Our customers end a tough campaign
The 2020 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup season has drawn to a close with Race of Aragón, where our i30 N TCR customers endured another difficult weekend.
With WTCR returning to MotorLand Aragón for the season finale, both teams had hoped to improve on their performance from the previous round, Race of Spain.
Both BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse drivers qualified in the top-ten, but did not fare as well in the races.
2019 WTCR champion Norbert stalled his car on the grid at the start of Race 1, which dropped him down to last place. He managed to regain some ground, but was unable to break into the points. The Hungarian’s front row start in Race 2 yielded a fifth place finish, followed by seventh place in Race 3.
“I tried to do my best and I was in some exciting battles, and while I’m happy to have taken some points this weekend I really wanted to get a podium,” said Norbert.
His teammate Gabriele crossed the line in 15th in Race 1, but immediately ran into issues on the warm-up lap for the second race. The team choose to pit to change the turbo for Race 3, where the Italian was able to come home in 13th.
“This weekend was just as tough as the others we have had this season,” he admitted. “I was running almost last in Race 3 and we considered retiring the car, but then the car started to feel better and I managed to come through to finish in the points.”
Consistent points-scoring finishes
Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team struggled in qualifying, which resulted in both of its cars starting the races from the back of the grid.
Despite this, Luca was able to bring home three points-scoring finishes with his efforts at Race of Aragón.
“The positives news is that I was able to score points in the races and I just wanted to bring the car home in one piece, but for sure we wanted to be fighting further up the grid,” said Luca.
His teammate Mitchell Cheah did not enjoy the advantage of previous track experience, having not competed at MotorLand Aragón previously. He got stuck into the action and went wheel-to-wheel with experienced competitors, bringing home a few points with 13th in Race 2.
“It’s been really overwhelming to be here in WTCR. I’ve had ups and downs this weekend but I really enjoyed it. I’m grateful to the team and Hyundai Motorsport to have had the opportunity to race against these world class drivers,” said Mitchell.
