- Six Audi RS 3 LMS cars on the grid
- Comtoyou Racing and WRT as fielding teams
- Three Audi Sport drivers and three privateer campaigners at the wheel for Audi
Following its successful debut season, the Audi RS 3 LMS will compete at the highest international level this year. Audi Sport customer racing is supporting two partner teams in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup. The series is exclusively reserved to TCR race cars and encompasses rounds in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
The WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup was formerly known as the FIA World Touring Car Championship. For Audi Sport customer racing, the Comtoyou Racing and WRT teams will officially be on the grid.
Team WRT from Baudour, Belgium – one of the most successful Audi customer teams in GT3 racing since 2010 – will prepare two Audi RS 3 LMS cars for Gordon Shedden and Jean-Karl Vernay. 39-year-old Scotsman Gordon Shedden has won the British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) three times, most recently in the 2016 season. 30-year-old Frenchman Jean-Karl Vernay was 2010 Indy Lights Champion in the United States, won the 2012 Porsche Carrera Cup in France and the 2017 TCR International Series. Both drivers are awarded Audi Sport driver status.
31-year-old Belgian Frédéric Vervisch will compete as an Audi Sport driver in the WTCR as well. The 2008 ATS Formula 3 Cup winner and Audi Sport customer racing GT3 campaigner will continue to drive for Comtoyou Racing. Last year, the squad based in Waterloo, Belgium, relied on Vervisch in the TCR International Series as well. Three teammates complete the lineup. 23-year-old Frenchman and TCR International Series race-winner Aurélien Panis, 25-year-old Belgian Denis Dupont, who is supported by the Royal Automobile Club Belgium (RACB), and 28-year-old Frenchman Nathanaël Berton – the 2016/17 champion in the Trophée Andros ice racing series – will contest the events as privateer drivers.
“We look forward to the strong competition in the new racing series which is an attractive stage for many manufacturers in touring car racing,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “Our teams and drivers bring valuable experiences from touring car racing and other disciplines to the grid, so we intend to battle for the titles in the drivers’ and teams’ classifications.”
The provisional calendar encompasses nine events on four continents, each with three races per weekend.
Provisional calendar:
Apr 07–08 Marrakesh (MA)
Apr 28–29 Hungaroring (H)
May 10–12 Nürburgring (D)
May 19–21 Zandvoort (NL)
Jun 23–24 Vila Real (P)
Aug 04–05 Río Hondo (RA)
Sep 29–30 Ningbo (CN)
Oct 27–28 Suzuka (J)
Nov 15–18 Macau (MAC)
