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7
STANDINGS
FEATURE
The new Italian Touring Car champion
openly admitted that he returned to
racing, having retired in 2010, because he
was attracted by the opportunities
presented by the TCR concept. One could
argue that his success in Italy was down
in part to a smaller grid and less
experienced competition. However, the
fact that Colciago was able to fend off
reigning TCR International champion
Stefano Comini in Sepang, in hot and
physically demanding conditions, proved
that he still has the stamina and racecraft
to be at the front.
TCR is grounded in the real world. With
some independent budgets at the top of
the Touring Car tree reported to be over
€1 million, TCR gives teams and drivers
the opportunity to race in a top level
championship for almost an order of
magnitude less. Furthermore, teams and
drivers can elect to contest events in
other championships as and when their
budget allows, providing yet more
opportunities to raise their profile and
pitch themselves against strong and
varied competition.
All of this ensures that the new talents
can continue on their journey to the top,
whilst giving the ‘old guard’ the chance to
continue to show the youngsters how it’s
done.
Tom Lautenschlager (17)
won the ADAC TCR Germany
Junior Trophy
Frédéric
Caprasse
and
Pierre-Yves
Corthals
form a
prefect mix
of youth
and
experience