Category: Understand Touring Car Racing

There have always been, are, and will be many championships dedicated to racing cars with closed wheels. Each country has its national championship (in Russia, for example, the RSKG) and dissecting each one would be complete madness, so I will limit myself to only the most essential championships in this guide. And it depends only on your interest how deep we dive into the rabbit hole.

So, the rules are simple. Here, I will analyze the main circuit championships in closed-wheel cars. Therefore, rallying, rally crossing, drifting, and many other equally exciting sports will pass by. Let’s look at their history, racing equipment and features. Also, I will tell you which games you can try out their techniques in or even fully participate in the virtual championship. The championships will be ranked according to the increasing speed of the cars. Let’s begin!

World Touring Car Cup (WTCR)

The championship in its current form was formed relatively recently, only in 2018. For 12 years before this, it was known as the World Touring Car Championship ( WTCC ). It involved Super 2000 and Diesel 2000 class cars. Russian viewers should have remembered it, at least for the participation of the LADA Sport factory team with their Granta and Vesta models.

After the 2017 season, switching to TCR class equipment was decided, and the championship was renamed WTCR.

The championship must feature production cars with a circulation of at least 5,000 copies per year. Engines are limited to 2 litres and 350 horsepower. There are three races in one weekend. Regular qualifying and race on day one. On the second day, there is a three-stage qualification with two races. The first race of the second day takes place with a reverse grid.

Is it worth giving this championship a chance? It has a close fight and many participants, but it is tough to watch in the public domain, which is one of the main drawbacks.

First of all, of course, I would like to recommend the famous simulators from SimBin – Race The Official WTCC Game and Race 07, in which you can participate in the 2006 and 2007 seasons, respectively. No official game is dedicated to the WTCR championship, but TCR class cars often appear in various games. They can be found in abundance in the GRID series.

British Touring Car Championship 

Despite the national status of this championship, it is one of the most critical and influential touring championships. Almost all BTCC champions have become world series champions ( WTCC/WTCR ), NGTC class cars are faster than their counterparts, and the battles are even fiercer.

You may have often heard about it from Top Gear presenters, learned from Igor Asanov’s video about the Honda Accord STW, which conquered Russian touring or read about it from my article about combat station wagons.

The BTCC competes in NGTC ( Next Generation Touring Car ) class cars, which debuted in 2011 to reduce increased costs. The suspension and brakes are unified, and the 2-litre turbo engine can be built or purchased ready-made from TOCA-BTCC. Such a car without an engine costs about 200 thousand pounds sterling. Time will tell whether this class has a future, but there are already factory teams from BMW, Toyota and Honda in the BTCC. In addition, British touring was the first to use super touring cars, capturing the whole world for 12 years.

As well as being very close and dirty, the BTCC is famous for its narrow UK circuits, where cars sometimes spend more time on two wheels than on four. A strong line-up of pilots, a garage spirit and interesting touring equipment. What else is needed?

You already understand that this championship is worth watching, but how to do it? You can subscribe to the paid channel Motorsport-TV, which broadcasts races, or turn your attention to A21 Network informs with Russian commentary.

Last summer, BTCC management announced that a game based on the championship would be released in 2022. The developers (Motorsport Games) promise to make an exciting race for everyone, add historical cars and much more. You can also try playing the already classic TOCA Touring Car Championship, TOCA 2 Touring Cars.…