HYUNDAI CONSIDERING INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS FOR TCR AUSTRALIA

Hyundai Motorsport has confirmed interest in fielding one of its drivers in a round of the TCR Australia Series.

Current WTCR factory drivers include Norbert Michelisz (pictured), Luca Engstler, the retiring Gabriele Tarquini and Jean-Karl Vernay who already came out to race an Audi in the inaugural Australian season.

Hyundai’s Customer Racing Manager Andrew Johns is not ruling out sending one of its aces down under in the future.

With Australia slowly re-opening international borders and the Bathurst International set to take place next year, it is an attraction to get one of its factory drivers down under.

“It’d be something that we’d still consider to be able to send a driver over,” said Johns.

“We’ll see what the future brings.”

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, in 2019 three internationals made guest appearances, then-Audi driver Vernay recorded a race victory at Queensland Raceway, his WTCR rival Nestor Girolami won all three races at Sandown and Peugeot’s Aurelien Comte took part in the final round at The Bend.

Johns revealed that Hyundai Motorsport was in discussions to replicate a similar program, but circumstances prevented this from occurring.

“That was the intention,” Johns said. “We were damn keen to get over and do a round of TCR Australia.

“We were talking to the Australian Racing Group, as we were trying every which way we could to try and get a car over there, with a driver and engineer.

“We tried everything, but we didn’t have availability of cars because it would be gone for so long.”

Nationally HMO Customer Racing competes in Hyundai’s with the i30 N TCR, the hatch that it will continue to run going forwards.

Johns expressed how impressed he has been with HMO Customer Racing who won the inaugural season with recent Supercars Championship winner Will Brown.

“The relationship started off in a fantastic way results-wise and as we’ve seen in WTCR there are highs and lows,” said Johns.

“HMO set the bar in 2019 and others will be wanting to surpass its results, but we’re very happy with the team and its achievements this season

“We’re fully committed to supporting the i30 N TCR through engineering, development and spare parts support.”

The final round of the 2021 Supercheap Auto TCR Australia Series will be the TCR Bathurst 400 on November 30-December 4.

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