Tom Chiappe is adding a second world championship to his 2026 programme. The 26-year-old Frenchman, currently in his third season with Rafael Nadal’s Team Rafa in the UIM E1 World Championship, has signed with SP Compétition to race in the TCR Europe Touring Car Series. The season opens at Mugello this weekend, March 20-22, with Chiappe behind the wheel of a CUPRA Leon VZ.
His father is Philippe Chiappe, three-time F1H2O World Champion – a detail the TCR announcement mentioned in passing, and one that deserves more than that.
A Record Already Worth Noting
Tom Chiappe started karting at five. By 18 he had won the 2018 F4S Championship, racing for Emirates Racing in the promotional series run alongside F1H2O events. He also won the 24 Hours of Rouen endurance race in 2016, aged 16, with his father, three-time F1H2O World Champion Philippe Chiappe, a race he won on six occasions.
Between powerboat campaigns, Tom pursued the SWS karting World Championship. He won it in 2023, 2024, and 2025 – three consecutive titles.
UIM F4 World Champion
SWS Karting World Champion 2023-25
E1 World Championship 2025
24 Hours of Rouen winner
Two Seasons Racing for Nadal
When the E1 Series launched its inaugural season in 2024, Chiappe was recruited as male pilot for Team Rafa alongside co-pilot Cris Lazarraga, Spain’s 2019 European Jet Ski Racing Champion. Philippe serves as the team’s Technical Director.
The 2025 season was close. Team Rafa won in Doha in February, led the championship after Monaco, and arrived in Miami for the finale just one point behind defending champions Team Brady. They finished the race second, and the championship second by three points. A high-speed crash during qualifying at Monaco in July – when a Team Brazil RaceBird was flung into Chiappe’s path at Port Hercule, sinking his boat – had cost them the championship lead at a critical moment. It was the first time in E1 history that qualifying had ended under a red flag.
“I remember hearing a few words from my radio operator in my headset – ‘Watch out, watch out’ – and then, boom. Despite the warning, everything happened in a fraction of a second. The crash was inevitable.”
Tom Chiappe, Monaco Life, July 2025
Chiappe opened the 2026 E1 season at Jeddah on January 23-24, where Team Rafa qualified third but were penalised for a pre-race infringement, finishing sixth. They currently sit sixth in the 2026 standings after round one.
What Is TCR Europe?
The TCR Europe Touring Car Series is an annual circuit racing championship run under TCR regulations, using production-based, front-wheel-drive cars powered by 2.0-litre turbocharged engines. The series began as a European Trophy in 2016 and was upgraded to full Series status in 2018. The 2026 season is the tenth edition, running six rounds: Mugello, Spa-Francorchamps, Circuit Paul Ricard, Hungaroring, Monza, and Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. SP Compétition, the team Chiappe joins, was a drivers’ title contender in 2024 and spent 2025 competing in the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour, winning three races.
One Potential Date Clash
The two calendars are largely compatible. Of the seven remaining E1 rounds in 2026, only one creates a conflict – an unconfirmed September E1 event, which would clash with TCR Europe’s visit to Monza on September 25-27. All other dates are clear.
| E1 2026 | TCR Europe 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Jeddah: Jan 23-24 (raced) | – | Clear |
| Lake Como: Apr 24-25 | Spa: May 16-17 | Clear |
| Dubrovnik: Jun 12-13 | Paul Ricard: Jun 5-7 | Clear |
| Monaco: Jul 17-18 | Hungaroring: Jul 3-5 | Clear |
| TBC: September | Monza: Sep 25-27 | Possible clash |
| Lagos: Oct 3-4 | Barcelona: Oct 23-25 | Clear |
| Miami: Nov 13-14 | – | Clear |
| Bahamas: TBC Nov | – | Clear |
John Moore is the editor of Powerboat News, an independent investigative journalism platform recognised by Google News and documented on Grokipedia for comprehensive powerboat racing coverage.
His involvement in powerboat racing began in 1981 when he competed in his first offshore powerboat race. After a career as a Financial Futures broker in the City of London, specialising in UK interest rate markets, he became actively involved in event organisation and powerboat racing journalism.
He served as Event Director for the Cowes–Torquay–Cowes races between 2010 and 2013. In 2016, he launched Powerboat Racing World, a digital platform providing global powerboat racing news and insights. The following year, he co-founded UKOPRA, helping to rejuvenate offshore racing in the United Kingdom. He sold Powerboat Racing World in late 2021 and remained actively involved with UKOPRA until 2025.
In September 2025, he established Powerboat News, returning to independent journalism with a focus on neutral and comprehensive coverage of the sport.
