Cold weather expected on the TCR World Tour’s return to Uruguay

BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse will continue its pursuit of success in the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour when the two-event South American leg concludes in El Pinar, Uruguay this weekend.

Taking place from August 2-4 at the Autódromo Victor Borrat Fabini, the event follows on from the visit to the Interlagos circuit in São Paulo, Brazil, earlier this month where Norbert Michelisz banked a second 2024 victory in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

Although Michelisz’s win in Brazil kept him at the top of the Drivers’ standings, albeit by a reduced margin of 15 points, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse heads to Uruguay in catch-up mode after it dropped out of the Teams’ championship lead by 19 points.

Hungarian driver Michelisz’s results in Brazil mean he must carry 30 kilograms of compensation weight in Uruguay as the third best-scoring driver during the previous event in line with the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour regulations. But after being saddled by 40 kilograms of compensation weight at Interlagos, Mikel Azcona, like fellow BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver Néstor Girolami, will compete in El Pinar without any additional weight fitted to his Hyundai Elantra N TCR.

While Interlagos represented unchartered territory for BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse and its trio of drivers, the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing outfit has experience of the 3.120-kilometre El Pinar circuit from last season to call upon, with Azcona, Girolami and Michelisz all claiming top 10 finishes 12 months ago, including a second place for Azcona in Race 2.

Once again, the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour regulars will face opposition from the TCR South America drivers during an event that marks Argentine Girolami’s second ‘home’ race weekend of 2024. With the event taking place during the South American winter, cooler ambient and track temperatures are expected to further increase the challenge in store.

Italy-based BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse is fielding the 2024 version of the Elantra N TCR in the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour. It reflects the latest facelift applied to the road-going Elantra N, which was launched in September 2023 and offers the benefit of improved front aerodynamics. The three Elantra N TCR cars sport the N Motorsport colours worn by the Hyundai i20 N Rally1 Hybrid in the FIA World Rally Championship.

Hyundai Motorsport Circuit Racing Project Leader Julien Moncet said:

“El Pinar will be a new venue for me, but BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse competed at the track last year with some success and will be able to carry more valuable data forward to the fifth event of the season. As a team that doesn’t stand still in its pursuit of victory, we will bring some solutions to El Pinar that maybe more out of the box in order to recover a bit of the ground we lost at Interlagos. Norbi will have to drive with 30 kilograms of compensation weight in El Pinar but hopefully the impact will be less due to the track layout. With no compensation weight to worry about we can hope for better results for Mikel and Néstor after tough weekends for them in Brazil.”

Driver Notes: #196 Mikel Azcona (ESP), Hyundai Elantra N TCR

• Spaniard battles to eighth and ninth-place finishes at Interlagos during challenging weekend
• Azcona shows pace in Hyundai Elantra N TCR despite carrying maximum compensation weight

Azcona said: “Interlagos was a really tough weekend with 40 kilos but we scored points in both races so I have to be happy with that. My thoughts are very positive for Uruguay. We are going to lose the 40 kilos and it’s a track we did last year so we know pretty much what to expect. We also know our Hyundai Elantra N TCR is a good car and with the good team we have we know we are going to be competitive. So why not go for the pole and the victory, everything is possible.”

Driver Notes: #105 Norbert Michelisz (HUN), Hyundai Elantra N TCR

• Kumho FIA TCR World Tour leader scores second win of the season on series’ Interlagos debut
• Defending champion also registers a sixth-place finish to lead the Drivers’ championship by 15 points

Michelisz said: “Race 2 at Interlagos was honestly one of my best races but it means we start in El Pinar with 30 kilograms of compensation weight. This situation plus the strong competition we’ll face from the TCR South America competitors means it won’t be an easy weekend and we can expect two tough races. Therefore, the target has to be to finish both races with good points. And I’m confident for this.”

Driver Notes: #129 Néstor Girolami (ARG), Hyundai Elantra N TCR

• Argentine’s Race 1 at Interlagos marred by contact with another car which leaves him in 13th place
• More woe in Race 2 forces Girolami to pit after lap-one contact; he fights his way back up to 11th

Girolami said: “When you have a weekend like we did in Interlagos it was better to come back to the next page and reset for Uruguay, which is what we’ve done. Looking at the performance the car feels good and when there is no big straight I think we can perform very well. El Pinar is quite small with tight corners and low grip so it should be good for us. It will also be very cold, which is something else we have to prepare for. The expectations are always good considering we are with zero kilos. Hopefully we can show our full potential.”

Weekend at a Glance

• Following a Shake Down from 17:00-17:20 (21:00-21:20 GMT) on Friday August 2, Free Practice 1 at the 3.120km Autódromo Victor Borrat Fabini runs from 09:00-09:30 (10:00-10:30 GMT) on Saturday August 3 with Free Practice 2 taking place 12:30-13:00 (16:30-17:00 GMT). Both sessions will be followed by a maximum 10-minute practice start period.
• Qualifying is held later in the day from 15:05 (19:05 GMT). Q1 runs for 20 minutes with the fastest 12 drivers progressing to the 10-minute Q2 starting at 15:30 (19:30 GMT).
• Race 1 is set to get under way at 10:10 (14:10 GMT) on Sunday August 4 lasting approximately 28 minutes followed by Race 2 from 15:25 (19:25 GMT). That race will last approximately 33 minutes.
• The Race 1 grid is decided by the Qualifying results with the top 10 from Race 1 lining up in reverse for Race 2.
• In addition to the Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing drivers, 28 cars appear on the provisional entry list for the El Pinar weekend, round four of the 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour.