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The upcoming round of TCR Eastern Europe at the Slovakia Ring, taking place on 23–24 August, will feature an expanded grid as drivers from TCR Croatia join the field.

The cooperation between the two championships gives all competitors the chance to race in a larger field, adding another level of competition. Representing TCR Croatia will be Serbia’s Nemanja Milovanović in a Hyundai i30 N TCR, Croatia’s Bojan Miljković in a Honda Civic FK2 TCR and Luka Fabijančić in another Hyundai i30 N TCR. Also competing is Croatian Žarko Knego, who drives a Hyundai Elantra and has been a regular in the TCR Eastern Europe series for many seasons. All four drivers will therefore be fighting for points in both their domestic series and TCR Eastern Europe.

TCR Eastern Europe promoter Josef Křenek sees this as an important step forward: “I am very pleased with the closer cooperation between TCR Eastern Europe and TCR Croatia. This joint event at the Slovakia Ring will be followed by another in September at Balaton Park, where we will host the TCR Eastern Europe season finale. For next year, we are preparing four joint events, which will strengthen both championships and offer drivers more opportunities to compete.”

For Žarko Knego, the creation of TCR Croatia was a logical step after WSC Group announced that national championships should adopt the official TCR rules. “Before, we had cars racing in Croatia under open class rules, everyone on different tyres and fuel and no Balance of Performance,” he explained. “By formalising the TCR class and applying the rules, we believe it might encourage even more people to buy TCR cars and join our championship as an entry level to the TCR world.”

Knego is convinced that combining forces with TCR Eastern Europe is the way forward: “All drivers are delighted to be part of TCR Eastern Europe at the Slovakia Ring,” he said. “They have been given the opportunity to race for both TCR Croatia and TCR Eastern Europe in one weekend without high costs. For many of our drivers, international championships seem expensive and complicated, so this cooperation could lead to more drivers on the grid in both series.”

At the Slovakia Ring, four cars will compete in the TCR Croatia class, all integrated into the overall TCR Eastern Europe field. For Knego, this is a promising sign for the future: “TCR Croatia has a future only if there is cooperation with TCR Eastern Europe. We see this year as the beginning of a good partnership, where more new drivers will move to TCR cars and the championship once they realise they can race at a high level with acceptable costs.”

After Slovakia, the joint grid will return for another combined event at Balaton Park on 27–28 September, where the TCR Eastern Europe champion will be crowned.

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