On 14 October 2022, Eurosport and Dorna Sports announced that the World Touring Car Cup would not continue in its existing format after the 2022 season. The WTCR's structure had been increasingly strained by logistical difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic model of running a fully-independent global touring car calendar proved unsustainable. On the same day, WSC Group — the company founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti, the architect of the TCR regulations — announced the formation of the TCR World Tour as the WTCR's replacement.
The new series' concept solved the cost and logistics problem by embedding itself within existing regional TCR championships rather than creating new standalone events, reducing the burden on teams and organising bodies while maintaining a global competitive footprint.
The 2023 TCR World Tour season comprised nine events drawn from five regional championships. Calendar confirmations arrived in stages through late 2022 and early 2023. Mount Panorama Circuit (Bathurst) was confirmed on 12 November 2022 as part of the TCR Australia Touring Car Series round. Algarve International Circuit (Portimao), Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, and Hungaroring were announced on 30 November 2022 as TCR Europe Touring Car Series venues. Vallelunga Circuit was added on 13 January 2023 as the Italian Superturismo Championship round. Autodromo Victor Borrat Fabini and Autodromo Jose Carlos Bassi were confirmed on 8 February 2023 as part of the TCR South America Touring Car Championship calendar, while Guia Circuit in Macau was included as the TCR China Touring Car Championship round.
Full-season TCR World Tour competitors travel to each selected regional round and contest those events as part of the host championship, facing local entries on their home circuits. Points scored by both full-season and local drivers contribute to the TCR World Tour standings, giving regional series competitors a path to World Tour recognition without requiring them to commit to a full international programme. This model allows the series to maintain a genuinely global footprint while keeping travel and operating costs at levels that professional touring car teams can sustain.
The TCR World Tour draws its calendar from five established TCR regional championships:
TCR Europe Touring Car Series
TCR Italy Touring Car Championship (Italian Superturismo Championship)
TCR South America Touring Car Championship
TCR Australia Touring Car Series
TCR China Touring Car Championship
The TCR World Tour represents a structural evolution in global touring car racing, replacing the fixed-calendar WTCR model with a federated hub-and-spoke approach that leverages existing regional infrastructure. By doing so, it has kept international-level TCR competition viable in an era when standalone world championships for touring cars have repeatedly struggled with the economics of sustaining multi-continent calendars. The FIA's decision to grant the series official status from its second season in 2024 confirmed institutional support for the format and its future development.