WTCR Race of Spain, Aragon - driver line-up, format refresher 17.06.2022: WTCR Race of Spain MotorLand Aragon 25-26 June 2022 WTCR DRIVER LINE-UP 2022 ALL-INKL.COM MÜNNICH MOTORSPORT (Germany) Car: Honda Civic Type R TCR Drivers: #29 Néstor Girolami (Argentina), #86 Esteban Guerrieri (Argentina) WTCR race w

WTCR Race of Spain
MotorLand Aragon
25-26 June 2022




WTCR DRIVER LINE-UP 2022



ALL-INKL.COM MÜNNICH MOTORSPORT (Germany)
Car: Honda Civic Type R TCR
Drivers: #29 Néstor Girolami (Argentina), #86 Esteban Guerrieri (Argentina)
WTCR race wins: 16 (Girolami 6, Guerrieri 10)



BRC HYUNDAI N SQUADRA CORSE (Italy)
Car: Hyundai Elantra N TCR
Drivers: #5 Norbert Michelisz (Hungary), #96 Mikel Azcona (Spain)
WTCR race wins: 12 (Michelisz 7, Azcona 5)



COMTOYOU DHL TEAM AUDI SPORT (Belgium)
Car: Audi RS 3 LMS
Drivers: #17 Nathanaël Berthon (France), #33 Tom Coronel (Netherlands)
WTCR race wins: 2 (Berthon 1, Coronel 1)



COMTOYOU TEAM AUDI SPORT (Belgium)
Car: Audi RS 3 LMS
Drivers: #16 Gilles Magnus (Belgium), #25 Mehdi Bennani (Morocco)
WTCR race wins: 2 (Bennani 1, Magnus 1)



CYAN PERFORMANCE LYNK & CO (Sweden)
Car: Lynk & Co 03 TCR
Drivers: #11 Thed Björk (Sweden), #12 Santiago Urrutia (Uruguay), #55 Ma Qing Hua (China)
WTCR race wins: 13 (Björk 8, Ma 1, Urrutia 4)



CYAN RACING LYNK & CO (Sweden)
Car: Lynk & Co 03 TCR
Drivers: #68 Yann Ehrlacher (France), #100 Yvan Muller (France)
WTCR race wins: 15 (Ehrlaher 7, Muller 8)



LIQUI MOLY TEAM ENGSTLER (Germany)
Car: Honda Civic Type R TCR
Drivers: #9 Attila Tassi (Hungary), #18 Tiago Monteiro (Portugal)
WTCR race wins: 3 (Monteiro 2, Tassi 1)



ZENGŐ MOTORSPORT (Hungary)
Car: CUPRA Leon Competición
Drivers: #79 Rob Huff (Great Britain), #99 Dániel Nagy (Hungary)
WTCR race wins: 3 (Huff 3)




WTCR − FIA World Touring Car Cup all-season entry list 2022


#5 Norbert Michelisz (HUN) BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#9 Attila Tasi (HUN) LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler, Honda Civic Type R TCR
#11 Thed Björk (SWE) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co, Lynk & Co 03 TCR
#12 Santiago Urrutia (URY) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co, Lynk & Co 03 TCR
#16 Gilles Magnus (BEL) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS
#17 Nathanaël Berthon (FRA) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS
#18 Tiago Monteiro (PRT) LIQUI MOLY Team Engstler, Honda Civic Type R TCR
#25 Mehdi Bennani (MAR) Comtoyou Team Audi Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS
#29 Néstor Girolami (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R TCR
#33 Tom Coronel (NLD) Comtoyou DHL Team Audi Sport, Audi RS 3 LMS
#55 Ma Qing Hua (CHN) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co, Lynk & Co 03 TCR
#68 Yann Ehrlacherr (FRA) Cyan Performance Lynk & Co, Lynk & Co 03 TCR
#79 Rob Huff (GBR) Zengő Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición
#86 Esteban Guerrieri (ARG) ALL-INKL.COM Münnich Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R TCR
#96 Mikel Azcona (ESP) BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N TCR
#99 Dániel Nagy (HUN) Zengő Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición
#100 Yvan Muller (FRA) Cyan Racing Lynk & Co, Lynk & Co 03 TCR







WTCR FORMAT REFRESHER


Same Qualifying format but allocation of points tweaked


The three-phase Qualifying (Q1, Q2, Q3) elimination format remains unchanged but how points are awarded is all-new for 2022.



