Eleven Brands Took Part in The Bop Test at Valencia
The TCR Balance of Performance test took place on Tuesday and Wednesday at Valencia’s Circuito Ricardo Tormo, where TCR and FIA technical staffs worked together for the first time.
The eleven brands represented appointed their own test drivers to set up the cars before the official TCR testers Daniel Lloyd and Gianni Morbidelli took over to go through the BoP programme.
The list of test drivers includes: Mario Ferraris in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Rahel Frey in the Audi RS3 LMS, Josh Files and Esteban Guerrieri in the Honda Civic 2017 and 2018 cars, Gabriele Tarquini in the Hyundai i30 N, Mike Halder in the KIA C’eed, Mikhail Grachev in the LADA Vesta, Alexander Heil in the Opel Astra, Aurélien Comte in the Peugeot 308, Franjo Kovac and Alex Morgan in the Renault Mégane, Jordi Gené in the SEAT León and Dieter Depping in the Volkswagen Golf GTI.
After all cars went through the scrutineering, the programme was equally split between track testing, checks of the centre of gravity and on the rollers of the BAPRO dynamometer bench.
All cars are running on the minimum weight of 1265 kilograms, including the driver.
On Tuesday afternoon Morbidelli was involved in a high-speed crash at Turn 1 while driving one of the Vuković Motorsport Renault Mégane cars; the incident was caused by a broken brake duct; the car was badly damaged and the Italian driver was treated at the circuit’s medical centre for bruises at his right foot.
The Italian was fit to drive again on Wednesday, when the test came to an end without any other issues.
The results of the test will be unveiled by mid-March and they will dictate the BoP for all the TCR series worldwide including the new WTCR.
Daniel Lloyd: Consistency was our priority
Daniel Lloyd, one of the two official drivers appointed for the Balance of Performance test was excited by the opportunity to drive all the cars.
“Yes, it was nice to drive all the cars and see the differences between them. We were busy with the programme set up by the TCR Technical staff, especially because we had to deal with so many different manufacturers. I think we did a good job and went through everything that needed to be done. It was crucial to get used to each car very quickly. We had five or six laps on used tyres and then switched on new tyres, trying to be fast and consistent. Consistency was the priority. It was not a matter of setting the fastest lap, but of going through the same process with all cars: warming the tyres, respecting the track limits, set a consistent and steady pace.”
It was also Lloyd’s first time with the Yokohama tyres. “I was impressed. The big thing is their consistency, never mind the model of the car. They performed well and in the same way. They warmed up in the same time and set the fastest lap on the same lap. The second flying lap was always the quickest. And then they remained consistent despite it was quite cold and we didn’t use warmers. There were no punctures, nor other issues.”
Gianni Morbidelli: back at the wheel after the accident
After the unfortunate incident occurred on Tuesday when the Renault Mégane he was driving failed to brake at the end of the pit straight, Gianni Morbidelli returned at the wheel on Wednesday, completing his duty as one of two TCR official tester for the BoP.
“It has been a very interesting experience, because it’s very rare to be given the opportunity to drive so many different cars. And it was even more interesting to me, as I have been racing in TCR during the last three years. I was able to discover some of the cars driven by my competitors. I’m not providing the details, but for sure I had a few surprises,” the Italian said.
“Working on establishing an effective Balance of Performance is very difficult when you have so many different cars that have similar technical specifications but come from different designs. However, the TCR technical staff is very experienced and then we must keep in mind that this was only the first step to fix a BoP for the beginning of the season. Then it will be refined race weekend after race weekend according to the track results.”
Just to give some figures, Morbidelli drove six different cars on Wednesday, covering more than 80 laps or approximately 320 kilometres.
The TCR and BAPRO partnership continues
For the second consecutive year BAPRO provided one of its chassis dynamometers for the Balance of Performance test at Valencia, continuing the partnership with TCR that was inaugurated last year at Adria.
