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MUNDIAL - HYUNDAI MOTORSPORT É NOTICIA

Terça, 21 Julho 2020 08:00 | Actualizado em Terça, 09 Abril 2024 04:59

Hyundai Motorsport customer results round-up bulletin

Veloster N TCR crews swept the podium positions at Sebring International Raceway in the first race of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge since January
Tyler Maxson took all three victories on offer from the TC America weekend at Virginia International Raceway in his Copeland Motorsports Veloster N TCR
Hyundai Poland supported driver Jari Huttunen finished on the overall podium at Rally Bohemia in the i20 R5 after leading overall for much of the event’s opening day.

Recent weeks have brought more success for Hyundai Motorsport customers with both R5 and TCR cars. In the USA Veloster N TCR teams have dominated the results in both the main series for the category, while an i30 N TCR leads the TCR Italy standings after the opening round. On the rally stages i20 R5 customers continue to show strong pace as they prepare for events in the main campaigns in the coming weeks.

IMSA season restarts with all-Hyundai podium

Veloster N TCR teams locked out the podium at Sebring International Raceway (July 16-17) in the first race of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge since January. The five Hyundai cars on the grid – including four from the Hyundai USA-backed Bryan Herta Autosport team – qualified first to fifth – with the Forty7 Motorsports team of drivers Ben Waddell and Alex Papadopulos amongst them.

With Waddell taking the first stint it remained part of the lead battle with Harry Gottsacker and Ryan Norman in the fastest starting of the two Herta entries. A slow pitstop for Norman when swapping to Gabby Chaves dropped them from the lead battle, only to have their place taken by their fellow Herta entry, shared between Michael Lewis and Mason Filippi. Lewis took the car to the checkered flag in second, following home Mark Wilkins in the black #21 started by Gottsacker. Forty7 Motorsports’ driver pairing finished third to claim their first IMSA podium in only their second race with the Veloster N TCR.

Harry Gottsacker/Mark Wilkins - IMPC - Sebring

Mason Filippi/Michael Lewis - IMPC - Sebring

Tyler Maxson dominates TC America weekend in Virginia

Copeland Motorsports driver Tyler Maxson completed a near perfect weekend at Virginia International Raceway (July 10-12), picking up where he left off in the TC America championship lead. Maxson put his Veloster N TCR on pole position for the first of three contests at the circuit and led from lights-to-flag, only missing out on the fastest lap that would have given him pole position for the second race.

However, despite having to start third Maxson was able to take the lead on the opening lap on his way to a second dominant victory. This time fastest lap gave him the right to lead the grid to the rolling start in the final encounter, which he used to jump into another dominant lead to sweep the weekend. In his first year with the Veloster N TCR he has now won all five races of the season so far, and so leads the points’ standings.

Alex Papadopulos made his Copeland Motorsports debut at the event in the team’s second Veloster N TCR. After struggling for pace in the early sessions he improved across the busy weekend on the fast, flowing course finishing with a best result of fifth in the finale to the meeting.

Tyler Maxson - TC America - Virginia International Raceway

i30 N TCR drivers star in TCR Italy season opener

Three i30 N TCR drivers shared four podium finishes between them at the Mugello Circuit (July 17-19) in the first weekend of the TCR Italy season. In Race 1 Target Competition driver Marco Pellegrini and PMA Autosport’s Felice Jelmini finished second and third respectively after vastly different races. Pellegrini was a front runner throughout after starting second, while Jelmini pulled off a remarkable result after qualifying only 23^rd and driving through nearly the entire field. In total four of the five Hyundai customers on the grid finished in the top eight.

In Race 2 Trico WRT’s Damiano Reduzzi claimed his first TCR Italy win with the i30 N TCR, despite contact from behind in the closing laps. Pellegrini finished third after starting seventh on the partially reversed grid. His pair of podiums left him with the championship after the opening weekend. i30 N TCR debutant Ettore Carminati finished fourth to complete another strong showing from the Hyundai teams in the series.

i30 N TCR drivers start Russia season with front row lock-out and podium finish

All five of the i30 N TCR customers at the Smolensk Ring (July 10-12) for the opening round of TCR Russia qualified in the top seven places, with Lukoil Racing Team drivers Ivan Lukashevich and Andrey Maslennikov sharing the front row.

In wet conditions for Race 1 Lukashevich finished third to start his season with a podium ahead of defending champion Dmitry Bragin, in his own i30 N TCR, and Maslennikov.

In Race 2 Grigory Burlutskiy marked his i30 N TCR debut by finishing as the best of the Hyundai drivers in fourth after a reverse grid race that started with a lengthy safety car period and was red flagged with a lap remaining. Bragin finished fifth, with Maslennikov sixth, the trio having been part of a battle which allowed the top three to pull away.

