2019-1 Touring Car Championship season

2019-1 TCC
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The 2019-1 TCC Spotter guide

The 2019-1 IVRC Touring Car Championship season was the 2nd IVRC TCC season. Marc Stwerka of Repsol Swinegel Racing defended the drivers' championship, while MPG Competition was able to defend the teams' championship. Cupra managed to win the constructors' championship by only 1.5 points and Aurimas Auga became the first winner of the rookies' cup.

IVRC brought on several changes to the series, including a new calendar format in 2019 by splitting the year into two seperate seasons of TCC. This is due to the concept that a shortened championship usually gets a lot more action-filled compared to a full-year season, along with other minor benefits.

Teams and Drivers

Team Car No. Status Driver Rounds Repsol Swinegel Racing CUPRA León TCR 1 Marc Stwerka All 19 Francisco Vazquez 1–2, 6–7 57 Bob Sacamano 1–2, 4, 7 82 Cristian Alvarez 2, 4, 8–10 Team Berni CUPRA León TCR 4 Aurimas Auga 1–4, 6–7 6 Martynas Jurgelevičius 1–2 18 Bernard Mróz 1–2, 4–10 80 Bartosz Nowak 1–4 MPG Competition Audi RS3 LMS 11 Martin Jatzek 1–3, 6–7 13 Phillip Volland 1–4, 6–10 14 Constantin Grimminger 1–4, 6–7, 9 17 Carlos Frau All Team Iris Honda Civic Type-R TCR 12 Dimitris Giannopoulos 8–9 CUPRA León TCR 87 Dionysis Faraos 1 Honda Civic Type-R TCR 2–3, 6 SL Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 21 Saulius Laurinavicius 9–10 C-Force Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta QV-TCR 22 Germán Soto 7 55 Jesús Chirinos 2–10 69 Bruno Spano 3, 6 MAD Bears YTF1 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 27 Matthew Allington 3, 7–8, 10 Tevez Rookie Sim Team Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 33 László Téglás 10 TR Bluvos Motorsports Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 35 Michael Teichmann 2 KRT/Goiaba Racing Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR 48 Otávio de Barros 3, 6, 10 51 Victor Bier 3 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR Otávio de Barros 1 Audi RS3 LMS Samuel Perryman 8–9

Icon Status Rookie

Driver changes

• Bob Sacamano left his own team, Doghouse Racing, to compete for Repsol Swinegel Racing in 2019-1.
• After competing for TR Bluvos Motorsports in the final race of 2018, Jesús Chirinos switched back to his own team, C-Force Racing, for 2019-1.

Team changes

• YTF1 Sim-racing Team changed it's name to MAD Bears YTF1 for 2019-1.
• Doghouse Racing stopped it's operation after Nick Atsidakos quit his sim racing career mid-season in 2018 and Bob Sacamano switched off to Repsol Swinegel Racing.
• Hola Viva Mexico Racing Team, Cotiteam and Fitness Racing didn't return in 2019-1.

Mid-season changes

• After competing in a CUPRA León TCR in the first round, Dionysis Faraos switched to a Honda Civic Type-R TCR.

Changes

Sporting regulations

Not only has IVRC announced that 2019 will be splitted into two seasons, but also several changes to TCC's sporting regulations. Each event will now host three instead of two races, however with a shortened race distance of 15 instead of 20 minutes each. This should compensate for the number of lost races due to the shortened calendar, making up 30 races in total.

Also, IVRC introduced a new points distributions system, moving away from the famous F1 points scheme and adapting the all-new 2019 WTCR points distributions system. In consequence, not only the top ten of each race but the top 15 will be awared by points. Unlike WTCR however, TCC will not give bonus points for Qualifying.

As a consequence of heavy critizism during the 2018 season, the teams' championship saw minor changes aswell. While only teams with two or more entries were eligible to score points towards the teams' championship in the previous season, all teams are now eligible to fight for the teams' championship.

