FIA ETCR season entry list published

Thirteen top-class drivers will battle for the inaugural FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup following last week’s confirmation of the final entries before the season entry deadline

The three manufacturers from the world’s first all-electric touring car series in its initial iteration as PURE ETCR will all return, with CUPRA EKS, Hyundai Motorsport and Romeo Ferraris all featuring driver line-ups of both familiar faces and new stars.

2021 title winners CUPRA Racing has formed a partnership with the ultra-successful EKS team, owned by Mattias Ekström with the Swede eager to win again in 2022 with the team now racing as CUPRA EKS with the CUPRA e-Racer.

Alongside two-time DTM champion and rallycross champion, multi-discipline star Ekström, touring car stalwart and 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winner Jordi Gené makes a return and is joined by series debutants, 2022 Daytona 24 Hour-winning, New Zealand residing, British-born Swede Tom Blomqvist and French DTM podium-finisher, Adrien Tambay.

For Hyundai Motorsport. five drivers, including touring car heavyweight Jean-Karl Vernay, will race the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR. Le Mans class winning Frenchman Vernay finished as runner-up in 2021 and will be joined by Spaniard Mikel Azcona, who finished just one point behind him and moves over from CUPRA.

Hungarian 2019 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup winner Norbert Michelisz joins Vernay and Azcona as the final full-time entries for the marque in the series, whilst Dutch WTCC and WTCR race winner Nicky Catsburg will share the final entry with Italian WTCR race winner Kevin Ceccon.

Romeo Ferraris also retains talent and further strengthens its line-up with Italian single-seater star and electric-trailblazer Luca Filippi joined by Maxime Martin, Bruno Spengler and Giovanni Venturini.

Belgian Maxime has Le Mans and DTM wins on his CV whilst Canadian Spengler is the 2012 DTM champion. Italian Venturini won the 2017 International GT Open.

FIA ETCR is the world’s first all-electric touring car series with a World title at stake. Manufacturers compete against each other using the most powerful touring cars ever built; the maximum 500kW (670bhp) beasts battling it out on a combination of iconic race tracks and street circuits through numerous short, sharp Battle races for the ultimate prize.

With sustainability at the heart of the series, the on-track excitement comes with a commitment to provide a global platform for the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers to showcase their latest electric cars in the high-intensity world of motorsport while also showing that electric mobility can be fun, fast and sexy.

Track action gets underway on the streets of Pau this weekend with practice on Friday; Qualifying and Quarter Finals on Saturday; then Semi Finals before the DHL Super Finals on Sunday.

Alan Gow, FIA Touring Car Commission President, said: “The announcement of the inaugural FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup entry list is something many have been looking forward to and we surely can’t be disappointed. Between the three manufacturers we have a line-up of proven professionals with an impressive track record in touring car and sportscar racing who will make the FIA ETCR one of the strongest touring car series out there. It will be interesting to see how all these talented drivers will cope with the unique demands of ETCR machinery. The entry promises fierce competition and gives us plenty to look forward to this season.”

Xavier Gavory, FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup Series Director: “One of our big stories for 2022 is the strength and depth of our driver line-up for our first season as the FIA ETCR eTouring Car World Cup. CUPRA EKS, Hyundai Motorsport and Romeo Ferraris will all field drivers of exceptional talent and there are sure to be fireworks on track. When you look at each squad you say wow! Each and every driver in the series has the potential to come out in front and we expect some monumental Battles. This weekend we start our season on the streets of Pau where the spectacle provided by these incredible teams and drivers is sure to delight and also enhance awareness of FIA ETCR and electric motorsport on a global scale.”