• BRITISH BASED CARS RACING OUTSIDE OF TCR UK WILL BE BANNED FROM TCR COMPETITION
• BLACKLISTED CARS WILL LOSE HOMOLOGATION
• WSC WARNS AGAINST USE OF TCR IP

By Mick Palmer

World Sporting Consulting, the owners of the TCR brand and sole owner of the intellectual property relating to its regulations and promotion, have announced that cars racing in championships not accredited by WSC/TCR in the UK will be blacklisted and banned from entering any other TCR competition nationally and internationally.

The move comes after the BRSCC launched its Sprint Pro Series utilising images of TCR machines, and Time Attack announced its own Touring Car championship – titled Ultimate Racing Championship.

The BRSCC series was the first to break cover and caters for multi-class racing. It was opened up as an option for owners of TCR machinery to race in a sprint format – with the vast majority of TCR machines racing outside of TCR UK competing in endurance racing, it would allow for the machines to be used in shorter races. With TCR UK leaving BRSCC for BARC, it is viewed as being a series that could fill a Tin Top hole in the BRSCC roster.

The URC regulations, which followed the BRSCC release, states that the championship will cater for Touring Cars built from 2011 onwards with two litre turbocharged engines. This seems to suggest that the primary target for the new addition to the Time Attack stable aims for NGTC BTCC cars (with that ruleset being introduced in 2011) and TCR machines.

The official statement from WSC begins: “It has recently come to our attention that certain promoters of racing series in the UK have advertised their acceptance of TCR cars for participation in their events, either explicitly or through the use of images depicting TCR cars. These actions create the false impression that these series are in some way affiliated with or authorized by TCR, owned and promoted by World Sporting Consulting Ltd. Such representations are misleading and constitute unfair competition.”

As it stands the move will also affect championships such as Britcar (which previously ran with TCR accreditation) and possibly the 750 Motor Club endurance championships (Roadsports and Club Enduro.)

The statement from WSC points out that as owners of the TCR IP, that machines that run within the framework can only be authorised by the organisation to compete within TCR competition. Their legal claim is that with the international legal protection this offers, they have the sole legal right to exclude machines that compete outside of TCR UK – or any other sanctioned TCR event in Great Britain.

The effect of the blacklist according to WSC is that: “Any TCR car participating in these unauthorized competitions will be blacklisted in our system, rendering it ineligible for future participation in any official TCR competitions. Such vehicles will also lose their TCR homologation status, consequentially not eligible to be sold anymore as TCR cars. TCR car Manufacturers will be notified of this status change.”

Although much of the statement points out that the company is protecting its IP, including images and logos, and supporting TCR UK promoter Maximum Motorsport, the statement promises legal action against any infringement on the TCR trademark.

The move is a strong affirmation from WSC President Marcello Lotti who has fiercely defended his TCR creation since it was launched a decade ago. It will be viewed as being an aggressive manoeuvre in some quarters, but was not unexpected. With a recent tie up with the FIA for TCR World Tour, after the predecessor – WTCR – ended and left the governing body without a Touring Car championship in its lineup, has shown that the format has legs that will last for some time to come. It also comes as a boost to TCR UK as the series pushes to expand entries for the 2025 season.

Touring Car Magazine has reached out to championship organisers and car owners to gauge a response to the news.