TCR UK has announced a raft of changes ahead of the start of the 2025 season in three-and-a-half weeks’ time.

A number of cost cutting measures have been implemented, and announced on the same day as the new for 2025 TOCA Junior series announced a one year delay for the development series, at a time where Touring Car Racing across the board is suffering due to external financial pressures.

The changes also align TCR UK with club racing expenditure in terms of entry fees. The new regulations bring an update to tyre allocations and testing in further attempts to cut budgets, and in a calendar turnaround Silverstone has been reinstated, with the Spa round where the championship was due to race with TCR Europe being dropped.

TCR UK promoter Stewart Lines stated: “As we close in on the start of the 2025 TCR UK Touring Car Championship season, it’s clear that the current financial climate in the UK is causing many headaches for those who want to go racing. With this in mind, we’ve announced a number of cost-cutting measures to ease the pain for current and new customers. Not only is TCR UK the first step into Touring Car Racing in the United Kingdom, but it’s also designed to be an affordable step as well, allowing for those who wish to progress up the ladder to go racing, regardless of age or talent.”

The cancellation of the Spa round over the weekend of May 18th, which was switched onto the calendar after the TCR World Tour decided to abandon plans for a UK meeting, was met with mixed reactions. While the feted circuit was in the line of sight for some entries, others simply could not afford, or see the benefit at this juncture, for a European round. One championship contending team told Touring Car Magazine that they simply would have to skip that meeting. The return of Silverstone is an easy deal, with the initial 2025 calendar having that event slotted in for the same weekend. The somewhat lacklustre circuit is not a popular spectator venue, but the cost factor versus a foreign trip means it is a sensible choice.

The full season entry fee has been capped to £5,000 (around £715 per event) in a move to attract TCR car owners who have avoided the full championship because of that cost.

The tyre rules will call for six new tyres per round for triple-headers and four new tyres per round for double-headers. In 2024 12 new tyres were required for the opening round, followed by six new tyres for each round thereafter, with previously nominated used tyres added. With no Thruxton round this season the extra cost of hard compound Goodyear tyres is also negated.

Testing rules have also changed. Friday testing at each round will still be available, but the ban on testing through the season has been dropped. The ability to test at all venues at a lower cost across the year allows for entries to make alternative, and cheaper, plans at the six venues included in the calendar to suit their needs.

Tin Top racing has been hit hard over the past few seasons. As has been seen by grid reductions in the BTCC and TCR UK, budgets have shrunk while running costs have grown, leaving championships fighting to fill grid slots. With around 70 TCR cars in the UK, and a prospective opening round entry of 12-15 cars (prior to the announcement today,) the decision to reduce costs and open alternative ways to operate an entry is designed to tempt car owners into the series.