A rather drastical change will come with the weight penalties, as they will see their premiere in 2019-1 in TCC. This affects only Race 1 of each round, where the best drivers of the 1st race of the previous round will carry a weight penalty after Qualifying to bring the competition closer together. IVRC made the decision to add weight penalties for Race 1 only based on the fact that the quicker drives will be penalized by reverse grids in Race 2 and 3 already.

Finally, IVRC introduced a Rookie Cup sub championship for rookies. Each driver who hasn't competed at three or more events in 2018 will be eligible to score points towards the Rookie Cup. The scoring system will be identical to the main championship, giving 25 points for the rookie winner each race.

Technical regulations

Several car models and manufactures have been dropped for the 2019-1 TCC season. While Ford and Opel had to leave the series with their Focus ST and Astra OPC Cup respectively, two manufacturers upgraded their cars to more actual models. While SEAT changed their whole brand to feature the CUPRA León TCR instead of the León Cup Racer, Audi changed from the TT Cup to it's latest RS3 LMS model. Honda planned to introduce the new Honda Civic Type-R TCR (FK8), however the plans were abandoned in the last minute and a facelifted version of the Civic TCR (FK2) will remain for at least another season on the grid. Peugeot and Alfa Romeo won't see any changes for 2019-1.

Also the mod has been improved even further, especially in the brakes area. During the late stages of the 2018 season, critizism of the weak and rather inconsistent brakes came up from several drivers. After a detailed inspection by IVRC, this issue was found to be caused by too much air flow through the cooling pods, cooling the brakes down below their performance window. The faulty parts will be fixed for 2019-1.

Race calendar and results

A provisional ten-round calendar was announced on 2 February 2018.

Round		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Rookie winner
1	R1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps	9 March	Dionysis Faraos	Otávio de Barros	Dionysis Faraos	Team Iris	Dionysis Faraos
	R2				Carlos Frau	Carlos Frau	MPG Competition	Aurimas Auga
	R3				Marc Stwerka	Bartosz Nowak	Team Berni	Bartosz Nowak
2	R1	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	16 March	Bartosz Nowak	Bartosz Nowak	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Bartosz Nowak
	R2				Constantin Grimminger	Constantin Grimminger	MPG Competition	Dionysis Faraos
	R3				Michael Teichmann	Michael Teichmann	TR Bluvos Motorsports	Aurimas Auga
3	R1	Nürburgring Nordschleife, Nürburg	30 March	Matthew Allington	Carlos Frau	Carlos Frau	MPG Competition	Dionysis Faraos
	R2				Matthew Allington	Matthew Allington	MAD Bears YTF1	Dionysis Faraos
	R3				Matthew Allington	Matthew Allington	MAD Bears YTF1	Dionysis Faraos
4	R1	Norisring, Nuremberg	6 April	Phillip Volland	Bernard Mróz	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Bartosz Nowak
	R2				Phillip Volland	Phillip Volland	MPG Competition	Aurimas Auga
	R3				Bernard Mróz	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Aurimas Auga
5	R1	Ring Knutstorp, Kågeröd	20 April	Marc Stwerka	Bernard Mróz	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	none
	R2				Bernard Mróz	Jesús Chirinos	C-Force Racing	none
	R3				Bernard Mróz	Bernard Mróz	Team Berni	none
6	R1	Hungaroring, Budapest	27 April	Bernard Mróz	Phillip Volland	Phillip Volland	MPG Competition	Otávio de Barros
	R2				Bernard Mróz	Bernard Mróz	Team Berni	Dionysis Faraos
	R3				Bernard Mróz	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Otávio de Barros
7	R1	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	11 May	Constantin Grimminger	Constantin Grimminger	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Germán Soto
	R2				Constantin Grimminger	Jesús Chirinos	C-Force Racing	Germán Soto
	R3				Bernard Mróz	Matthew Allington	MAD Bears YTF1	Germán Soto
8	R1	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	18 May	Carlos Frau	Matthew Allington	Matthew Allington	MAD Bears YTF1	Dimitris Giannopoulos
	R2				Matthew Allington	Samuel Perryman	none	none
	R3				Phillip Volland	Phillip Volland	MPG Competition	Dimitris Giannopoulos
9	R1	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	1 June	Bernard Mróz	Phillip Volland	Carlos Frau	MPG Competition	none
	R2				Dimitris Giannopoulos	Marc Stwerka	Repsol Swinegel Racing	Dimitris Giannopoulos
	R3				Dimitris Giannopoulos	Dimitris Giannopoulos	Team Iris	Dimitris Giannopoulos
10	R1	Mount Panorama Circuit, Bathurst	8 June	Matthew Allington	Matthew Allington	Matthew Allington	MAD Bears YTF1	Saulius Laurinavicius
	R2				Bernard Mróz	Phillip Volland	MPG Competition	Saulius Laurinavicius
	R3				Matthew Allington	Bernard Mróz	Team Berni	Saulius Laurinavicius

