From Ecuador to China: Race car driver Diego Moran's Chinese comeback

Growing up in Ecuador, Diego Moran always dreamt about racing touring cars and fighting for podiums.

But what the Imbabura native never imagined was racing – and winning – in TCR championships at some of the most iconic circuits in Asia.

Moran is currently the sole driver from outside China competing in the 2026 TCR China Touring Car Championship, the premier touring car category in the country.

"It's always good to be back in China," Diego tells CGTN.

"We are really spoiled because we're racing at really top level circuits.

"Shanghai is amazing, of course, this is a Formula One circuit, so it's top class – I never imagined in my life driving in a Formula One circuit."

The series visits tracks across China, with stops at Shanghai, Ningbo, Zhengzhou and even Inner Mongolia among the destinations on this year’s calendar.

TCR grids are made up of turbocharged hatchbacks and sedans that are strictly front wheel drive, which creates a unique bumper-to-bumper style of racing with its own loyal fanbase.

"I mean, I am biased when I say this… I love it," Moran says of the TCR category.

"The cars don't have control, it doesn't have ABS, so it's really pure racing, let's say, kind of old school motorsport."

Racing with no assists and very minimal aerodynamics means go-for-broke racing that new technology and regulation changes have somewhat eliminated from the bigger, flashier racing categories.

Diego is the first driver from Ecuador to compete in the FIA World Touring Car championship and has clocked up a whopping 12 career wins in TCR.

"First of all, my country is on the other side of the world and we have like 15 million people, so it's very small in terms of size," he explains.

"It's very difficult to come from such a country and such conditions, so to race at the world level is something that I'm really proud of and a dream for me."

But to fully explain how the lightning fast South American ended up racing in China, he has to wind back the clock a decade or so.

As Moran tells it, his TCR racing career thus far can be split cleanly into two eras.

The first began in 2017 when he signed with German team Engstler Motorsport to race in the TCR Asia series.

"We were fighting for championships very hard. I won six races with Engstler, and then COVID came and destroyed all the plans." 

The pandemic forced Engstler to move back to Europe, and Moran's career stalled. 

He tried to reboot in 2023 and 2024 but couldn't make it work. 

By this time, Diego had permanently relocated to Malaysia, where he eventually linked up with some new sponsors and a new car: the Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR.

The Ecuadorian successfully rebooted his racing career under the team name DM23 Ecuador Racing in 2025, competing once again in the TCR Asia tour.

"I was finally back," he recalls.

"I also started the season after the first two rounds. So I start from the third round onwards, anyhow, last year I got second place, which was good, and we won five races out of the seven."

Fortuitously, one of Diego’s biggest race victories came at the end of the season in Zhuzhou, a city in central China's Hunan Province.

It was a sponsor from his TCR World Tour campaign who pitched the idea of moving to the TCR China series for 2026.

"We did this year in China because we had a sponsor from 2025, and they were very interested in China market," he explains.

"They were asking me: 'Hey, we want to continue supporting you, but we want more races in China. Can we do more races in China?'"

Today, China is seen as perhaps the most important market for TCR racing, and attracts a healthy grid of manufacturer-based entries manned by pro-drivers as well as "gentlemen drivers" who pay to compete.

By chance, Diego had already stored his Honda in China after the last race of his 2025 campaign, which meant the team avoided costly shipping fees.

A "very quick" shake-down in Guangzhou followed, then he started the season a fortnight later in Shanghai, scoring a podium in the second round. 

A decade after first racing on Chinese soil, Moran says he has seen the growth of TCR in China firsthand.

"I myself have seen in the last 10 years how the series has evolved and the drivers have evolved also, in terms of their skills and their professionalism – I've seen an evolution," Diego says.

"The drivers are super good and professional, and now many of the teams are 100% Chinese."

Remarkably, the first permanent race track on the Chinese mainland was only completed in 1996.

Thirty years later, China is home to more than a dozen world-class circuits and plays host to a marquee line up of races across Formula One, Formula E, GT Racing and beyond.

TCR's growth in China has also been undoubtedly helped along by local manufacturer support by the likes of Geely as well as star drivers like Ma Qing Hua.

"(China) has one of the best TCR series, probably worldwide, with an average of 30 cars for each race and that's not easy," Diego says.

"The fans are very enthusiastic – they always fill the grandstands and the sponsors are very interested."

Paradoxically, while Formula One has exploded in global popularity in recent years, many other motorsport categories are struggling to attract new manufacturers and investment.

Moran hopes that the success of TCR in China, including greater Chinese manufacturer support, will ensure the category's continued survival.

"I hope it stays the same and keeps growing, and more brands get involved," he says.

"I think it will be very sad if it changes completely and then we'll miss this."