2017 TCR Middle East Series explained

The 2017 TCR Middle East Series season was the first season of the TCR Middle East Series. The championship started at Dubai Autodrome in Dubai on 12 January and ended at Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain on 10 March.^[1]

Teams and drivers

Team	Car		Drivers	Rounds
Liqui Moly Team Engstler^[2]	Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR	7	Stefan Goede^[3]	1–2
		8	Luca Engstler^[4]	All
		9	Maťo Homola^[5]	1
		10	Giacomo Altoè^[6]	3
		11	Filip Sládecka	1
		46	Brandon Gdovic	All
Top Run Motorsport^[7]	Subaru WRX STi TCR	10	Giacomo Altoè^[8]	2
		12	Luigi Ferrara	1
Mulsanne Racing^[9]	Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR	16	Davit Kajaia^[10]	2–3
		88	Michela Cerruti	1
Lap57 Motorsports^[11]	Honda Civic TCR	57	Mohammed Al Owais	2
		75	Josh Files	2–3
CadSpeed Racing^[12]	Audi RS 3 LMS TCR	108	James Kaye	1
Red Camel-Jordans.nl^[13]	Seat León TCR	303	Kane Astin^[14]	1

Calendar and results

The 2017 schedule was announced on 15 November 2016, with three events held across the Middle East.^[1]

		Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Supporting
1	1	Dubai Autodrome, Dubai (GP Circuit)	13 January	Luca Engstler	Maťo Homola	Luca Engstler	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Dubai 24 Hour
	2				Maťo Homola	Brandon Gdovic	Liqui Moly Team Engstler
2	3	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi (GP Circuit)	10 February	Josh Files	Josh Files	Josh Files	Lap57 Motorsports	Yas Racing Series TRD 86 Cup Porsche GT3 Cup Middle East
	4		11 February		Josh Files	Josh Files	Lap57 Motorsports
3	5	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir (Oasis Circuit)	11 March	Josh Files	Josh Files	Josh Files	Lap57 Motorsports
	6				Davit Kajaia	Josh Files	Lap57 Motorsports

Championship standings

Drivers' championship

valign=middle		valign=middle	Driver	DUB		YMC		BHR		valign=middle	Points
1	Josh Files			1^1	1	1^1	1	110
2	Brandon Gdovic	3^3	1	4	4	2^4	2	105
3	Luca Engstler	1^1	6	6†	3	3^3	Ret	79
4	Davit Kajaia			2^2	2	DNS^2	4†	56
5	Giacomo Altoè			3^3	DNS	4^5	3	46
6	Stefan Goede	5	4	7†	5			38
7	Maťo Homola	6^2	2					30
8	James Kaye	4	5					22
9	Michela Cerruti	2^5	Ret					19
10	Filip Sládecka	8	3					19
11	Mohammed Al Owais			5^5	Ret			11
12	Kane Astin	7	Ret					6
13	Luigi Ferrara	Ret^4	DNS					2

Teams' Championship

valign=middle		valign=middle	Driver	DUB		YMC		BHR		valign=middle	Points
1	Liqui Moly Team Engstler	1^1	2	4^4	3	2^3	2	210
		3^2	1	6†	4	3^4	3
2	Lap57 Motorsports			1^1	1	1^1	1	121
				5^5	Ret
3	Mulsanne Racing	2^5	Ret	2^2	2	DNS^2	4†	60
4	CadSpeed Racing	4^6	5					28
5	Top Run Motorsport	Ret^4	DNS	3^3	DNS			21
6	Red Camel-Jordans.nl	5	Ret					10

Notes and References

1. News: Three-race TCR Middle East Series to be launched in 2017. 15 November 2016. TouringCarTimes.com. 16 November 2016.
2. News: First entry for TCR Middle East announced. 4 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 5 January 2017.
3. News: Engstler add third car for Stefan Goede at Dubai. 7 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 7 January 2017.
4. News: Luca Engstler confirmed as second entry for TCR Middle East. 6 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 6 January 2017.
5. News: Mat’o Homola and Filip Sládecka joins Engstler for Dubai. 10 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 10 January 2017.
6. News: TCR Middle East Series Bahrain Entry List. 10 March 2017. middleeast.tcr-series.com. 10 March 2017. 5 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181005150711/http://middleeast.tcr-series.com/images/events/Events/Bahrain/Documents/2017_TCRME_03_entrylist_Bahrain_V2.pdf. dead.
7. News: Luigi Ferrara will drive a Subaru in Dubai. 9 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 9 January 2017.
8. News: TCR Middle East Series Abu Dhabi Entry List. 6 February 2017. middleeast.tcr-series.com. 6 February 2017. 5 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181005150725/http://middleeast.tcr-series.com/images/events/Events/Abu%20Dhabi/Documents/2017_TCRME_02_entrylist_AbuDhabi_V3.pdf. dead.
9. News: Michela Cerruti to drive updated Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR in Dubai. 5 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 5 January 2017. Pietro. Casillo.
10. News: Davit Kajaia in Alfa Romeo at Abu Dhabi. 2 February 2017. middleeast.tcr-series.com. 2 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20191011201054/http://middleeast.tcr-series.com/index.php/news/item/davit-kajaia-in-alfa-romeo-at-abu-dhabi. 11 October 2019. dead.
11. News: Josh Files to race in Abu Dhabi TCR Middle East round. 1 February 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 1 February 2017.
12. News: CadSpeed Racing is the first to run the Audi RS 3 LMS. 11 January 2017. tcr-series.com. 11 January 2017.
13. News: Rik Breukers entered for TCR Middle East season start. 11 January 2017. TouringCarTimes.com. 11 January 2017.
14. News: Astin replaces Breukers in the Red Camel SEAT. 12 January 2017. middleeast.tcr-series.com. 12 January 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20191011201058/http://middleeast.tcr-series.com/index.php/news/item/astin-replaces-breukers-in-the-red-camel-seat. 11 October 2019. dead.