TCR / 15 March 2024
Esteban Guerrieri joins GOAT Racing for KUMHO FIA TCR World Tour
GOAT Racing has completed its line-up for the KUMHO FIA TCR World Tour with the signing of one of the world’s top touring car drivers, Esteban Guerrieri, to race one of its Honda Civic Type R TCRs.
The 39-year-old Argentinian holds the all-time wins record in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup; the now defunct global series that has since been reimagnied as the World Tour.
He will now team-up with Italian teenager Marco Butti for an assault on the series, which will race on five continents this year.
Guerrieri has been a constant title-challenger throughout his racing career; the 2003 Formula Renault Eurocup champion adding the runner-up spot in Indy Lights in 2011 and 2012 plus third in Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010. He has also been a race winner in the European F3 Championships, Superleague Formula and TC2000.
He was a podium-finisher in the FIA World Touring Car Championship on his first weekend in a JAS-run factory Honda and claimed a dominant victory third time out to add to two wins earlier in the season in privateer machinery.
Five years of WTCR competition in the Civic Type R TCR netted a series record 10 race wins, 26 podium finishes and the runner-up spot in the 2019 championship.
He was also a race winner in JAS-built Hondas in TCR South America and in the TCR division of the gruelling Nurburgring 24 Hours before spending last year racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in hypercar machinery.
Guerrieri drove the FL5-spec Civic Type R TCR for the first time in testing at Motorland Aragon last week for Barcelona-based GOAT Racing, which has been newly-created by TCR racer Ruben Fernandez Gil and his family.
Esteban Guerrieri said: “It feels amazing to be back with the Honda Racing family through GOAT Racing and JAS Motorsport. It was in Hondas that I achieved my biggest successes in touring cars, but there’s definitely unfinished business and the desire to add a global TCR title burns very strongly inside me. Even though GOAT Racing is a new team, there is a huge amount of ambition and the quality of the people involved with the project made that very clear during the test last week. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity I can’t wait to get the season started.
Pepe Oriola, GOAT Racing Team Manager, said: “To have Esteban in the team shows to the world that GOAT Racing is putting all the resources we have available to build something capable of taking on the best in the world. Esteban brings his extensive experience to the team, which will help us take the very important step of growing and moving forwards together. Esteban is the driver with the highest number of WTCR wins ever so we hope together that we can increase his tally of victories at global level.”
Mads Fischer, JAS Motorsport TCR Project Leader, said: “The Tiger returns to his touring car home! It’s fantastic news to have Esteban, one of the most successful TCR drivers of all time, back behind the wheel of a JAS-built car in the world’s top touring car series. The fact that a brand-new team has gone to such lengths to secure a driver like him for this programme shows not only their ambition, but also the level they expect to perform at, and this makes us very proud to support their efforts with the Honda Civic Type R TCR.”