Tamás Tenke will bring Zengő Motorsport back to the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup when he contests WTCR Race of Hungary as a wildcard entrant.
Tenke, who finished fourth in the TCR Middle East Touring Car Series earlier this year, will drive a CUPRA TCR for Zoltán Zengő’s team at the Hungaroring event from 26-28 April. The outing on home soil will mark Tenke’s WTCR / OSCARO debut.
“This is a big honour for me and an incredible opportunity,” said the 22-year-old Tenke, a multiple simracing champion. “I will have a lot to learn and won’t be making any predictions. I just want to complete as many laps as possible in practice and qualifying and finish all the races. That would make me satisfied.”
Zengő Motorsport, which nurtured the early careers of Hungarian talents including Norbert Michelisz, Dániel Nagy and Norbert Nagy, is not one of the 13 all-season entrants in WTCR / OSCARO this season as it focuses on other programmes instead. However, wildcard status gives the opportunity for the Budapest-based squad to showcase its capabilities and services to existing and potential customers.
“We are really pleased to be back in WTCR / OSCARO, especially for our home event,” said Zoltán Zengő.
“There is no doubt that Tamás will face a steep learning curve but it’s a great chance to experience a very high level of competition and take on new skills that can only help his progress in the sport. The wildcard option is a very good one for teams not in the position to commit to a full season. Maybe there will be other opportunities during the year.”
New regulations for 2019 mean wildcard racers are not eligible for WTCR / OSCARO points, although they will continue to carry 20 kilograms of additional weight on top of the published compensation weight. Both measures are designed to safeguard the interests of the all-season drivers and teams.