Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing heads for its home event

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing is all set for a long-awaited homecoming when the Inje Speedium in South Korea hosts round six of the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour this weekend (October 16-19).

Through its long-term partner team, BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing is taking on the 3,908-kilometre circuit for the first time with a trio of Elantra N TCR cars driven by Mikel Azcona, Néstor Girolami and Norbert Michelisz.

It will do so on a high after a double win when the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour stopped off at the Shell V-Power Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, Australia, last month.

Inje Speedium had been due to host what was then the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup in 2020, only for the global health pandemic to force the planned event’s cancellation. With restrictions also preventing the race weekend from going ahead in the two remaining years of the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup, Inje Speedium’s the long wait for an international touring car race is over.

Located in the Kangwon-do region, 160 kilometres northeast of the capital Seoul, the Inje Speedium circuit consists of 20 corners and is characterised by its long main straight, undulating nature and combination of high- and low-speed turns.

Gabriele Tarquini, who won the WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup driving a Hyundai i30 N TCR in 2018 and is now support BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse in an advisory capacity, previously described Inje Speedium as, “a very nice track, enjoyable with up and down sections and a good challenge”, when he drove a Hyundai road car there.

The Hyundai Elantra N TCR is the car to beat at the Inje Speedium after Junui Park set a new lap record, a 1m40.7s, during a TCR Asia race in September.

With sea freight delays resulting in two races only being run in Australia rather than the planned three, the Inje event is the third Kumho FIA TCR World Tour weekend in 2025 to feature a trio of races. Next month’s visit to Zhuzhou in China will now become the fourth.

For Kumho FIA TCR World Tour events featuring three races, the grid for Race 1 is based on the final results of Qualifying. The top 10 finishers from Race 1 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. Following Free Practice and the two-phase Qualifying on Friday, one race is scheduled on Saturday with two races timetabled for Sunday.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Manager Benoît Nogier said:

“The opportunity to finally race in South Korea is a very exciting prospect. Even though it’s our home race, we will be as determined and committed as we always are to achieve the best possible results across the weekend and deliver some memorable moments for all the fans and Hyundai employees who will be following our progress. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse produced a great performance during the last Kumho FIA TCR World Tour event in Australia and scored plenty of points at a circuit it had never raced at before. With Inje another unknown quantity, we need to adapt quickly and be on the pace from the beginning, just like we were at the previous round. We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to be in a position to do that, and we have every belief that Mikel, Néstor and Norbert can be in the podium fight.”

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

• Claimed his first pole position of the season with impressive qualifying performance in Australia
• Five-second time penalty for a jump start left him in second place at the finish of Race 1
• First 2025 podium strengthened his bid to climb up the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour points table

Azcona said: “It’s my first time driving in Inje, our home race weekend. With all the Korean people it’s going to be so special and for sure we’re going to have big support from the fans. After a good race weekend in Australia, I’m going to carry 30 kilograms of Compensation Weight. Even with the changes we’ve done as a team to increase our performance, the track layout it is very technical, you have very low-speed and also very fast sections, so it’s going to be very challenging to set a good qualifying lap. It’s not an easy track and it’s going to be demanding from a driver’s point of view. But I’ve done a lot of training, and we are now in a good performance peak. Even with 30 kilos we can still fight for the podium positions.”

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

• Victory in Race 2 in Australia was Girolami’s second triumph of 2025
• The result meant he moved up from eighth to sixth in the Drivers’ standings
• A newcomer to Inje, his preparations have included watching onboard track footage

Girolami said: “It’s going to be a really exciting race for me, one of the best, if not the best, of the year because of Hyundai, because of the fans and the atmosphere we will have. I’m very much looking forward to race in Inje. I’ve never been there but I’ve seen lots of onboard camera footage. I started to study the circuit some time ago and I feel ready, I feel super-excited. It looks like a very challenging track with a lot of up and downs so it’s important to be connected with the car. After the feeling of winning in Australia, there is a good atmosphere in the team because the team did a fantastic job, making pole position, a double victory, and now I feel like I am in a good position. We will push for everything in qualifying as having a good qualifying will be key for the entire weekend with the combination of the races. I’m looking forward to seeing all the fans, all the people from Hyundai and I hope we have a very good support to deliver a good result.”

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

• After scoring more points than his rivals in Australia, Michelisz will carry the full 40 kilograms of Compensation Weight at the Inje Speedium
• Michelisz has previously visited the South Korean venue, but the Kumho FIA TCR World Tour event provides his first opportunity to sample the layout in his Hyundai Elantra N TCR
• With three race weekends remaining, Michelisz is fifth in the standings, 98 points behind the leader but with 285 points still to fight for

Michelisz said: “The most important and most exciting race weekend of the season is just ahead, and we did quite a lot of preparation in the last couple of weeks. After Australia, the target is to carry the momentum all the way through the final three race weekends. I’ve been to Inje before, I didn’t drive there with a racing car but it’s a fantastic circuit and with all the work we have done we are well prepared to be competitive. I know it won’t be easy because of the Compensation Weight, carrying the maximum amount in my case will make it hard but, nevertheless, I have high hopes for podiums and a lot of points. I really hope to meet a lot of Hyundai fans at the circuit. It will be a fantastic race.”

Weekend at a Glance

• Following Shakedown from 16:30-17:00 on Thursday October 16, Free Practice 1, begins at 14:50 for 30 minutes on Friday October 17 with Free Practice 2, also scheduled for 30 minutes, starting at 17:25.
• The 20-minute Qualifying 1 begins at 10:05 on Saturday and is followed by Qualifying 2 from 10:30 for 10 minutes. Race 1 is then scheduled for 30 minutes plus one lap and gets under way at 16:05.
• Race 2 takes place on Sunday from 10:55, again for 30 minutes plus one lap. Race 3 is timetabled for a minimum of 14 laps and a maximum of 16 laps from 16:40.