The European Truck Racing Association (ETRA) has announced it will step down as the promoter of the European Truck Racing Championship (ETRC) from the 2026 season.
Confirmed:
- ETRA will shift its focus towards the ADAC Truck-Grand-Prix
- The organisation will remain involved with ETRC as one of several event organisers
Context:
After a decade as the championship’s first-ever promoter, the ETRA has decided not to submit a proposal for the promotion of the ETRC from 2026 onwards. Over its tenure, the organisation has overseen major evolutions and navigated various challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic.
Among its most significant achievements, the ETRA pioneered sustainable innovation in the ETRC. This included becoming the first motorsport series to run entirely on 100 per cent renewable HVO fuel in 2021 and securing three-star environmental accreditation from the International Automobile Federation (FIA). The ETRA also played a pivotal role in retaining industry and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) interest at a time when factory-backed motorsport has struggled.
Comment:
“We are incredibly proud of what we have achieved in the last ten years,” said ETRA managing director Georg Fuchs. “We have led the series through one of its most transformative decades. From the beginning, our goal was to create a platform that delivers not just exciting racing, but also long-term value for partners, teams, manufacturers and fans.
“We have focused on professionalising the series, integrating sustainability into the core of our activities, and building strong partnerships across the industry. The result is a championship that is more relevant and more resilient than ever before. A big thanks to our ETRA staff, including former co-managing director Rolf Werner, who was also a fundamental part of the journey and success.”
Coming next:
Next steps for the ETRC will be closely watched. The last time the FIA had to secure a new promoter for one of its championships, it failed to do so. Instead, the FIA decided to step in to self-promote the World Rallycross Championship (World RX) after WRC Promoter decided to depart.
Technically, the FIA should be limited to the role of a sports regulator without commercial conflicts of interest – a situation that being the promoter of a series presents. This goes against advice from the European Commission in 2001 regarding the FIA’s involvement in Formula One, so it is unclear whether this extends to comparatively smaller championships.
Legally, as the FIA agreed to changes in its approach to commercial agreements before the European Commission could make an official ruling, the organisation is not actually bound to this framework elsewhere – but this is a grey area.
Go deeper:
- FIA posts €4.7m operating profit in 2024
- FIA deputy president Robert Reid resigns as body’s former CEO laments ‘serious structural challenges’
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