Testing

Round	Circuit	Date
Pre-season test	Circuito do Estoril, Estoril	16 February

Championship results

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 15 classified finishers in all three races equally.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th
Points	25	20	16	13	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1

Drivers' championship

Pos.	No.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points
1	1	Marc Stwerka	3	11†	2	1	5	6	2	5	3	1	5	1	1	4	2	4	2	1	1	3	3	5	2	8	4	1	4	3	3	4	495
2	17	Carlos Frau	8	1	5	8	3	3	1	3	4	3	3	2	2	2	3	5	5	DNS	6	2	5	4	4	5	1	3	2	2	4	5	444.5
3	13	Phillip Volland	6	4	8	3	2	5	6	7	6	7	1	4				1	DNS	WD	4	4	8	2	3	1	3	Ret	3	6	1	3	352
4	18	Bernard Mróz	9	5	6	10	9	4				2	8	8	4	3	1	6	1	4	3	5	4	3	8	9	2	Ret	6	4	2	1	351
5	14	Constantin Grimminger	2	3	12	5	1	9	7	2	DNS	5	4	DSQ				2	4	5	2	6	2				6	4	5				264
6	55	Jesús Chirinos				11	Ret	13	8	8	DNS	4	7	7	3	1	4	10	7	6	8	1	7	6	6	7	7	7†	Ret	5	5	6	255
7	27	Matthew Allington							5	1	1										5	7	1	1	5	2				1	6	2	204.5
8	82	Cristian Alvarez				7	Ret	2				8†	2	3										7	7	6	5	6	DNS	8	7	DNS	139
9	87	Dionysis Faraos	1	8	9	14†	4	DNS	3	4	2							8	3	3													134
10	80	Bartosz Nowak	Ret	9	1	2	8	12	10	9	5	6	9	6																			109.5
11	4	Aurimas Auga	10	7	4	9	10	7	11†	Ret	Ret	9†	6	5				11†	10†	Ret	10†	Ret	DNS										100
12	48	Otávio de Barros	11†	DNS	7				4	6	DNS							3	6	2										10†	9	DNS	96
13	11	Martin Jatzek	5	6	10	DNS	DNS	10	DNS	DNS	7							7	8	7†	DNS	DNS	9										70.5
14	12	Dimitris Giannopoulos																						9	Ret	3	DNS	2	1				68
15	19	Francisco Vazquez	7	2	3	13	11†	DNS										12†	11†	DNS	11†	DNS	WD										67
16	57	Bob Sacamano	4	Ret	WD	4	7	11				Ret	DNS	WD							9†	DNS	WD										47
17		Samuel Perryman																						8	1	4	Ret	DNS	WD				46
18	21	Saulius Laurinavicius																									Ret	5	7	7	8	7	46
19	35	Michael Teichmann				12	6	1																									39
20	6	Martynas Jurgelevičius	Ret	10	11	6	Ret	8																									29
21	22	Germán Soto																			7	8	6										27
22	33	László Téglás																												9	10	8	21
23	69	Bruno Spano							Ret	Ret	DNS							9	9	DNS													14
24	51	Victor Bier							9	Ret	DNS																						7
Pos.	No.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points

Notes:

• * – Only half points were awarded for race 3, as it was stopped after 50% race distance.
• † – Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 50% of the race distance.

