i30 N TCR makes history in Morocco
A sensational opening weekend to the brand new FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in Morocco saw Hyundai i30 N TCR customer teams take two incredible wins and a pole position, to lead the overall standings.
BRC Racing Team and Gabriele Tarquini fought off strong competition in the opening race around the Marrakech Street Circuit, before leading a four i30 N TCR car lockout on the grid in the second qualifying session.
Tarquini’s team mate Norbert Michelisz and the pair of Yvan Muller Racing cars lined up behind him in the session. After a battling second race, where their stellar one-lap pace put them at the back of a reversed top-ten, the Hyundai-running teams returned to the front for the finale.
The performance was made even more impressive considering the Balance of Performance regulations that makes the i30 N TCR one of the heaviest cars in the field.
“For our customers to be leading the FIA WTCR standings after the first weekend is an enormous achievement,” commented our Customer Racing Deputy General Manager Andrea Adamo.
Double 1-2 in America
The sensational Race of Morocco debut completed an incredible few weeks, following stateside success in the Pirelli World Challenge season.
Bryan Herta Autosport dominated the first event for the TCR category in the championship at the Circuit of the Americas (March 24-25). Mark Wilkins and Michael Lewis swept the front row in qualifying for the Hyundai America backed team, their first season in touring cars, before taking 1-2 results in both races.
That same weekend, a pair of Hyundai N entered i30 N TCR cars took on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in the first round of the VLN championship. Gabriele Tarquini and Jae Kyun Kim fought hard around the demanding 25km circuit to finish third in a competitive TCR class.
Our i30 N TCR was also in action in the opening round of the TCR UK championship at Silverstone (March 31 April 1). Young driver Lewis Kent and his Essex & Kent Motorsport team qualified an impressive fourth to show his intent in his first TCR season.
“We have seen in Morocco, as well as in America, that the i30 N TCR is an incredibly competitive package in the category,” said Andrea. “Now we must first work to support our customers through the season ahead to enable them to maintain that performance. We must do this alongside our continued work with our i20 R5 customers with our dedicated engineers offering both race and rally teams all they need to compete for victories.”
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