Hyundai Motorsport’s Andrea Adamo hailed the manufacturer’s participation in the TCR Europe Trophy as a ‘sensational weekend’ after Gabriele Tarquini’s took victory from tenth on the grid in the second race at the Adria Raceway.
Tarquini won with the new car for the second time this month, coming through the field in determined fashion in the second of Sunday’s races to notch up another win for the i30 N.
With the car running to a temporary homologation, Tarquini was not eligible to score points, but he took home another trophy for winning what he described as a tough race.
“This was a very tough weekend, but it makes the result more impressive,” said Tarquini. “It was our first time running the i30 N TCR on these [Yokohama] tyres, so we had to work a little to find a good set-up for the car, especially with the extra weight.
“I could really feel the effect of the weight after only a few laps under braking for the hairpins around the circuit.
“To be able to take pole position, a second and then a victory from 10th on the grid proves what a special package the i30 N TCR is. The second race was very fun, and it was the best the car felt all weekend.”
Hyundai Motorsport’s Customer Racing Manager Andrea Adamo hailed the weekend’s performance, whilst also being critical of the Balance of Performance [BoP] weight that the car was hit with at the last minute in China three weeks ago, which saw the car have to carry an extra 40 kg of weight and run at 95% of its engine power.
“This is another sensational weekend for the i30 N TCR,” added Adamo. “There is no doubt about the performance on the track, even with the extreme and rushed, perhaps too rushed, Balance of Performance we are running with.
“Our customers can clearly see how competitive the i30 N TCR is in the TCR category, with the car at Adria running very close to the final specification we are offering to customers.
“We have now won races on both competitive outings with the package, but on two very different styles of track, which proves that customers will be able to compete at the front of any TCR series where they choose to compete with the i30 N TCR.”
Lead driver Tarquini is now looking forward to taking on the season finale of the TCR International Series in Dubai in November on what could be his final race outing with Hyundai.
“We now have one more event with the car to put in another very strong performance to show what this car can do before we start to hand over completed chassis to customers,” he concluded.