Teams' championship

Pos.	Team	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points
1	MPG Competition	2	1	5	3	1	3	1	2	4	3	1	2	2	2	3	1	4	5	2	2	2	2	3	1	1	3	2	2	1	3	914.5
		5	3	8	5	2	5	6	3	6	5	3	4				2	5	7†	4	4	5	4	4	5	3	4	3	6	4	5
2	Repsol Swinegel Racing	3	2	2	1	5	2	2	5	3	1	5	1	1	4	2	4	2	1	1	3	3	5	2	6	4	1	4	3	3	4	712
		4	11†	3	4	7	6				8†	2	3				12†	11†	DNS	9†	DNS	WD	7	7	8	5	6	DNS	8	7	DNS
3	Team Berni	9	5	1	2	8	4	10	9	5	2	6	5	4	3	1	6	1	4	3	5	4	3	8	9	2	Ret	6	4	2	1	508.5
		10	7	4	6	9	7	11†	Ret	Ret	6	8	6				11†	10†	DNS	10†	Ret	DNS
4	C-Force Racing				11	Ret	13	8	8	DNS	4	7	7	3	1	4	10	7	6	7	1	6	6	6	7	7	7†	Ret	5	5	6	296
								Ret	Ret	DNS							9	9	DNS	8	8	7
5	MAD Bears YTF1							5	1	1										5	7	1	1	5	2				1	6	2	204.5
6	Team Iris	1	8	9	14†	4	DNS	3	4	2							8	3	3				9	Ret	3	DNS	2	1				202
7	KRT/Goiaba Racing							4	6	DNS							3	6	2										10†	9	DNS	89
																	9	Ret	DNS
8	SL Racing																									Ret	5	7	7	8	7	46
9	TR Bluvos Motorsports				12	6	1																									39
10	Tevez Rookie Sim Team																												9	10	8	21
Pos.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points

Notes:

• – Only the two best results of each race counted towards the teams' championship.
• * – Only half points were awarded for race 3, as it was stopped after 50% race distance.

Constructors' championship

Pos.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points
1	CUPRA	1	2	1	1	5	2	2	5	3	1	2	1	1	3	1	5	1	1	1	3	3	3	2	6	2	1	4	3	2	1	584
2	Audi	2	1	5	3	1	3	1	2	4	3	1	2	2	2	3	1	4	5	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	3	2	2	1	3	582.5
3	Volkswagen	11†	DNP	7	12	6	1	5	1	1							3	6	2	5	7	1	1	5	2	Ret	5	7	1	6	2	323.5
4	Alfa Romeo				11	Ret	13	8	8	Ret	4	7	7	3	1	4	9	7	6	7	1	6	6	6	7	7	7†	Ret	5	5	6	258
5	Honda				14†	4	DNP	3	4	2							8	3	3				9	Ret	3							117
Pos.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points

Notes:

• * – Only half points were awarded for race 3, as it was stopped after 50% race distance.

Rookies' cup

Pos.	No.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points
1	21	Aurimas Auga	2	1	2	3	3	1	5†	Ret	Ret	2	1	1				4†	4†	DNS	2†	Ret	DNS										249
2	87	Dionysis Faraos	1	2	3	4†	1	DNS	1	1	1							2	1	2													226.5
3	80	Bartosz Nowak	Ret	3	1	1	2	3	4	3	2	1	2	1																			206
4	48	Otávio de Barros							2	Ret	DNS							1	2	1										3	2	DNS	126
5	21	Saulius Laurinavicius																									Ret	2	2	1	1	1	115
6	12	Dimitris Giannopoulos																						1	Ret	1	DNS	1	1				100
7	22	Germán Soto																			1	1	1										75
8	80	Martynas Jurgelevičius	Ret	4	4	2	Ret	2																									66
9	33	László Téglás																												2	3	2	56
10	69	Bruno Spano							Ret	Ret	DNS							3	3	DNS													32
11	51	Victor Bier							3	Ret	DNS																						16
Pos.	No.	Driver	SPA			SIL			NÜR*			NOR			KNU			HUN			RBR			SUZ			SIN			BAT			Points

Notes:

• * – Only half points were awarded for race 3, as it was stopped after 50% race distance.