TCR Asia kicks off this weekend at Sepang

The TCR Asia Series enters its fourth season this weekend, with a ten round calendar taking in some of the region’s best circuits.
The first event will see a return to the Sepang in Malaysia, a venue that has played host to TCR Asia since the very first race was contested back in September 2015. From Malaysia, the Series moves to Thailand’ Buriram for the first time since 2016, then back to the popular Bangsaen Grand Prix on the streets of Chonburi in mid-July, all three opening events held in conjunction with TCR Thailand.
Then it will visit again South Korea for the first time since the season-opener in 2016 with TCR Asia joining teams contesting the maiden season of TCR Korea, whilst the final stop on the calendar will see a return to Shanghai for the third consecutive season for the Series finale ahead of the invitational SIC888 endurance race the following day.
Arguably the favourites for the 2018 season are Liqui Moly Team Engstler and star drivers Diego Moran and recently crowned TCR Middle East champion Luca Engstler. The Volkswagen team has won the Driver’s and Team’s Championship for the last two seasons, but both 2016 winner Andy Yan, and last year’s champion Kantadhee Kusiri have moved on, paving the way for a first-time champion this year.
Honda too will be well represented, with a number of cars. The R Engineering stable of Malaysia’s Lai Wee Sing will field former GT driver Akash Nandi and last year’s podium finisher Abdul Kaathir, although the late arrival of at least one new car may affect their entry into their home round. New to the series is the Maximum Racing, with two Honda Civic cars for Hongkongers Ivan Szeto Wing Shun and Le Sze Ho.
Fellow 2017 race winners Elegant Racing Team will be back, with two Seat León TCR SEQ entries for Alex Liu and Kelvin Wong, whilst TCR Asia regular Douglas Khoo is expected to be amongst the TCR Asia Cup contenders.