WTCR TITLE TO BE DECIDED IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) has announced that the 2022 edition of the motorsport series will include two races in the Middle East.

At the end of this season, races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, which will take place on 10th to 12th and 25th to 27th respectively, will replace planned events in China, Macau and South Korea that could not go ahead this year due to restrictions resulting from the global health pandemic.

According to a statement, ‘the calendar changes were approved by the recent meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council and represent a big opportunity for the WTCR, which has never previously visited the Middle East, a key motorsport hub.’

The WTCR Race of Bahrain will take place at the Bahrain International Circuit and conincide with the FIA World Endurance Championship 8 Hours of Bahrain weekend, while the WTCR Race of Saudi will take place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

The WTCC season is organised by Discovery Sports Events, whose offices reside in London and Paris.

Jean-Baptiste Ley, WTCR Director, Discovery Sports Events, said, “We thank the FIA, the Saudi Arabian Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, Saudi Motorsport Company, and in the case of the Bahrain event, the Bahrain Motor Federation, Bahrain International Circuit and our partners at ACO through Le Mans Endurance Management. We already work in close collaboration with the ACO on the 24 Heures Motos, a round of the FIM Endurance World Championship for motorbikes that we also promote, and we are delighted to extend this alliance into another category.

“We also thank DHL, our official logistics partner, and the WTCR’s other key stakeholders, particularly the teams, drivers, customer racing departments and suppliers for their unwavering support and patience. We can now look forward to what we firmly believe will be an exciting and fitting conclusion to the 2022 season and we very much hope our fans enjoy the show.”