Hyundai updates bodywork and livery of Elantra N TCR for 2024 FIA TCR World Tour

Hyundai Motorsport will supply its FIA TCR World Tour drivers with an updated version of the Elantra N TCR for this season.

The internals of the car will remain the same on a model that has been used in touring car racing since early 2021, with the key change being a new bodywork design with improved aerodynamic potential.

There will also be a new livery inspired by Hyundai’s factory World Rally Championship cars on the World Tour entries run once again by BRC Racing Team, under the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse banner, which will be driven by Mikel Azcona, Néstor Girolami and reigning champion Norbert Michelisz.

Michelisz claimed four race wins and Azcona, who came fifth in the standings, took one in 2023. Their combined points tally put BRC third in the teams’ standings, five points short of the runner-up spot. The decision to expand to three full-time entries is motivated by Hyundai Motorsport wanting to boost its title chances, although only two cars can score points on behalf of a team in any World Tour race.

“Maximum relevance to Hyundai’s range of road cars has always been an important part of all the cars designed and built by Hyundai Motorsport, so it was natural that the new look of the road-going Elantra should be reflected in the appearance of the Elantra N TCR for the 2024 FIA TCR World Tour,” said Till Wartenberg, vice-president of Hyundai Motorsport.

Cyril Abiteboul, who is president and team principal, called the expansion to three cars “a critical step in our ambitions” to maintain Hyundai’s “position at the top of the category”.

The importance of the car’s updated look being “beneficial in terms of aerodynamic performance” was highlighted by Julien Moncet, Hyundai Motorsport’s Circuit Racing project leader, who noted “we know we can expect our rivals to have made their own progress during the winter”. Hyundai is one of four marques confirmed to be present on the TCR World Tour grid.

“I expect some very tough competition in the TCR World Tour this year because I’m sure that the other teams were not sleeping during winter testing. I’m looking forward to all the new tracks we’ll visit but I’m not exactly sure what to expect in terms of results since there will be many unknown factors,” said Michelisz.

Azcona said that with new compensation weight rules “I expect we will see more straight-forward competition and less management during qualifying”, which can change drivers’ approaches, but also pointed out that being in a three-car team now opens up “more options for strategy during the qualifying laps”.

Girolami has raced a Honda Civic Type R TCR since 2019, but already “had a very good feeling with the Hyundai Elantra N TCR” in testing despite finding “the driving style is quite different from what I was used to”.