Oschersleben hosts the TCR Germany opener

The third season of the ADAC TCR Germany begins this weekend at Oschersleben’s Motorsport Arena. After a successful debut in 2016 that led to a real ‘boom’ in 2017, the German championship has found stability.
The shrink in number of competitors, from nearly 40 in 2017 to the current 30, must be seen as a positive development. In fact, last year the crowding on the track resulted in many incidents and safety car interventions, to the detriment of the show. The 2018 entry list appears more balanced and includes all the top runners, with the exception of the reigning champion Josh Files who has stepped up to the TCR Europe after having won two consecutive German titles.
Seven brands of manufacturers are represented. No fewer than eight drivers have elected to drive the Volkswagen Golf GTI; the contingent is led by the Liqui Moly Team Engstler duo of Luca Engstler and Florian Thoma, and by Benjamin Leuchter who drives for the debutant Max Kruse Racing. The Dutchman Niels Langeveld (Racing One) is the fastest of the Audi drivers, while Austria’s Harald Proczyk looks like a serious contender in the HP Racing Opel Astra. Honda has lost Files, but may count on last year’s vice-champion Mike Halder. The Cupra cars are all in the hands of young rookies, while there is expectation for the maiden appearance of the French cars in the series: the Peugeot 308 of Lukas Niedertscheider and the Renault Mégane, two of which are driven by a couple of fast drivers: Alex Morgan and Steve Kirsch.
The field is completed by a very special guest: the three times European Touring Car Champion Petr Fulín with a Cupra TCR.
The Oschersleben event will be covered live at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv according to the following schedule:

Friday: Qualifying - 17:20/18:00: live timing
Saturday: Race 1 - 11:55/12:25: live timing & streaming
Sunday: Race 2 - 10:00/10:30: live timing & streaming