The Kumho FIA TCR World Tour gets underway at Misano this weekend, with many front-runners past and present from the TCR Europe series taking part in the season opener, with programmes expected to last through much of the European leg of the season.

Of the drivers competing in this year's series, Gabriele Covini, Viktor Andersson, Ruben Volt, Julien Briché and Raphäel Fournier will all be on the grid for this weekend, with the strong quintet bolstering a field made up of some impressive names, many of which are also TCR Europe alumni.

Alongside the already confirmed Jenson Brickley, the 2025 champion whose progression to the TCR World Tour was aided by a prize initiative last year, the British driver will be joined at ALM Motorsport by the drivers that finished second and third in last year's series after a strong campaign, Teddy and Jimmy Clairet. The two brothers will alternative the seat at the team over the first four events, with Teddy first to race alongside Jenson, the driver he finished equal on points with after the most competitive season's in the series' history last year.

Other previous stars from TCR Europe's past will also be on the grid. Returning for their fourth year in the series is Santiago Urrutia with the new Geely Preface TCR, the Uruguayan driver made his TCR debut in 2019 in TCR Europe then with Audi, and the 2017 TCR Europe Trophy champion Aurélien Comte, who is back with SP Compétition which are racing in both TCR Europe and the TCR World Tour this year.

2018 and 2021 TCR Europe champion Mikel Azcona is part of the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse's team driver line-up for a fifth consecutive season, while returning to the grid is Jean-Karl Vernay, who raced with WRT back in 2018 in the first TCR Europe series and was a contender for the title against Azcona, losing ground mainly due to a clashing event at Zandvoort which precluded him from taking part in one of the year's race weekends.