maintain a grid with twenty cars as it had in 2021. And it is that, at the level of other private teams, little can be expected. Target Competition started last season with two cars, but the Backman brothers’ project collapsed after four rounds and the Italian team has focused its efforts on TCR Europe. For its part, Lada Sport Rosneft is neither there nor expected due to the situation in Russia.
Photos: FIA WTCR