A planned evolution of the WestCoast Racing-Sportpromotion partnership will see the two entities split their efforts from 2017 onwards.
The announcement was made by WestCoast Racing Team Principal, Dick Jönsson-Wigroth, in a team press conference at the Grand Lapa Hotel, Macau during the build-up to the final round of the 2016 TCR International Series at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix on Thursday (17 November).
WestCoast Racing and Sportpromotion have worked in harmony for several years and this strategic divergence will begin as both companies start to implement new and exciting plans for the 2017 season.
Sportpromotion is set to focus its efforts on the promotion of the newly-formed TCR Scandinavia Series at a time when new regulations are being adopted by the Swedish Touring Car Championship (STCC), in which WestCoast Racing has achieved five Drivers’ and two Teams’ titles to date.
The Honda Civics, successfully campaigned to 12 race wins and ten podiums by the WestCoast Racing-Sportpromotion team in the first two years of the flourishing TCR International Series, will go with Sportpromotion into national and regional TCR championships.
WestCoast Racing, meanwhile, will run its existing Swedish GT and Formula Renault Young Driver programmes alongside a refreshed assault on the TCR International Series that will be made up of new cars, drivers and sponsors, all of which will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sportpromotion Owner, Greger Petersson, said: “I would like to thank JAS Motorsport for its efforts. The last two years in the TCR International Series have been incredible for Sportpromotion and I’m very proud to have achieved so many memorable victories and to have been part of the infrastructure that has built TCR from a fledgling concept a premier touring car format. I wish both JAS and WestCoast Racing well for the future, but now it’s time for us to turn our attention to making a success of the new TCR Scandinavia Series, building on the legacy of the Swedish Touring Car Championship.”
WestCoast Racing Team Manager, James Nixon, added: “WestCoast Racing has a deep racing heritage and it is driven to win more than ever before. Winning is everything and these are exciting times, as the team will be back in the 2017 TCR International Series with a brand-new project, which we we cannot wait to reveal to the world.”