FIA invites fans to help shape the future of touring car racing

The FIA has invited fans to have their say on the future of international touring car racing via an online survey.

With motorsport's world governing body beginning work on the next set of regulations for a top-level international series, it wants to get fans' opinions on elements such as regulations and what the cars should look like. It wants the new class to be both cost-effective and road relevant, while retaining the key characteristics of touring car racing, namely cars being demanding to drive and the racing being spectacular to watch.

“The FIA is seeking the opinions of touring car fans as it begins to consider what the next generation of FIA touring cars should look like,” said Alan Gow, FIA Touring Car Commission president, who also serves as chief executive of the popular British Touring Car Championship. “Their input will help ensure that future cars remain relevant and popular. Most importantly, they must maintain or even increase the close and exciting battles that are the hallmark of great touring car racing, while keeping a strict eye on cost control."

Participants in the survey will also be able to share what they believe makes touring car racing unique, and what race formats deliver the most excitement and engagement, ensuring that a discipline that has long had a passionate fanbase will be shaped by those that have helped make it a success over the years.

“The future of touring car racing should be shaped not only by officials, manufacturers and teams, but also by the people who fill grandstands, watch broadcasts and follow the sport around the world,” said Marek Nawarecki, FIA senior circuit sport director. “As the regulator of the sport, the FIA wants to hear directly from those fans. This survey gives them a unique opportunity to help shape the future of this spectacular form of racing.”

WTCC was popular in the mid-to-late 2000s and early-2010s. Kevin Wood/Getty Images

Touring car racing’s turbulent 21st century

Touring car racing on the global stage has fallen from prominence since the FIA World Touring Car Championship ended at the end of 2017.

The WTCC (pictured above) was first held in 1987 but lasted a single season, quickly morphing into a European championship. After a World Touring Car Challenge in 1993 and two World Cups in 1994 and 1995, the full world championship was revived in 2005 and lasted for 13 seasons before a reduction of manufacturer entries and rising costs led to it coming to an end.

It became the World Touring Car Cup in 2018, adopting the TCR regulations used in national and regional series across the world but that too ended in 2022 with its place being taken by the TCR World Tour.

Arguably the world’s most famous and popular touring car series, the BTCC, has run to the unique 'Next Generation Touring Car' (NGTC) regulations since 2011, which introduced turbocharged engines and a raft of standardized components, and took the place of the WTCC’s Super 2000 ruleset – itself superseding the BTC regulations which came along to keep costs in check after the wildly expensive Super Touring bubble burst following its late-1990s heyday.

The BTCC has enjoyed stability and strength for much of the NGTC era. BTCC photo

The intended low-cost formula produced capacity grids of 32 cars in the mid-to-late 2010s, but it too has fallen victim to rising costs and dwindling manufacturer interest, with this season’s largest grid – of almost entirely independent entries – being a still decent 23.

The Scandinavian Touring Car Championship, formed after a merger of the successful Swedish championship and the Danish championship in 2011, was comparable to the BTCC and even planned to introduce NGTC regulations, but after a breakaway from teams – which formed the TTA Racing Elite League – it adopted the TTA’s V6-engine silhouettes.

It then adopted the global TCR rules before an ill-fated switch to electric cars failed to take off. It's now set to run to GT4 regulations from next year, in a similar vein to DTM which adopted GT3 regulations after setting aside its own high-cost regulations.

The FIA's global fan survey runs until October 25.