The Red Bull Ring will host a round of the TCR Europe series for the first time since 2019 this weekend, after the series is back in action after a long two-month summer break, with the new champion set to be crowned this month.

The Austrian circuit will host the penultimate round of the season. Going into the weekend, Teddy Clairet leads the standings by 14 points over his brother Jimmy, after he became the first repeat winner of the year at Misano at the end of June.

The title battle is still wide open, with Eric Gené only four points behind Jimmy, with the young Spanish racer having picked up his first podium last time out in an incredibly consistent season in his CUPRA Leon.

Gené's team-mate Jenson Brickley is just a further four points behind, while Marco Butti, despite two disastrous races this year, is still in contention in his MM Motorsport-run Honda Civic Type R.

The teams' battle is a close fight between the Audi-shod Team Clairet Sport, and the CUPRA-equipped Monlau Motorsport team, and is also set to go to the wire.

With over half the field also competing in the young drivers' category, the new 21-and-under class is almost as exciting a battle as the main game, with Eric Gené just ahead.

The Diamond Best Trophy for the 40-and-over gentleman's class has seen a mix of winners this year, though that title is set to be decided this weekend, with Victor Fernández holding a commanding lead over his nearest rivals.

A number of new additions to the field will add to the excitement this weekend, with BRC Racing Team making a return to the grid with young Italian racer Gabriele Covini behind the wheel of their Hyundai Elantra.

18-year-old Raphaël Fournier will also make his TCR Europe debut. The young French driver will join the experienced Julien Briché at JSB Competition, and Fournier is already a five-time race winner in the French touring car championship.

Coming back for more action will be Giacomo Ghermandi, who took part in the season opener, and took his first ever race victory at the Red Bull Ring in the TCR Eastern Europe series at the start of the year, while Sandro Pelatti, who won the Diamond class races at Misano, will be back behind the wheel of PMA Motorsport's second Audi.

Jacopo Cimenes, who starred with a podium on his debut at Misano, will also be back with MM Motorsport, while the newest addition to the grid is René Kircher, the first German driver in the series since 2022, who will join ALM Motorsport alongside title protagonist Ruben Volt.

The 23-car entry marks the largest single-class field of TCR Europe since the end of the 2020 season. 24 cars will take part in practice, with series promoter Rubén Fernández taking to the track for some demonstration runs before bowing out ahead of qualifying.