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WORLD AND LIFE
TCR 2016
INTERVIEW
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The first picture of the KIA Cee’d TCR
KIA Motors has distributed a picture that previews the upcoming KIA Cee’d TCR
for worldwide customer motorsport (
above
). The official press release by KIA
will be distributed shortly, but we have managed to gather some more detailed
information. The car will feature state-of-the-art TCR specifications and compo-
nents, including a 2.0L turbo GDI engine, sequential paddle shift gearbox and
CAE optimised aerodynamics package.
KIA has appointed STARD (Stohl Advanced Research and Development) to handle
the development for the entire programme.
STARD is a long-term technical partner of Hyundaï Motor Company and KIA
Motor Company and has been cooperating with the two Korean brands in projects
like the Hyundaï WRC and the very successful KIA K3S in the China Touring Car
Championship. No details about the time plan have disclosed yet, except that
the car will debut in the TCR International Series later this year after an exten-
sive testing programme.
TCR Benelux
test-day
at Circuit Park
Zandvoort
The test-day for the TCR Benelux
maiden season will take place on 12
May at Zandvoort’s Circuit Park Zan-
dvoort. “We are happy that TCR Be-
nelux chose Circuit Park Zandvoort
for its test-day,” said Léon Rijnbeek
of KNAF, the Dutch National Spor-
ting Authority. “This is also a con-
firmation of the support we want to
give to TCR Benelux in order to en-
sure a significant attendance of
Dutch teams and drivers.” “Taking
into account the sound limitations
imposed to Circuit Park Zandvoort,
competitors of the TCR Benelux will
have the possibility to run in three
one-hour sessions. The teams that
will actually enter in the series will
be allowed to test for free,” explai-
ned Claire Dubbelman, coordinator
of TCR Benelux for the Netherlands.
Interest is
growing for
TCR Thailand
The first season of TCR Thailand will
kick off on May 22 at Buriram’s
Chang International Circuit; in the
meantime, the interest from local
drivers and teams is growing fast.
Racing Spirit, the championship
promoter, is also acting as distribu-
tor in Asia for the SEAT León TCR
cars and has acquired a substantial
inventory of parts that is being
shipped along with the six cars that
have been already sold, ensuring
that all SEATs that race in Thailand
will be fully supported at the track
this year right from the first race.
One of the first outfits to choose
the SEAT brand for competing in
TCR Thailand was the Krating Daeng
Racing Team that will field three
León cars.
The FRD Motorsports Team is currently working to completely
rebuild the Ford Focus TCR cars (
right
).
“Following the technical issues we experienced last year after
taking over the programme which had been started by another
engineering company, we decided to start over from scratch. We
re-designed the car and develop it, which prevented us from joi-
ning from the beginning of the season,” explained Team Princi-
pal Kenneth Ma. The technical development is currently under
way in FRD’s workshop in Colorado, USA. The team plans to build
four cars to begin with; they are fitted with Xtrac racing gear-
boxes and 2.0-litre turbocharged engines developed by Ford Per-
formance in Dearborn, Michigan.
“We will enter two cars for the full season in the TCR Interna-
tional Series, however, because we expect to begin testing in
April, our target is to join the series in May at the earliest,” said
Brian Ma, Vice President of Technical Operations.
FRD Motorsports to build
new Ford Focus TCR