Eurocup León replaced by European Production Series

[NaBUru38]

As the title says, V-Line, responsible for the Spanish Endurance Cup; Spanish Clio Cup and the new Spanish Formula Renault 1.6, will run a new European Production Series alongside the World Touring Car Championship at all European races except Porto. Each date will have to 50min races, with one compulsory pitstop including an optional driver change. TCT article here, official website here.

[redshoes]

Looks promising. Not sure though how a Solution F counts as a 'Production' car.

[Speed-King]

The distribution of cars across the various classes seems a little murky, I'd rather have seen them go with the BTCS's non-silhouette classes and a little less run-what-you-brung-attitude. Like Redshoes I am not sure what the Solution F has to do with a production car and I'm not quite sure about the Ginetta G50 either.

Other than that I kinda like it, especially if they have some longer races at some events like the TCT-article mentions.

[Rushy]

Any idea what the ibiza is? cause i have yet to see a ibiza race car like a clio cup etc?

[chunterer]

A ginetta, Leon, Mini challenge cars???

I was reading the headline getting all excited thinking we would be seeing major variety and some 'big n noisy' saloon or touring cars gracing our circuits again.

[NaBUru38]

There are enough European noisy championships, chunterer. This one is for small cars. Think of it as a multi-class European Touring Car Championship with two-driver entries and a few non-touring cars.

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

There are enough European noisy championships, chunterer. This one is for small cars. Think of it as a multi-class European Touring Car Championship with two-driver entries and a few non-touring cars.

The current WTCC caters for 'small cars' as do the majority of one make saloon series.

The DTM is silhouette (as is Superstars or whatever it is called) and not really production based and GT racing is hugely expensive so there is a clear gap in the market for a production based/endurance format that favours bigger saloon and tourers as well.

[Speed-King]

Superstars is production based...

...but I agree with your assessment that there is a bit of a gap. The closest we get to a "big-tourer-endurance"-format are probably BTCS, Britcar-production and - a few years ago the Italian CITE, though that one has really withered away recently and has been completely overshadowed by the Superstars Series.

[NaBUru38]

50 minutes as in the EPS is hardly endurance (see Argentine championships), so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

[Speed-King]

Originally Posted by NaBUru38

50 minutes as in the EPS is hardly endurance (see Argentine championships), so I'm not sure what you are talking about.

But at least it's a two driver format, and I think they also have plants to deviate from thr 2x50 minute format on some weekends and replace it with one longer race, two hours I'd guess.

[helterskelter]

CITE is healthier than you would think, the fact that the Superstars Series is more successful doesn't mean CITE is going down!
Speaking of the Ibiza, Seat Sport Italia have announced a Seat Ibiza Cup for 2011. Here you can see the very first version of the car, announced to the public @ Mugello last year and officially presented in Monza.
Sorry, it's all in Italian, but you can read the car's specs, you should be able to comfortably understand them!!

[Speed-King]

CITE is healthier than you would think, the fact that the Superstars Series is more successful doesn't mean CITE is going down!

That's good to hear, last time I looked fields were a bit sparse with only 20-ish cars across 5 or 6 classes.

Is the Ibiza Cup a replacement for the Super-Copa or will they run both?

[helterskelter]

CITE's top class has a very high quality field, both in terms of cars and drivers, among which is Roberto Colciago, Seat Sport Italia's works driver. It's not the healtiest championship in the world, but it's not in a crisis like many other series.
The Ibiza is not replacing the Leòn, infact it will run as a class in the CITE with its own standings and trophies (at least that's the plan, depends on the number of entrants really: If they get many cars, then it'll have to be a separate class just like the Leòn is).
The Leòn Supercopa Italia started the very same way and is now a separate class. Here in Italy you can have up to two drivers for the same car and we have 50 mins races. We have very good drivers, some of which have then stepped up to the (now dead) Eurocup.

[NaBUru38]

Like Argentine TC2000, there will be several weekend formats: two 48min races, one or two 60min races, and one race above 3h and 200km.

[helgi]

There're at least three drivers who last year raced Touring-Light RTCC class (S1600): Kozlovsky (champion), Ladygin (works Lada driver) and Maleev. Funny enough to see all them at Monza.

[FIRE]

This series is alive?

[helgi]

The first race was held yesterday. Ten or fifteen cars with one or two drivers.

[helgi]

And I should appologise for wrong information. Victor Shapovalov and his Bears are at WTCC week-ends again. Those RTCC drivers (Ladygin and Maleev) drive for his team sitting in Seat Leons instead of Lada Kalinas S1600.