The 2026 TCR Europe Touring Car Series gets underway this weekend, with the Mugello Circuit in Italy hosting an event for the first time, while one of the most competitive grids of at least 24 cars is set to battle to be the series' new champion.
 

After one of the strongest years in the championship's history, last year's champion Jenson Brickley has progressed to the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour as part of his prize, leaving it open for some of the series' longstanding drivers, and some fresh faces to battle it out in the new season.

The pressure is on last year's drivers' and teams' champion, Monlau Motorsport, to defend its title. The team has stepped up with a three-car line-up and a refreshed driver roster: Marco Butti joins the team after narrowly missing out on the title last year; alongside him is Viktor Andersson in his fourth season, moving across from his family-run team; and new this year and to the series is TCR UK champion Adam Shepherd.

ALM Motorsport, which won the 2024 teams' title, will also field three cars with an all-star line-up, with Max Hart joining them for his sophomore year in the championship, with Ruben Volt continuing for a third full year with the team, and a last-minute signing, the returning Mike Halder, who competed in the first TCR Europe season all the way back in 2016 as a 20-year-old rookie.

The Honda marque is well-represented on the grid, with RC2 Racing Team fielding three cars for Felipe Fernández, Víctor Fernández, and newcomer Victor Chan, the first driver from the China region to compete full-time.

RC2 Racing Team will also provide logistical support to the first Argentinian team in the series, Squadra Martino, which will field a Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR for American-born Tiago Pernía, the son of multiple touring car champion Leonel Pernía.

SP Compétition returns after a year away with an eclectic line-up, with powerboat racing driver Tom Chiappe making his touring car debut, alongside him two-time national series champion Mikhail Simonov.

Another CUPRA will be fielded by new team to TCR competition Herrero Racing, with French driver Victor Weyrich also making his TCR debut this weekend, with the team holding two entries which it can fill later in the season.

BRC Racing Team, which run the Hyundai Motorsport-supported programme on the world stage, is back full-time with a two-car programme for Alex Ley and Gabriele Covini, after taking part in the last few events of 2025.

South Korean team Solite Indigo Racing, which took wins and third in the teams' standings last year return with an unchanged line-up, with Junesung and Junui Park piloting the team's two Hyundai Elantra N TCRs.

JSB Compétition returns with the same driver pairing it featured at the end of 2025, with Julien Briché, who along with Volt holds the record for wins on the grid with six, alongside the young rising star Raphael Fournier.

There are four Audis entered in the series, the brand that won the most races last year. Two teams return with updated line-ups. AIKOA Racing will run a pair of cars for Giacomo Prandelli and Santiago Concepción, with Concepción moving over from RC2 Racing Team, while Prandelli joins full-time after joining last year at the Barcelona finale.

PMA Motorsport will run a pair of Audis for the Canadian Nicolas Taylor, who is back for a second full season, and joining them from AIKOA Racing is the experienced Nicola Baldan, also a former champion in Italy. The team will field a wild card entry for Sandro Pelatti this weekend, with Pelatti set to contest the full TCR Italy championship with the team in his new CUPRA Leon VZ TCR.

The entry is 24 cars, two below the maximum entry set by the promoter. This follows the last-minute withdrawal of Team Clairet Sport, the popular French racing team which fought valiantly for the drivers' and teams' titles last year, with Teddy Clairet finishing at the top of the standings with Brickley, losing out on the title in a tiebreak. The TCR Europe organisation wishes the Clairet team all the best with its 2026 racing programmes.

MM Motorsport, which ran Marco Butti last year to near championship victory, hold a final entry on the grid, and may return later in the season.

Ten of the drivers will also be eligible for the Youth Best Trophy, which is open to drivers aged 22 and under for the new season.

A field of experienced and fresh, but most importantly fast and competitive talent, is set to battle it out in the new season which gets underway this weekend, and finishes in seven months' time at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain.

Timetable

Friday 20th March

11:05 - Free Practice 1
15:35 - Free Practice 2

Saturday 21st March

10:55 - Qualifying (20 + 10 minutes)
18:00 - Race 1 (25 minutes + 1 lap) - TCR TV

Sunday 22nd March
11:00 - Race 2 (25 minutes + 1 lap) - TCR TV

All times are Central European Time (CET).