The bench produced by the Italian company is based on rollers inertia and performs power tests. The cars are placed on the rollers and after a brief warm up is it launched in a controlled acceleration. This enables to measure dissipation of power, shaft-power, shaft-torque and the boost pressure.
New facelift for the Volkswagen Golf GTI
The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR car sported the new 2018 facelift in Valencia.
The German car has been significantly modified compared to the 2017 model, with new front bumper, front fenders, front and rear lights, front wheel housing and wire loom.
“Our customer teams that ran the 2017 model last year are given the option to continue with that or upgrading it to the 2018 facelift,” explained Eduard Weil, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport Customer Sport.
WTCR – Team WRT and Comtoyou Racing to run Audi cars
Two teams will represent Audi Sport customer racing in the new WTCR: Comtoyou Racing and Team WRT, for a total of six Audi RS3 LMS cars.
Team WRT – one of the most successful Audi customer teams in GT3 racing since 2010 – will prepare two cars for the triple British Touring Car champion Gordon Shedden and the 2017 TCR International Series champion Jean-Karl Vernay. Both drivers are awarded Audi Sport driver status.
Comtoyou Racing will field four cars for Frédéric Vervisch – an Audi Sport driver as well – Aurélien Panis, Denis Dupont and Nathanaël Berton, the 2016/17 champion in the Trophée Andros ice racing series.
“We look forward to the strong competition in the new series, which is an attractive stage for many manufacturers in touring car racing,” said Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Our teams and drivers bring valuable experiences from touring car racing and other disciplines to the grid, so we intend to battle for the titles in the drivers’ and teams’ classifications.”
V-Action to race Alfa Romeo Giulietta cars
The V-Action Racing Team announced that it will field two Romeo Ferraris-built Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR cars during the 2018 season.
Following nine successful years in the Abarth Trophy, the Italian team is now considering programmes in the TCR Europe and the TCR Italy.
Team Manager Daniele Vernuccio explained: “I am pleased to continue our cooperation with Romeo Ferraris. We are currently working on finalizing a programme, either in Europe or in Italy, with professional drivers who are also experienced in Touring Car racing. Our goal is to be competitive from the very beginning and fight for the title. We are proud of racing Alfa Romeo cars and we dream of reviving the success the brand enjoyed in the past.”
TCR Scandinavia
Johan Kristoffersson re-signs for KMS
Kristoffersson Motorsport announced that the 2017 World Rallycross champion Johan Kristoffersson will take part in the TCR Scandinavia series; he will be joined by rookie Hugo Nerman. They will be at the wheel of Volkswagen Golf GTI cars.
In 2017 Kristoffersson was not able not compete in the full season due to three clashes with the WRX and was eventually classified fourth in the Drivers’ standings with six race wins.
“Last season, I only tested about half a day. Now we get the chance to do the preparations we need and it was definitely a criterion for driving this year,” said Kristoffersson.
The 18-year-old Hugo Nerman is the reigning champion in the Formula STCC. “After testing a TCR car last year, I made the decision that TCR Scandinavia was the right series for me to build a professional career,” he said.
The series will kick off at Ring Knutstorp on 4 and 5 May.
Pirelli World Challenge
Hyundai TCR cars for Bryan Herta Autosport
Bryan Herta Autosport announced at the Chicago Auto Show that will field two Hyundai i30 N TCR cars in the new TCR class of the 2018 Pirelli World Challenge.
The team, a two-time Indy 500-winner has signed veteran Pirelli WC drivers Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis.
“Hyundai is thrilled about the prospects for our new N branded racing team competing in the TCR class of Pirelli World Challenge,” said Dean Evans, chief marketing officer, Hyundai Motor America.
“We couldn’t be more excited about our new relationship with Hyundai N in this highly competitive TCR class,” said Bryan Herta. “We’re more than confident we can leverage the strength of Hyundai’s racing and performance groups to great success in the 2018 season.”
The Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car division will compete in six doubleheader weekends, beginning March 23-25 at the state-of-the-art Circuit of the Americas.
Sources: TCR PR