Hyundai Motorsport’s customer teams will not complete in this weekend’s FIA World Touring Car Cup races on the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a row over the TCR Balance of Performance measures.
The Hyundai i30 N TCR cars had an increase of power given to them in the latest BOP calculations issued yesterday (23 September) from 95% to 97.5%.
However, Hyundai has now announced that none of its customer teams – BRC Racing and Engstler Motorsport – will compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hours supporting races this weekend.
The announcement means that reigning champion Norbert Michelisz, his team-mate Gabriele Tarquini, and Engstler Motorsport’s Nicky Catsburg and Luca Engstler will not race this weekend.
In a statement issued on Thursday morning, the Alzenau-based company cited what it felt was unfair treatment.
“Hyundai Motorsport has announced that its customer teams will not participate in this week’s WTCR – FIA World Touring Car Cup Race of Germany (September 24-26).
“Hyundai Motorsport has the feeling that neither the company nor its customer teams are given equal treatment in the series to other competitors and are not made to feel welcome.
“Hyundai Motorsport was due to be represented in Germany by BRC Hyundai N LUKOIL Squadra Corse (Norbert Michelisz and Gabriele Tarquini) and Engstler Hyundai N Liqui Moly Racing Team (Luca Engstler and Nicky Catsburg). Both teams are already on site at the Nürburgring.
“Hyundai Motorsport remains committed to demonstrating the high-performance credentials of its racing vehicles on an international stage, in series that are reflective of Hyundai’s N brand.
“The company’s participation in the Nürburgring 24 Hours remains unaffected by this decision.”