Take a look at some key events for our customers this weekend
Defending champion hopes to seal second TCR Eastern Europe title with round to spare
Maťo Homola can wrap up a second consecutive TCR Eastern Europe title with a round to spare if he has a strong weekend at Brno. A victory at the last round helped the Slovakian driver stretch his lead at the top of standings to 26 points. With a race win offering 25 points, and two races each weekend, only an excellent weekend – in combination with issues for his closest pursuers – can decide the title in the Czech Republic. However, a repeat performance from the previous outing will give him a very comfortable lead to protect in the season finale. Those hoping to close the gap are also Hyundai Motorsport customers. Attila Bucsi, in his first full season in an i30 N TCR, is Homola’s closest challenger followed by Homola’s Janik Motorsport team-mate Adam Kout who scored the most points from the last round – meaning he will carry maximum Compensation Weight into this weekend.
TCR China’s four-way title fight heads to Ningbo
The TCR China season reaches its penultimate round with defending champion and Hyundai Elantra N TCR driver Martin Cao in the middle of a four-way title fight. The Hyundai N driver enters the weekend at Ningbo International Speedpark second in the standings, just two points behind the championship leader with the top four split by only six points. The battle was turned on its head at the previous round at Zhejiang, as the now points’ leader took a double win, Cao finished third in both races and a third driver chasing the title failed to score entirely. This weekend will be TCR China’s first visit to the Ningbo circuit since 2019, so prior track knowledge is likely to play a major part in deciding the outcome, especially in the qualifying sessions.
Historic Imola hosts TCR Italy paddock on return from summer break
After a break from competition through August, TCR Italy returns to action at Imola for the first of two September dates for the series this year. The trip to the historic Imola circuit, which also begins the second half of the season, offers another opportunity for Elantra N TCR drivers to add to the strong race results which have offered several high points this year. However, 2024 has been a bitter-sweet year for Hyundai Motorsport customers in the series. While Alex Ley, Junui Park and Junesung Park have all taken maiden wins in the championship, a mix of contact on track and technical issues mean that it is Michele Imberti – in his first year with the Elantra N TCR after previously driving the i30 N TCR – who leads the Hyundai Motorsport customers in the standings in fifth.
