With TCR headed to Australia this year, we take you to Malaysia for the maiden event for the new TCR Malaysia Championship.
The new series features some of the best drivers in the world for teams like Hyundai, Volkswagen, Honda and Cupra across two 30-minute races on the spectacular Sepang Circuit.
TCR has taken the world by storm with more than 30 National TCR Series and Championships contested globally, the concept in just four years proving the perfect platform for customer racing with more than 600 cars now in the market.
For WSC Asia Limited’s David Sonenscher, the introduction of TCR Malaysia works in perfectly for teams looking to test and develop their teams and drivers ahead of the various TCR championships now included in the Asian region, as well as those from Europe who are unable to run during the winter and may be looking to combine a tropical holiday with a mini season of racing.
“It’s funny, we say ‘winter’ in Asia, but that is just a term for the months at that time of year as the weather here in Malaysia is still as hot as usual,” Sonenscher quipped.
“The reality is that conditions are perfect that time of year especially for the those teams and drivers who cannot run cars whilst it is snowing or very cold elsewhere, and for TCR it provides a fantastic platform to prepare for the season ahead.
“As it turns out, a large number of teams are also based at Sepang International Circuit, so it is low cost for them. Last year I noticed that they did a huge amount of off-season testing and so we decided it would be a good idea to give them more of a purpose to run the cars, especially as the cost difference between racing and testing in a single venue is marginal.
“Sepang has also just installed a track lighting system and this gives us an opportunity to run the second event under lights, our first since the Singapore Grand Prix in 2015. This is sure to be a nice twist to attract teams to try the demanding Grand Prix circuit under conditions they’ve not experienced in the past.”
The success of TCR in Asia should be one of the main selling points for the new Australian series, although unlikely to ever approach the popularity of the big V8 powered Supercars, TCR brings local drivers and teams the chance to race internationally, as well as possibly attract international cars and drivers to Australia in much the same way the Bathurst 12 Hour has for GT3.
The Malaysian Series is a precursor to the successful Asian Series.
Dates for the new series are:
2019 TCR Malaysia Series
Rnd#1/2 – Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur – 19-12 January, 2019*
Rnd#3/4 – Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur – 26 January, 2019**
Rnd#5/6 – Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur – 23-24 February, 2019***
* with GT Masters/Formula 3 Asia Winter Series
** includes a night race at Sepang
*** with Asian Le Mans Series
#TCRMalaysia
With TCR Malaysia Media Release
