· Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing will be represented by two Hyundai Elantra N TCR in the first season of the TCR World Tour
· The Elantra N TCR and i30 N TCR made Hyundai the most successful manufacturer during the five-year FIA WTCR era as customers claimed three drivers’ and two teams’ titles
· More details Hyundai Motorsport’s customer team for the series will be announced closer to the start of the season.
Alzenau, Germany, February 27, 2023 - Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing will be represented by a pair of Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars this year in the first season of the TCR World Tour.
The 2023 season marks the opening of a new chapter of international TCR competition, with the TCR World Tour taking the place of WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup as the highest level for the category. Through the five years of WTCR competition, Hyundai Motorsport cars and customer teams became the most successful in the series – winning a total of 30 races, three drivers’ and two teams’ titles.
The Hyundai i30 N TCR – the first circuit racing car built by Hyundai Motorsport – claimed both the teams’ and drivers’ titles from the inaugural WTCR season in 2018, with BRC Racing Team’s Gabriele Tarquini lifting the trophy at the Macau finale, while M Racing-YMR took teams’ honours. BRC man Norbert Michelisz continued the success a year later in 2019 by securing the title in his i30 N TCR under the lights at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.
After switching to the Elantra N TCR, Hyundai Motorsport customers ended the WTCR era on a high with another title double for Mikel Azcona and the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team in 2022 after a year of superb performances on track.
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing is ready to continue its excellent record in the new surroundings of the TCR World Tour. Success on track has highlighted the high-performance qualities of Hyundai N-Brand road vehicles and their track iterations, which has been central to the growth of fan communities and sales worldwide.
Further details of the Hyundai Motorsport customer team for the series will be revealed closer to start of the season, scheduled for April 28-30 in Portimão, Portugal.
Hyundai Motorsport Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul said: “The Customer Racing department and the TCR programme are very important elements of Hyundai Motorsport. Just like the start of our work on the Hyundai i30 N TCR in 2016, and then the development of the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, the dawn of the TCR World Tour brings another fresh challenge. We embrace this new era with the experience and expertise gained from years of success in the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup and the confidence that we can start the season with the same strength we have shown before.”
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Andrea Cisotti said:“As a manufacturer we enjoyed incredible success in WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup, and we look forward to continuing this record with our customers this season. The TCR World Tour promises to deliver the same exciting, close racing as its predecessor. The events that have already been confirmed will take the series to a truly global audience and some of the best race circuits in the world. This will be only one of several new challenges for our customers and their drivers, but one for which we will support them entirely.”
-End-
