Hyundai i30 TCR to make its race debut at the Misano 24 Hours

The new car Hyundai is developing for TCR regulations, now officially named the i30 N TCR, will make its race debut at the forthcoming 24H Misano, in an extended test for the Alzenau-based team.

The car has now been named as i30 N TCR, in reference to Hyundai’s high performance N brand, with the road version of the car coming to the markets in the second half of 2017, and the TCR version scheduled to be delivered to customers in December.

24H Series promoter Creventic and tyre supplier Hankook invited Hyundai to participate in Misano. The car will run in the GT4 class, as it is not yet homologated for TCR.

The team’s target is to test the car in long runs to simulate the tyre and brake wear.

The two-litre turbo engine has also been put through two over 40-hour sessions of dyno at Hyundai’s R&D Centre in Namyang, Korea. The team has also tested the car in Misano, Motorland Aragón and Valencia since February.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing manager Andrea Adamo said: “Entering the Hyundai i30 N TCR at the 24H Misano is a unique opportunity for us during the development phase of the project. Though we will not run continuously through the entire event we will manage our time on track, splitting the race in several sections where we can focus on long runs and the endurance racing aspects of the our design.”

The Misano 24 Hours takes place from the 7th to the 9th of July.