TCR Europe champion completes 2019 WTCR grid
The 2019 World Touring Car Cup field has been set after Swedish outfit PWR Racing announced its two-car Cupra line-up, which will include reigning TCR Europe champion Mikel Azcona.
TCR Scandinavia frontrunner PWR announced earlier this month that it would step up to WTCR alongside its domestic commitments, having secured the support of existing WTCR squad Comtoyou.
PWR did not announce its line-up at that time but two of its drivers, ex-Volvo World Touring Car Championship and Supercars driver Robert Dahlgren and Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky, were thought unlikely to make the step up as they had already signed up for the 2019 TCR Scandinavia campaign.
New arrival Azcona scored one victory and a further four podiums in his title-winning TCR Europe season.
That campaign with Cupra squad PCR Sport was built on consistency - he finished 13 of the 14 races in the points - which helped him comfortably beat a number of higher-profile names, including Audi WTCR driver Jean-Karl Vernay, to the crown.
“I feel super-happy and proud to join PWR and CUPRA Racing in the WTCR,” said Azcona.
"I look forward to the hard work in front of me, to be competitive in this tough field full of world champions.
"Lastly I want to thank PWR and Cupra Racing for believing in me as a driver.”
Azcona will race alongside the team's CEO Daniel Haglof, who has driven for PWR for the past six seasons since he founded it alongside Peter Wallenberg in 2012.
“I’m driving against the very best in this category of racing," said Haglof, who finished third in TCR Scandinavia last season.
"To be doing it with the team that me and Poker [Wallenberg] have built together is a huge achievement.
“My teammate Mikel is a really promising driver who aligns very well with PWR Racing’s ambition to aid young talent in their racing careers."
Azcona and Haglof complete a 26-car 2019 WTCR grid, which like the inaugural season will feature seven brands.
The Cyan Racing squad behind Volvo's WTCC success - which also operated Yvan Muller Racing's Hyundai WTCR programme last season - will bring Geely brand Lynk & Co to the series, but the Peugeot 308TCR campaigned in 2018 by DG Sport Competition will not be on the grid.
2019 WTCR grid
| Team | Car | Drivers |
| BRC Racing | Hyundai | Gabriele Tarquini Norbert Michelisz Augusto Farfus Nicky Catsburg |
| Munnich Motorsport | Honda | Esteban Guerrieri Nestor Girolami |
| Sebastien Loeb Racing | Volkswagen | Rob Huff Johan Kristofersson Mehdi Bennani Benjamin Leuchter |
| WRT | Audi |
Jean-Karl Vernay Gordon Shedden |
| Comtoyou Racing | Audi |
Frederic Vervisch Niels Langeveld |
| Cupra |
Aurelien Panis Tom Coronel |
|
| Team Mulsanne | Alfa Romeo | Kevin Ceccon Ma Qing Hua |
| Cyan Racing | Lynk & Co | Thed Bjork Yvan Muller Andy Priaulx Yann Ehrlacher |
| KCMG | Honda |
Tiago Monteiro Attila Tassi |
| PWR Racing | Cupra |
Mikel Azcona |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Top Comments
Hamilton secures BTCC return with Team Hard
Ekstrom joins Cupra for first Pure ETCR season
The driver who gained most from F1's famous farce
What we learned about Renault's F1 engine shutdown
Is the future of Lamborghini's flagship DTM team under threat?
Bagnaia: Familiar faces will dominate MotoGP until Valencia
Mercedes not tempted to write off 2025 for new-rules headstart
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
