New-look event format and unfamiliar Mexico City venue add to the challenge facing the Hyundai-powered stars

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing begins its bid for yet more Kumho FIA TCR World Tour silverware in Mexico this weekend (May 1-3) with the Drivers’ and Teams’ titles the target for long-term partner BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse.

Counting on the skills of driving trio Mikel Azcona, Néstor Girolami and Norbert Michelisz to pilot its Hyundai Elantra N TCR cars for the second season running, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse continues to be expertly led by Team Principal Gabriele Rizzo and Team Manager Gabriele Tarquini, a two-time FIA World Touring Car champion.

Having guided Hungarian Michelisz to the coveted Kumho FIA TCR World Tour crown in 2023 and 2024, the Italy-based team wants to add a series title double to its growing list of achievements.

BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse begins its pursuit of twin success at a venue new to it and the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour – one of six circuits new to the series on the 2025 calendar – but in a country where Hyundai achieved a notable first in 2014 when Thierry Neuville banked its maiden FIA World Rally Championship podium.

While the challenge of a new racetrack is considerable, it’s amplified by the fact that the Mexico City weekend is the first Kumho FIA TCR World Tour fixture to adopt the new-for-2025 three-race schedule.

This consists of two free practice sessions of 30 minutes, a two-phase qualifying split into segments of 20 and 10 minutes, followed by three races of 30 minutes plus one lap, rather than the two races contested at each weekend in 2024. The grid for Race 1 will be based on the final results of Qualifying. The top 10 in Qualifying will then line up for Race 2 in reverse order, with the Race 3 grid based on the total points scored in Qualifying, Race 1 and Race 2.

Although the 3,904-kilometre Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez marks a step into the unknown for Girolami and Michelisz, Azcona got the opportunity for significant track time when he took part in a 24-hour race at the circuit last December driving a Hyundai Elantra N TCR, albeit on an alternative layout to the one being used this week.

As well as the same driving strength from 2024, the highly successful Hyundai Elantra N TCR – featuring the new design bodywork introduced ahead of last season to reflect the latest facelift to the road-going Elantra N – remains unchanged and ready to chase more TCR category glory in 2025.

The series’ first races in Mexico kick off an eight-weekend Kumho FIA TCR World Tour schedule that includes stops in Spain (Valencia), Italy (Monza), Portugal (Vila Real), Australia (The Bend), South Korea (Inje) for the first international Touring Car event in Hyundai Motor Company’s home country, China (Zhuzhou) and Macau.

Four events (Mexico, Spain, Australia, South Korea) include three races with the remaining four hosting two races for a season total of 20 races, an increase of six compared to 2024.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Benoit Nogier said:

“We want to win both titles and have all the right pieces for the puzzle – a strong car in the Hyundai Elantra N TCR, a good team in BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse and three fast drivers in Mikel, Néstor and Norbi. The Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez is a new addition to the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour, and while Mikel has experience of most of the layout, it’s going to be a level playing field, making the start of the 2025 season even more exciting than usual.”

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

• Third in 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour title chase with his sole victory, coming courtesy of an epic wet-weather drive in Zhuzhou, proving decisive
• Has experience of Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez from a 24-hour race last December, albeit on an alternative layout
• Preparing for his fourth season driving a Hyundai Elantra N TCR, the 2022 WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup winner wants a trouble-free start to his campaign

Azcona said: “Last year was not the best year for me in terms of results with a few problems at the beginning of the season, which probably stopped me from being in the title fight. I believe in my speed and where I am with the team and with the engineer, it’s mega. I am in my best moment as a driver and also working with my engineer. We are matching so good how to set up a car and this gives me a lot of confidence to start the season. It’s really positive to work with the same people for four years, everything becomes more natural and everybody knows what they have to do. Every year we’re trying to be better by nailing the perfection every race weekend and the goal is to start attacking from the beginning of the season. I know 70 per cent of the track layout from a 24-hour race I did last December. We could struggle on the super-long straight but sector two and three is flowing corners, left, right, left, right, medium, high-speed corners where normally we are really strong. Everything is a question mark until Qualifying but it’s a cool track with many places to overtake.”

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

• Embarks on his second season as a BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse driver after joining the team for the 2024 Kumho FIA TCR World Tour
• Was a winner for Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing during the opening weekend of the 2024 campaign, which he completed in sixth place in the Drivers’ standings
• Determined to build on his strong end to the 2024 season, which included a podium at Zhuzhou

Girolami said: “Our target is to fight for what Hyundai deserves, both championships. Last year we got one and we will never give up trying to achieve two. We have all the tools, we are stronger as a team, the driver line-up is very good and we have a good atmosphere between us and this helps the team and all the team members to perform at the maximum level. I don’t know the track, only by watching Formula One on TV, but it looks nice. The very long straight in sector one could be key and will need a very good performing engine, which we have. I have a feeling this track will suit us. I really hope that with my BRC team-mates and all at Hyundai Motorsport we put together a strong season once again and are able to celebrate at the end of the year.”

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

• Starts 2025 going for a hat-trick of Kumho FIA TCR World Tour titles after bagging back-to-back crowns in Macau last November
• Twice a race winner in 2024, including the first race of the year from pole position, Michelisz has raced with Hyundai power since 2018
• Plans to keep his expectations in check to ensure he does not “derail the mental state”

Michelisz said: “Mexico is going to be a very exciting place to go to because the circuit and the layout look very demanding from a car set-up and driving point of view. I’ve also never been to Mexico before, so I’m excited for this. I’ve watched some of the Formula One races and I’ve spoken to Mikel who did a race at the track at the end of last year. So many times I’ve been wrong with my expectations about my chances of winning or finishing on the podium. What I learned was not to have too many specific expectations because this can sometimes derail the mental state during a race weekend. Although we’ve done a lot of mileage with the car, there were some open topics finishing last year and we could specify some areas that needed to be improved. Even if it’s the fifth year of the Elantra N TCR, we’ve still been able to make some improvements, which we’ve needed to do because we have new and specific circuits on the calendar.”

Weekend at a Glance

• BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse will gets its first taste of the 3,904-kilometre Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez during the 20-minute Shakedown from 10:00-10:20 local time (GMT -6) on Thursday May 1. That’s followed by Free Practice 1 from 14:00-14:30 and Free Practice 2 from 16:50-17:20.
• Qualifying Q1 is due to begin 09:30 on Friday May 2 and run for 20 minutes with the 10-minute Qualifying Q2 set to start at 09:55.
• Race 1 on Friday is for 30 minutes plus 1 lap from 15:00. Race 2, which is timetabled for the same duration, is due to start at 11:30 on Saturday May 3 ahead of Race 3, also for 30 minutes plus 1 lap, from 17:20.