The revitalised TCR Europe series gets underway this weekend at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portugal, with a bumper grid of both new and returning talent, in what’s set to be an exciting and unpredictable season.

Across 11 teams which represent five different TCR manufacturers, and with a healthy entry of 22 drivers, many of which are proven race winners in both TCR Europe and other categories, it’s a genuine challenge to figure out who will be on top come the end of the season.

Of the 22 drivers, ten are eligible for the new young drivers’ category for those aged 21 and under at the start of the calendar year, while six will also be eligible for the Diamond trophy.

AIKOA Racing makes its TCR Europe series debut, fielding a pair of Audi RS 3 LMSs for former TCR Italy champion Nicola Baldan alongside rising star Filippo Barberi, who will also compete for the young drivers’ trophy for drivers aged 21 and under at the start the calendar year.

ALM Motorsport will return to defend its teams’ title with two of its drivers from last year, with Estonian driver Ruben Volt competing at Portimão, and Hungarian touring car driver Levente Losonczy joining from Spa-Francorchamps. Volt is a favourite to contend for the drivers’ title, after narrowly missing out on both the European and Italian titles last year.

Julien Briché will return to the series after a five-year absence. Briché will be the driver with the most wins on record on the grid with six, with the Frenchman having contended for the 2019 drivers’ title. Now Briché will compete with the latest specification Hyundai Elantra N TCR at his JSB Compétition team. He will bring with him two team-mates, Jean-Laurent Navarro, and Pierre-Arnaud Navarro.

MA:GP will field a single-car entry for the third year running for 21-year-old Viktor Andersson, and will be the sole team to represent the Chinese Lynk & Co manufacturer on the grid. Andersson will also be contending in the youth category.

Last year’s drivers’ championship-winning team Monlau Motorsport are back, but with a whole new line-up, running a pair of CUPRA Leon VZ TCRs for 18-year-old Spanish racer Eric Gené, son of CUPRA development driver Jordi Gené, with 20-year-old Jenson Brickley the sole British driver on the grid. Brickley's move is after two years in the UK and Spain running with his own team, to competing with the front-running Barcelona-based squad.

MM Motorsport makes its full-time debut in the series, with 2022 Trophy champion Marco Butti set to fight for the overall and young drivers’ titles alongside Giacomo Ghermandi, with the 40-year-old Italian back in the series following on from a strong start to his campaign in the TCR Eastern Europe series two weeks ago where he claimed his first win at the Red Bull Ring.

RC2 Racing Team will field three Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCRs for last year’s Diamond Trophy champion Felipe Fernández, and young sophomore racer Santiago Concepción, while Victor Fernández will make his full-time debut in the series.

PMA Motorsport, the Italian team which has only entered on a one-off basis in years past, will be competing in full-force this year, bringing with them front-runner Felice Jelmini, back on a mostly full-time basis for the first time since 2022, and last year’s TCR Italy champion Nic Taylor.

Solite Indigo Racing will compete with a pair of Hyundai Elantra N TCRs with TCR Italy race winners Junesung Park and Junui Park, with the team receiving technical support from two-time teams’ champions Target Competition, which will also run a standalone entry for series’ debutant Max Hart.

Also returning to the championship to compete full-time for the first time since 2021 are the two Clairet brothers and Team Clairet Sport. Jimmy and Teddy will both be using the Audi RS 3 LMS – Jimmy won the last race of 2024 in a wild card appearance at Valencia, while Teddy Clairet won the final round of the 2024 TCR Italy championship.

Two practice sessions take place on Friday 25th April at 11:54 and 15:25 local time (WEST), before qualifying at 9:25 on Saturday (April 26th) morning, followed by Race 1 at 13:45 in the afternoon, with the top-ten reversed grid race on Sunday (April 27th) morning at 11:50.

All races will be broadcast on the TCR TV series YouTube platform at www.youtube.com/@TCRTV

 Entry list

* will join from Spa-Francorchamps