TCR Series - The Motorsport Arena hosts an event full of emotions

The TCR International Series will pay its first visit to Germany this weekend, as the sixth event of the season takes place at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

Built in 1997 and partially modified in 2007, this modern racetrack has always been a favourite of Touring Car drivers for its demanding layout that offers several opportunities to overtake. This is also the reason why German fans always flock to the Motorsport Arena to enjoy the door-to-door battles between saloon cars.

This weekend’s event promises to deliver a range of emotions, as the ADAC TCR Germany and the ADAC Formula 4 will share the bill with the TCR International Series, while the Deutscher Tourenwagen Cup (DTC) and the Haigo Historic Cup complete the programme.

The TCR International Series will hit the track on Saturday, with two 30-minute Practice sessions and the Qualifying, split into Q1 (20 minutes) and Q2 (10 minutes, for the twelve fastest in Q1).

A ten-minute shakedown will take place on Sunday morning, followed by the two back-to-back races in the early afternoon.

TCR in Oschersleben – the event at a glance

Lap distance: 3.69 km

Race distance: 17 laps

Start: standing

Grids: determined by the Qualifying results (Q1+Q2) with top-10 reversed for Race 2

Timetable:
Saturday, 09:15/09:45 – Free Practice 1

Saturday, 11:35/12:05 – Free Practice 2

Saturday, 14:15/14:50 – Qualifying (Q1 + Q2)

Sunday, 08:30/08:40 – Shakedown

Sunday, 13:00 – Race 1 (17 laps)

Sunday, 14:15 – Race 2 (17 laps)

all times: GMT +2

The maximum ballast shifts from Comini to Vernay

For the second consecutive event one of the Leopard Racing drivers will carry 30 extra kilos as a consequence of the maximum success ballast.

After Stefano Comini at the Salzburgring ten days ago, it will be Jean-Karl Vernay who will carry the heaviest handicap on board his Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR at Oschersleben. This is the consequence of the fact the young Frenchman was the best scorer in Austria with a haul of 39 points, that included 25 for his victory in the second race.

James Nash of Craft-Bamboo Lukoil, who is currently third in the championship standings, five points ahead of Vernay, will carry 20 kilos of ballast as the second best scorer in the Austrian event, while WestCoast Racing’s Mikhail Grachev – the winner of the first race at the Salzburgring – will retain the 10 kilos for the third best scorer for the second consecutive time.

With the Success Ballast figures added to the BoP, the running weights of the three cars will be: 1315 kg for Vernay’s Volkswagen Golf, 1335 kg for Nash’s SEAT León and 1325 kg for Grachev’s Honda Civic.

The current championship leader Comini, his closest competitor Pepe Oriola and Gianni Morbidelli who is fifth in the classification on equal points with Vernay, will have the opportunity to take advantage in driving ballast-free cars.

Antti Buri redoubles his efforts over the German weekend

Finnish driver Antti Buri will be facing a hard working weekend at Oschersleben, where he will race in both the TCR International and TCR German series.

In his maiden TCR season, the 28-year old from Masku has already made an impact on both series. A regular competitor in TCR Germany with an LMS Racing SEAT León Cup Racer, Buri is currently sixth in the Drivers’ classification having claimed one victory in the second race at the Sachsenring. He could, however, have been placed higher, had his first victory in Race 2 at Oschersleben not been disallowed by a penalty for a jump-start.

Buri also found the time to make a first appearance in the TCR International Series at Spa-Francorchamps, driving a Leopard Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI. The debut resulted in brilliant results too, as he finished third in the second race, behind his temporary teammates Jean-Karl Vernay and Stefano Comini.

This weekend at Oschersleben, Buri will take part in both series with the LMS SEAT car.

Liqui Moly Team Engstler signs Mackshin for home event

Niklas Mackshin, 21-year old from the Hanover region, was the latest addition to the TCR International Series field for the Oschersleben event.

The young German will drive a Volkswagen Golf Gti for the Liqui Moly Team Engstler alongside the team’s regular Davit Kajaia.

Despite his young age, Mackshin has already proved a very competitive driver in Touring Car competition. After winning two German titles in the 2013 ADAC Chevrolet Cruze Cup and the 2014 DMV BMW Challenge, Mackshin switched to international racing and dominated the Super 1600 class in the 2015 FIA European Touring Car Cup.

At the wheel of a Ford Fiesta he won 10 out of the series’ 12 races and clinched the continental crown.

In the current season he is successfully defending his title; with four victories out of six races Mackshin is leading the standings with a wide margin.

TCR Germany shares the bill with the International Series

The ADAC TCR Germany shares the bill with the TCR International Series in the race weekend at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben.

In its maiden season, the German series has already established itself as one of the most competitive among the national championships that have adopted the TCR concept.

The first two race meetings of the season were held at Oschersleben and Sachsenring and after this second visit to Oschersleben the series will race at Red Bull Ring (Austria), Nürburgring, Zandvoort (Netherlands) and Hockenheim.

After the first two events, Austrian driver Harald Proczyk (HP Racing SEAT León) – the winner of the first race at the Sachsenring – is leading the standings with 70 points, seven ahead of Britain’s Josh Files (Target Competition SEAT León) who won both races in the Oschersleben opener. Benjamin Leuchter (Racing One Volkswagen Golf GTI) is the first German driver in the classification and lies third, 12 points behind the leader.

Live streaming and timing from Oschersleben

Both live streaming and timing from Oschersleben will be available according to the timetable below:

TCR International Series
( www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv )

Saturday, 09:15 – Free Practice 1, timing

Saturday, 11:25 – Free Practice 2, timing and streaming

Saturday, 14:15 – Qualifying, timing and streaming

Sunday, 12:55 – Race 1, timing and streaming

Sunday, 14:10 – Race 2, timing and streaming

TCR Germany
( www.tcr-series.tv and www.adac-motorsport.de/adac-tcr-germany/de/ )

Friday, 11:00 – Free Practice 1, timing

Friday, 13:00 – Free Practice 2, timing

Saturday, 12:00 – Qualifying, timing