New cars are the stars of the 2024 TCR Europe entry

TCR Europe has unveiled its entry list for the season opener in Vallelunga, with a brace of new CUPRA Leon VZ and Honda Civic Type R FL5 cars dominating the entry which also features returning champion Franco Girolami, as well as competitive programmes with Audi and Lynk & Co.

Girolami, who won the 2022 European title and is the reigning TCR Italy champion, returns with the chance of winning another, now piloting one of five of CUPRA’s latest generation TCR car at the Italian circuit. The Argentine joins his former teammate Viktor Davidovski in a three-car programme put together by Monlau Motorsport, with the team’s third driver 16-year-old Eric Gené, son of touring car star and CUPRA development driver Jordi Gené. Gené is already a race winner in TCR, having won a round of the TCR Spain pre-season series in February.

Two more of the new Leon VZ cars will be run by SP Compétition, with the French team fielding a car for the 2017 TCR Europe Trophy champion Aurélien Comte, who will be joined by the returning Belgian driver Giovanni Scamardi. Although the CUPRA is the newest in global TCR competition, the year-old Civic Type R FL5 is the most represented model in the field, with six cars being run across two teams.

Estonia’s ALM Motorsport will field three for reigning TCR South America champion Ignacio Montenegro, Hungarian rising star Levente Losonczy, as well as Monza and Barcelona race winner Ruben Volt. New team GOAT Racing will also run three cars for Rubén Fernández, Felipe Fernández and Dušan Borković.

Baldan Group by Comtoyou will field the sole second-generation Audi RS 3 LMS on the grid for three-time TCR Italy champion Nicola Baldan, while MA:GP will run a new Lynk & Co 03 for Viktor Andersson, who got his 2024 season underway with a race win in TCR UK at Brands Hatch last week.

Timetable (CEST)

Friday – Practice 1: 10:30/11:00; Practice 2: 15:30/16:00; Qualifying: 18:45 / 19:20

Saturday – Race 1 (15 laps): 18:05 / 18:40

Sunday – Race 2 (15 laps): 15:15 / 15:50

Entry list

7 – Aurélien Comte (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ)

8 – Nicola Baldan (Baldan Group by Comtoyou, Audi RS 3 LMS TCR)

10 – Viktor Andersson (MA:GP, Lynk & Co 03)

11 – Rubén Fernández (GOAT Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

19 – Felipe Fernández (GOAT Racing, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

21 – Eric Gené (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ)

23 – Ignacio Montenegro (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

27 – Ruben Volt (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

34 – Giovanni Scamardi (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ)

62 – Dušan Borković (GOAT Racing - Honda Civic Type R FL5)

64 – Levente Losonczy (ALM Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R FL5)

72 – Franco Girolami (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ)

110 – Viktor Davidovski (Monlau Motorsport, CUPRA Leon VZ)

Picture: TCR Europe