TCR Australia reset hinges on The Bend

The opening three rounds of the 2025 TCR Australia Championship have been abandoned, with new boss David Sonenscher confirming a major reset to get the category back on track.

When questioned about the future of the struggling category “We had a much bigger hill to climb than anticipated,” Sonenscher told Auto Action.

“We were very late in. By the time I fully got involved, a lot of people had already made other plans or lost confidence.”

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Originally scheduled to kick off on the Supercars undercard in New Zealand before heading west to do the same in Perth, the calendar quickly fell apart.

“Getting on a boat to race in New Zealand sounds great, if you have a strong category,” he said. “We were just not in the condition to do that as a first round. It made something difficult into something almost impossible.”

To make matters worse, local Kiwi cars were already committed to a clashing race in Christchurch, removing any chance of additional entries. Perth was no more viable.

“Instead of a $30 grand trip, it was going to be $50k per car. And the original group of competitors that had pushed for TCR to be on Supercars events had mostly left the category,” he said.

A planned event at One Raceway also collapsed, with two other support categories withdrawing and leaving TCR to foot the bill.

“We would’ve been showcasing a glorified test session. That’s not what we want people to see from TCR.”

Now, the focus is on The Bend as the season’s true starting point. Despite its doubters, Sonenscher remains convinced the global TCR platform is still strong.

“It’s an international event, and it allows us to showcase the category properly,” Sonenscher said.

“Several manufacturers are looking at recommitting. The fundamentals are good, we have a solid core group of competitors, but we need to fix logistics and costs in Australia and Asia.”

His priorities include delivering a stable 2026 calendar early, reducing costs, improving media visibility and rebuilding trust with competitors.

“Some teams drifted to GT4, but they’re realising it’s not cheaper. A small hit in a Porsche costs $15,000,” he said.

Talks are underway with Supercars and SRO to join their events in 2026, and Sonenscher says more international entries are also likely.

“We’re working hard to deliver a solid, professional platform. After that, it’s up to people to get behind it.”

With The Bend and Macau still to come this year, 2025 is now all about survival. The real push begins in 2026.

“We’re committed. We just need to remind people that TCR is still here and worth saving.”

Image: RACE PROJECT

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