Ivan Lukashevich - TCR Russia - Smolensk Ring

Grigory Burlutskiy - TCR Russia - Smolensk Ring

Lewis Kent starts TCR UK season with double victory

The TCR UK season got off to a perfect start for i30 N TCR customer Lewis Kent at Oulton Park (July 17-18). He qualified as the best of the TCR cars on the grid combined with cars competing in the national Touring Car Trophy series, but took the lead overall off the line in wet conditions. As the race continued a driver not racing for TCR UK points caught him and Kent maturely gave him the overall lead, instead focusing on taking maximum points for the championship.

There were no concerns in Race 2. Again Kent leapt into the lead at the start, but was able to ease away and build a comfortable advantage while at the same time managing wet tyres on a drying track. Victory completed an excellent weekend that also included the fastest lap of the TCR UK field in both races.

Overall podium starts Huttunen’s Hyundai Poland partnership

Jari Huttunen finished an excellent third overall – and second in class – at Rally Bohemia (July 10-12) in his first start in the i20 R5 under the Hyundai Poland Racing banner. On his less favoured tarmac surface Huttunen won two stages overall, and topped the R5 class in another two as he held the lead overall for a vast majority of the opening day ahead of crews comprised of local drivers and tarmac specialists.

Sadly a set-up change to start the second day failed to improve the handling of the car further, allowing those chasing to move ahead of Huttunen and co-driver Mikko Lukka. However, their strong pace was enough to maintain a place on the podium to continue their good form after winning the WRC 3 class at Rally Sweden earlier in the season.

Maximum points to start Slovenian rally title defence

Hyundai Slovenia supported driver Rok Turk scored maximum points to start his defence of the national title at Rally Velenje (July 10-11) with maximum points. Aboard an i20 R5 prepared by Friulmotor he led overall for most of the event, winning three of the first four stages to pull out an eighth second lead. Unfortunately, a minor mistake on the penultimate stage led to him stalling the engine exiting a corner and dropping down to second place. However, with the overall winner not eligible for points in the domestic series Turk was able take the lead after the first of seven planned events for the season.

Good pace for Portuguese crew on Madeira event

The crew of Bruno and Carlos Magalhães used the Rali da Calheta (July 17-18) as a warm-up event for the upcoming Portuguese national championship round on the Madeira tarmac stages. The Hyundai Team Portugal crew showed good pace on the island’s unique roads against a field that combined national championship regulars and crews with a wealth of local knowledge. The pair finished fifth overall and fourth in class – crucially ahead of many of those teams they will face on similar stages next month.

Hyundai Italy-backed consistent in preparation for main campaign

Hyundai Italy supported man Umberto Scandola finished fourth overall on the tarmac stages of the Rally Coppa Cittá de Luca (July 17-18) in preparation for the start of the main national championships in the country. He improved his times throughout the single-day event, ending with the second fastest run through the final stage to move up to fourth, narrowly missing out on the overall podium.

Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing Operations Leader Andrew Johns said: “The recent results on both the USA and Italy have shown not only the pace of the car we build at Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing, but also the excellent level of support offered by our engineers and the key teams we work with closely with in these important markets. In the USA there have been strong results from both the Bryan Herta Autosport and the privateer teams they support as our agent in the country. To have had such strong starts in so many series can only help the morale of everyone involved after a tough few months. The same is true with our i20 R5 customers, more and more of whom are beginning to compete again to begin what I’m sure will be a very successful year.”

About Hyundai Motorsport GmbH
Established on 19 December 2012, Hyundai Motorsport GmbH is responsible for Hyundai’s global motorsport activities, including the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), Customer Racing and electric racing projects. In WRC, Hyundai Motorsport quickly established a strong reputation taking victory in its debut season in 2014. The team finished as runners-up in the manufacturers’ championship on three consecutive occasions between 2016 and 2018 before claiming its maiden title in 2019. Since the establishment of its Customer Racing activities in September 2015, Hyundai Motorsport has become a trusted partner for teams and drivers looking for success on the rally stages or on racetracks around the world. From its competitive i20 R5 rally car to the competitive i30 N TCR, Hyundai Motorsport-built cars have claimed victory in several championships, including national rally series in France and Spain, as well as consecutive titles in the FIA World Touring Car Cup (WTCR) in 2018 and 2019. Designed and built at its Alzenau headquarters, the Veloster N ETCR was unveiled in September 2019 and heralds an exciting new era, in which electric racing is set to become one of the company’s pillars. Unified under Hyundai Motorsport, WRC, Customer Racing and electric racing are together playing instrumental roles in driving Hyundai’s global high-performance N brand, and are supporting an important perception shift for the Hyundai brand around the world.

About Hyundai Motor
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company is committed to becoming a lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond with its range of world-class vehicles and mobility services offered available in more than 200 countries. Employing more than 110,000 employees worldwide, Hyundai sold more than 4.5 million vehicles globally. Hyundai Motor continues to enhance its product line-up with vehicles that are helping to build solutions for a more sustainable future, such as NEXO – the world’s first dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV.

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