THE inaugural running of the Bathurst International will finally take place in 2022 and will host the season finale of next year’s TCR Australia Series.
The Australian Racing Group revealed the 2022 TCR calendar with the Mount Panorama event scheduled as the seventh and final round on November 11-13.
First announced by ARG in 2019, the Bathurst International has been cancelled twice due to COVID, with elements of this year’s planned event rolled into the six-day Repco Bathurst 1000.
“It’s great to lock away the date for the Bathurst International,” ARG CEO Matt Braid said.
“We appreciate the cooperation of the Bathurst Regional Council, as well as the promotors of Challenge Bathurst to facilitate the movement of dates to achieve the November 11-13.”
Despite ARG being part of the RACE consortium that has purchased Supercars, TCR will not feature on the bill of any Supercars rounds in 2022.
The TCR season will open at Symmons Plains with the second running of Race Tasmania in February, with the second round at Phillip Island in March.
Mount Panorama will again feature twice on TCR’s 2022 schedule with the circuit hosting the third round at Easter as a support to the Bathurst 6 Hour.
The fourth round will also take place in New South Wales at a venue yet to be announced in May, while rounds five and six will be held at Queensland Raceway and Sandown, followed by the finale at the Bathurst International.
“There is just one element of the calendar that need to be formalised, but we are pleased to lay down what is the foundations of the 2022 season and we can’t wait to see the teams get back to what they love most,” Braid said.
“It is a pleasure to release the calendar for TCR in what we are anticipating to be a real break-out year for it.
“The stop/start nature of the past two seasons has been frustrating, but the support and enthusiasm from our great competitors has not waned.
“If anything, we are going to head into the year with more entrants than we would have expected in the current environment.
“The mix of circuits that we have confirmed is exciting, as it offers great variety for the drivers and teams, and also gives rare access for fans to see an international motorsport formula compete in the southern hemisphere.”
CALENDAR: 2022 TCR Australia Series
| Round | Date | Circuit |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb 11-13 | Symmons Plains, TAS |
| 2 | Mar 18-20 | Phillip Island, VIC |
| 3 | Apr 15-17 | Mount Panorama, NSW |
| 4 | May | TBA, NSW |
| 5 | Aug 5-7 | Queensland Raceway, QLD |
| 6 | Sep 16-18 | Sandown, VIC |
| 7 | Nov 11-13 | Mount Panorama, NSW |
