A brand-new circuit racing challenge was created in 2018 from the amalgamation of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) and the TCR International Series. The FIA – WTCR World Touring Car Cup was born and the ten-round season was contested across three continents.

Four Hyundai i30 N TCR cars competed in the inaugural season. BRC Racing Team fielded Italian touring car legend Gabriele Tarquini and Hungarian Norbert Michelisz. The other two Hyundai were driven by YMRacing’s Yvan Muller and Thed Björk.

Between the four drivers, there were 13 wins and 20 podiums for the Hyundai i30 N TCR. The championship battle went down to the final lap of the season – with Gabriele taking the drivers’ title and YMRacing the teams’ crown.

The second WTCR season featured an enhanced driver line-up, new tracks and a new points system, making the racing closer and more exciting.

Our customer BRC Racing Team expanded its operations to four i30 N TCR cars. Gabriele Tarquini and Norbert Michelisz returned to drive under the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse banner. Meanwhile, Augusto Farfus and Nicky Catsburg joined our Customer Racing roster and BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Racing Team for their WTCR debut.

The i30 N TCR continued its winning ways into the second WTCR season, taking seven victories and 11 more trips to the podium across the ten rounds.

Hungarian driver Norbert impressed all season and clinched the drivers’ title after a strong final weekend in Malaysia – reaffirming the i30 N TCR’s position at the top of the global TCR category. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse also had a strong year, missing out on winning the teams’ title by just 34 points.

Although planned to begin in April, the start of the 2020 WTCR season was postponed as coronavirus and its effects made headlines across the world. Instead, a revised calendar of European-based events was devised and began in September.

Gabriele and Norbert once again joined forces for their third season as team-mates at BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse, while Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team fielded Nicky Catsburg and Luca Engstler behind the wheel of the i30 N TCR.

It was not the season that anyone had envisioned. There were glimmers of strong results in Slovakia and Spain, our customer teams had difficult moments and struggled to be competitive. It was to be the final year of the i30 N TCR in WTCR, as the Elantra N TCR soon joined the line-up.

With the coronavirus pandemic still affecting operations, the 2021 WTCR season featured eight rounds across Europe. Yet the Elantra N TCR went on to pick up four victories and five podium finishes in an impressive first year in the series.

Our newest TCR challenger made the perfect debut, taking a 1-2 at the hands of Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team’s Jean-Karl Vernay and Luca in Germany. Jean-Karl later triumphed in Italy, with wins for Norbert and Gabriele in the Czech Republic and Spain respectively.

At the final round, Luca snatched a last-grasp lead of the Junior Driver standings when it truly mattered and secured the title, while Jean-Karl finished third in the drivers’ standings. At the conclusion of the season, Gabriele Tarquini retired from full time racing, swapping his helmet for a team manager role in 2022.

The 2022 edition marked the fifth, and ultimately final, season of WTCR with events taking place outside of Europe for the first time since 2019. It was the only year that two Hyundai customer racing cars were entered, run by BRC Racing Team.

Over the course of the year, there was plenty of success for our new Customer Racing driver Mikel Azcona. He secured four wins and eight podiums in a dominant campaign, while team-mate Norbert enjoyed a strong second half of the season.

The Spaniard took the most podium finishes and clinched the drivers’ title during qualifying at the last round, Race of Saudi Arabia and BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse won the teams’ title for the first time.

It was the fourth and fifth titles won by our customers in WTCR – a fantastic way to bid farewell to the series.

A new chapter in top-level touring car competition began with the introduction of the TCR World Tour. Two Hyundai customer racing cars were entered and run by BRC Racing Team for the entire season, with other Hyundai customers joining the grid as local entries on a race-by-race basis.

There was plenty of success for Customer Racing drivers Norbert Michelisz and Mikel Azcona – starting the season on a high with a 1-2 finish in Portimão.

Norbert took four wins and a further three podium finishes across the season on his way to securing the inaugural TCR World Tour for Drivers crown in the final race of the season, his second title with us.

Team-mate Mikel clinched one win and another five podiums in his second season with our team. BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse finished the season third in the teams’ standings.