From this year, the fastest five drivers in Qualifying, regardless of at which point they set their best lap or whether they progress to Q3 or not, will be rewarded with points on a 10-8-6-4-2 scale.



The change will encourage drivers to push for fast lap times in each phase of Qualifying and avoid the temptation to adopt a strategic approach by trying to secure 10th place in Q2, which comes with pole position for the partially-reversed-grid race.




Race 1 is the big one, Race 2 the partially-reversed one


Previously the partially-reversed-grid race, drivers in Race 1 will line up for action according to the combined Qualifying results and compete for 30 minutes plus one lap (35 minutes plus one lap on street circuits in the event of the safety car being deployed). The top seven finishers will get more points than previously with drivers scoring as follows:



1st = 30 points; 2nd = 23; 3rd = 19; 4th = 16; 5th = 14; 6th = 12; 7th = 10; 8th = 8; 9th = 7; 10th = 6; 11th = 5; 12th = 4; 13th = 3; 14th = 2; 15th = 1



Race 2 becomes the partially-reversed-grid race with fans entertained for 25 minutes plus one lap (or 30 minutes plus one lap if there’s a safety car intervention on a street track). Points will be scored as follows:



1st = 25 points; 2nd = 20; 3rd = 16; 4th = 13; 5th = 11; 6th = 10; 7th = 9; 8th = 8; 9th = 7; 10th = 6; 11th = 5; 12th = 4; 13th = 3; 14th = 2; 15th = 1




How grids are formed reminder


The Race 1 starting grid will be determined by the final results of Q3 (positions 1-5) and Q2 (positions 6-12) for the top 12 grid positions. The results from Q1 will decide the remainder of the Race 1 grid.



For Race 2, grid positions 1-10 will be occupied by the first 10 cars according to the final combined qualifying results but in reverse order. Positions 11 and 12 will be occupied by the cars from Q2 that are not in reverse order. The remainder of the grid will be decided by the results of Q1 from positions 13 downwards.




Race lengths increased and timed in minutes, not measured in kilometres


Race 1 will run for 30 minutes plus one lap with Race 2 running for 25 minutes plus one lap. For street races, should the safety car be deployed, Race 1 will be automatically extended to 35 minutes plus one lap, with Race 2 increased to 30 minutes plus one lap. The aim is to lengthen the duration of each race by two laps to provide competitors with more valuable track time.




Repair Time extended


The opportunity for refuelling, repairs and set-up changes between races has been extended to a minimum of 60 minutes from the previous 20. The increase will give teams more opportunity to repair damage from Race 1 in a less intense manner or switch to a set-up that might enhance car performance for Race 2 and increase the chance of winning.



With more time to ready cars for the weekend’s second race, drivers will be more inclined to push harder in Race 1, with better racing the underlying objective.




Compensation Weight rules revised



The Compensation Weight rules have been revised and simplified for 2022. All cars will carry zero kilograms of Compensation Weight at the first event of the season. For the second event the Compensation Weight for each model will be based on the best Qualifying time set during the previous event.



From the third event the Compensation Weight will be based on the best Qualifying time set during either of the previous two events, rather than an average of the best two lap times out of three events, which was the case in 2021. It will mean the Compensation Weight will be quicker to update and therefore more responsive.



In addition, the maximum Compensation Weight has been reduced from 60 to 40 kilograms to avoid significant contrasting performances from race to race and therefore make the performance levels of each brand even closer. The same Compensation Weight principles apply to race-by-race entries.




-Richard Rodgers, photos WTCR